Mile high alums

As I currently sit in the Denver airport in a multiple hour delay in my return flight to LaGuardia, such vagaries of travel cannot dampen the positive vibes felt last night when I reconnected with three Marist Running alums for dinner at a sports bar at the Gaylord Rockies. Sean Hopkins (Class of 2005), Colin Johnson (Class of 2010) and Ryan Fitzsimons (Class of 2012) all took time out of their busy lives to meet up for dinner and drinks and great conversation. Even though these men were loosely connected (or not at all connected) during their time at Marist, they have forged post-graduate connections here in the Mile High City. Colin is the glue bridging them both; even though he and Hopkins were never in school together, they have grouped up a few times for runs and races out here. And Colin and Fitz did share a few years together on the team, so it was easy to rekindle their friendship. How they all wound up in the Denver area generally, and in that restaurant last night specifically, speaks to the randomness of life. It was great to catch up with all of them and hear how they are doing and what their plans are for 2023 and beyond. Spoiler alert: They have some big plans for some very long distances in the coming year. I’m proud of them all. It was gratifying to learn that they still avidly follow the blog, so of course this post is a natural offshoot of that! Their kind words about the blog have motivated me (even if temporarily) to post more in this space. And, with recent developments, it may well be the only outlet to flex my writing muscles, at least for the time being. OK! Here’s hoping we go from bored at the gate to board(ing) the plane, soon.