You Never Know Who Your Going To Meet...

...in the dark, running on a frozen river in Alaska. Last night, while running with friends on the Eagle River, I met a woman named Gail. We ran together and shared bits about our children, why we came to Alaska and why we run. Gail, a former army nurse arrived in AK in 2005, the same year as we returned. She grew up just across the sound from me in Long Island. I can still hear it in her voice. Her two boys are grown and attend college. Her husband just took command of the 6th Battalion and will be deployed (again) to Iraq or Afganistan in October. Three years ago he lost his left arm to an IED in Iraq. He is now an ultra-biker completing 100 mile rides with one arm. She completed the 50K Little Su on her bike last year- I may have run alongside her at some point. She runs barefoot at the indoor track after reading Born to Run. We finished our run and hugged and told each other how much we enjoyed the run and the conversation. When I told her I hoped I'd see her again on a run, she told me that she and her husband were leaving in a few weeks for Africa- to climb Kilimanjaro. I hugged her again and told her "Good for you!" I can't wait to catch up with her in March. You never know who you'll meet on a frozen river!