YHC rolled into Birkdale Village with a couple of minutes to spare before go-time, only to find 4 pax beat him to the start, ready to roll. We gave it another minute and a fleet began to come in hot. There’s Dingo, here comes Goat, Peddler is not far behind, followed by Auto and Jimmy O. With everyone (we thought) accounted for, we headed off in the direction of the greenway entrance. YHC had the completely unique & original idea of running the Emmaus Loop.
At the intersection of Barnes & Noble, “car up” was called and YHC slowly realized that it was not, in fact, a car but a hulking F150 with his older (& later) brother at the helm. We heckled as he went by and he let us know he would catch up to get credit for his 2nd post.
Then we ran 4-5 miles at an easy pace. Easy is a relative term and Peddler’s easy pace had me breathing pretty hard by the third mile. Fortunately DH, Auto, and YHC maneuvered to box him in and he promised to keep at a gentleman’s pace for the last couple of miles. Thank you sir! **Take note Capt Dingo: Peddler is your guy for the hardest BRR legs**
Also gentlemanly: multiple “heads-up” shouts prior to some high-octane backblasts during the run. The men in the back of the pack were appreciative.
DonHo, Auto, and Gnarly Goat did a sit up / push up PT test at the end of the run. It’s not my place to say who won, but I can say it was not DH or Auto.
For our discussion, Swing State, Nacho Libre, and Jedi’s bro-in-law Ken joined up and we read 1 Samuel: Ch 3. It is the story of young Samuel and his (eventual) answering the call of God. Thank you to Swing State for providing a great historical context of the story in the Bible. We reflected on our own callings, remembering that sometimes a small nudge can have high magnitude effects downstream. In addition, the things God asks of us are often difficult and things we may not want to hear them.
Jedi recalled a story of starting a Bible study at Panera and being by himself for the first 5 weeks. 7 years later he has continued on his journey and brought a lot of us along for the ride through F3. Yes it may have taken him buying our coffee to get us there…but it’s still noteworthy!!
We also discussed the importance of mentors in life. Samuel had Eli. Who do you have? Finding someone who you can be vulnerable, open, and honest with is a true gift. And whether you realize it or not, someone out there probably sees you as a mentor as well. With that said, daily discipline with prayer and scripture helps us stay tuned in to these opportunities in our day-to-day. Like a fine AM radio on the Blue Ridge Parkway, things can come in crystal clear for a long time, but may require retuning as you hit hills and valleys.
Lastly! We had the opportunity to name FNG Chris, older brother of YHC. Below is the stream of consciousness that led to F3 Royale.
Big Montana > Arby’s > Jamocha Shake (sorry DH) > McD’s > Quarter Pounder w/ Cheese > Royale w/ Cheese > Royale
Got it?
Moleskin:
Thanks Jedi for reaching out to me for this Q. Emmaus was one of the first workouts I posted and the group and discussions consistently provide inspiration, motivation, and support that we all need.
Thanks to everyone who came today. I was afraid I might have to talk for 45 minutes straight but, as always, the conversation carried itself and resulted in the sharing of similar and different experiences, all worth carrying with each of us through the days, weeks, and months ahead.
Make sure to get your mothers something nice before Sunday!
Big Montana