Flashes of Panic

The results for the Millennium Mile are listing the second-place finisher as coming from Palo Alto, California. Not so, or at least not now.

Back in the mists of prehistory, I used to race Derek. Really. Somewhere I have a picture of the 1992 Maine State Class A 800m in which the two of us are in the same frame, even before the podium shot. He used to have an Accu-Track finish photo from the Black Bear Relays where I anchored the 4x800 for a school I didn’t attend (long story) and successfully held off his closing charge for Old Town. It was truly a photo finish, and at first I thought I had lost, because in black and white his uniform looked more like that of my real team. It wasn’t until I spotted the athletic tape he had over his new earring that I realized the mistake.

I’ve been bumping in to him for years, one of the few I ever see from my high school running days. In 1996, not quite a senior at the University of Maine but already twice a conference champion, he made the Olympic Trials final for the 1500m. After a few seasons training with Ned and one of my college teammates in Amherst, he went out to California to run for the Farm Team.

Yesterday, he was complaining about how cold it was. Since it was probably hovering around freezing in Londonderry, definitely a few ticks on the good side for January, I laughed at him and called him a Californian. Actually, he said, he’s in New York now. Specifically, he’s coaching at Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York.

Now, just for fun:

• In 1999, I ran a pretty decent 10k on a very hilly course in Oneonta, on my way to my first Boston qualifier in Columbus. (I note that Oneonta is called “The City of the Hills.”)
• The following summer, I hired an intern from Hartwick College, who I saw a few years ago at Reach the Beach (since she’s now out on Cape Ann somewhere.)

All very sketchy coincidences, but definitely enough to impress me with how small the world can be and how large at the same time.

Now Playing: Seen It Coming from After Everything Now This by The Church