Bill Rodgers is My New Boyfriend (just kidding, dave)

Last Saturday I was giddy as a school girl, blushing and giggling while I waited to meet one of my running idols: Mr. Bill Rodgers.

For those of you who don't know of him (and you should be shot!), Boston Billy won the Boston Marathon and the New York Marathon four times each. He ran 28 marathons under 2:15 and set several American and world records. He also was one of the guys during the running boom that made it such an accessible sport for the masses. He still runs 25 races a year (none of them marathons) and is just an all-around nice guy.

Bill was in Richmond to help Thom and us Road Runner employees celebrate the 25th anniversary of the store. He signed autographs, chatted, and ran some short runs with employees and fans alike. I got a chance to talk to him a bunch about running and life and even got to run three miles with him. While he was signing my latest marathon medal he was telling me, "You know, it took me about five marathons to really get comfortable with the distance." I wanted to shout, "Bill Fucking Rodgers is talking to me like we're on the same level! Ahhh!" (That's me screaming like a Beatles fan.)

That evening, after work, Thom had employees, family, and friends over to his house for a cookout. We had a great time, although it was quite chilly for Richmond in June. It was nice to have everyone together outside of work. And I got to "cheers" Bill with a beer. Ahhh! (More screaming).

Thanks, Dave, for letting me talk about it obsessively. I'm done now.