Friends will be Friends

Is it true that some people start running just to make friends? I am not sure…
Even when running is a solitary sport, in which you race with yourself, and the only one you really have to beat (unless running in the Olympics, or being an elite athlete) is yourself, I consider that running is one of the most social activities I’ve ever done in my life.
Perhaps this is originated by the fact that we runners share a lot of things in common; we can talk for hours about our PRs, our garmins, which running shoe is the best, our pace and plantar fasciitis; conversations that other people will never understand, nor be amused about.
Most important, finding a running buddy could only mean finding a sport soul mate, for the race or maybe for life! We’ll never forget that person, because it is the person that lived with us the glorious moment we crossed the finish line of our first marathon, or maybe the person who helped us finish an important race, or to achieve a PR.
On the other hand, people we meet when running, whether we are part of a running team or not, is very special, because we are fighting for the same cause, at different paces and with different mental and physical goals; but we only want one thing in common: that medal, that PR, that feeling, that smile in the final picture…
For yesterday, an evening of sharing “lame repetitive stories” which made us feel the happiest, for my running friends, even when I never train with them, and even when I know I may never run as fast as them, I am writing this; even if they never read this story, running friends will be friends…