Old History

My brother recently shared with me the Runner's World article from 1980 when his time as a six-year-old in a 10K was written up as a remarkable achievement -- which it was. A misinterpretation of the article claimed S__ was the third-fastest under age eight in the country, whether that year or for all time depended on who was relating the tale. That "third-fastest" line has been my (erroneous) recollection ever since. S__ more or less stopped running as he got older, and is now my mentor in my aspirations to do some ultra-distance cycling. He dragged me out for the ride in July that resulted in our sleeping under the stars somewhere alongside the Pacific Ocean, and but for him I'd have been in trouble in Alaska this August. Of course, but for him I might not have been there in the first place.