The longest mile

"I miss the sound of my feet hitting the boards on the boardwalk, I miss startling people as I run past them ..."

That was what Jon, formerly of the Longest Mile blog, was telling me over dinner in Los Angeles recently. Jon is the reason I blog. A year and a half ago he wandered over from his part of the newsroom and told me, the sports editor, that he was going to run the Big Sur Marathon. I thought it was a crazy idea, because it was clear he had probably never made a committement to an exercise program. But I saw an opportunity and asked him if he wanted to write a column about it. He agreed and a few days later suggested that he blog about it. Well, he and Kenny, the assistant sports editor, did just that and it was very successful. I remember sitting at the starting line with them and hearing the buzz of people about them wondering if they'd finish or not. Some even came up and introduced themselves and offered them good luck wishes.

They both finished (although I beat them both) and it made for some compelling reading. But then things changed. Kenny, with a wife and young child, as well as a very demanding boss (that would be me), discovered he just couldn't keep up the running. And let's not kid ourselves, he would rather spend a couple of hours on the golf course then running the trails. Jon, although a gifted writer and reporter, decided his real future was in law and enrolled at UCLA Law School.I really thought he would continue his running (being a student, with access to many of the athletic facilities of a huge university, living near Venice Beach, what a better environment to train in?).

But Jon didn't run. There was a short run in September, but nothing more. In the absence of these two I took up the blog as I began training for my second marathon.

This past week, my daughter and I took some time and toured Southern California colleges. I made sure to set up a rendevouz with Jon just to check in. Once we got past the talk of newsrooms and law school, we talked of running, and Jon waxed poetic. I turned to my daughter and said, "He makes it sound so romantic," rolling my eyes. "Oh, but it is," he exclaimed. "I really miss it. ... And here's what you can tell people, I'm coming back, I'll be back, that's my vow."

I think he will be back, eventually. It's hard when life gets in the way - school, job, marriage, kids. Running becomes that thing at the end of your to do list that too many times falls off. You find yourself starring out the window of your car at a running trail and remember that feeling of the endorphins flowing through your veins, the sun on your face, the breeze cooling your sweat soaked T-shirt. Or you sit at dinner with a friend who keeps asking you, in different ways, why you ever stopped running and you struggle for an answer that makes sense.

Jon will be back, and maybe I'll nag him enough to get back to blogging. I think a lot of people miss it.