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Running tips, running stories and running links are what this area is all about.
Go here for a complete list of running links. Dear Readers, It was my good fortune to meet a very gifted writer who is also devoted to running. He has a great many interesting articles and I will occasionally feature some of his stories, training tips and humor here. I hope you enjoy this story, published with his kind permission. This story is part of his collection at his Running With George web site. By George M. Straznitskas Runners often develop a special relationship with another runner. It can be quite valuable to have someone who thoroughly understands the mental, physical and emotional aspects of what we do. My running friend is Howie Rosenblatt. We were both raised in a blue collar town (pop. 30,000) in Connecticut, attended the same high school (three years apart), but never knew each other until we started running in 1971. My mother worked on the production line at the US Rubber Company located across the street from Rosenblatt's Department Store. Like many others who worked the night shift, on payday she would shop at the store, where they would then cash her check. She mentioned to me that Howie, the store owner's son, was also a runner, training for "some race in Boston, or somewhere." I went down to the store that Saturday morning, and haven't missed many Saturdays since. At the time, Howie was single, and I was married with sons two and four years old. Occasionally we trained together. Usually it would be a 20 miler on a wintry Sunday as we prepared for the spring marathons. Throughout the '70's, our usual routine would be to run the Connecticut Marathon held the first Sunday in March, followed six weeks later by the annual trek to Boston. The '70's were a decade of change for many folks our age, but running remained the constant in our lives. The rubber shop closed its doors, and 2,000 workers became former employees. Through skillful retail management practices, Howie beat the odds, revamping the store and maintaining profitability during this difficult period. Our Saturday morning chats continued, and included my son Matt who started running at about age 10. Matt used to kid us by saying that we had the same conversation every week. He would surely know, because he was there for about five years.
The copyright of the article Some Friendships Go On & On in Running is owned by . Permission to republish Some Friendships Go On & On in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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