10/09/2019
It's seems a lifetime ago. Yet the memory of that day remains as vivid as my typing these words right now. Memories and images emblazoned on my mind as if they were simply always there. Since the beginning. And maybe they were.
He had no inkling then nor would he ever know the impact he would have on my life. I had run and raced with him on the roads several times. His use of 60's Beat vernacular and his seemingly contradictory love of speed Metal records always made me chuckle. He was older and without any effort on his part became one of my heroes. I sought him out at races in hopes that his cool would rub off on me. To this skinny, awkward 15 year old runner from Mississippi he was the most unique and genuine person quite possibly in the entire universe. And he introduced me to the trails. And the trajectory of everything in my world changed.
In October of 1991 I joined Wally for what would be the first of innumerable trail runs in my lifetime. We met at Walnut Grove and ran the Yellow Trail to Germantown Road and then returned to Walnut Grove on the Blue Trail. I will forever remember the late afternoon light streaking through the fall colors and the hint of cold in the crisp air. Wally talked of running, mountain biking, climbing, and a life lived well. Long before technology encroached into every corner of our lives, Wally was espousing a life lived simply. A life of running, jumping, laughing, loving, and breathing in this wondrous earth that we inhabit. A life of friendships and kindness towards one another. You see, Wally did not just introduce me to the trails. The trails were the vehicle to introduce me to myself. The trails formed and informed me over time. Because my dear, late friend Wally took the time to share them with me.
Who is your Wally? Who have you been Wally to?
Come out and celebrate the little moments and the relationships and the personalities born and cultivated on the trails. You will never forget. I can promise you that.
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