Dedication

It's no secret that I worship at the altar of Lorenzoni. I've been a customer at their shop for more than 20 years - my first memory of buying shoes there dates back to 9th grade. I can count on one hand the number of pairs of running shoes I've bought somewhere else in those 20 years. It's a bit fanatical for a shoe store, right?

Only as fanatical as the owners themselves. Their (grown and growing) children are fixtures in the shop as well, and I truly hope my children can embrace our family business the way the Lorenzonis have. The owners are *serious* runners, who have actually WON races. Like, broken the tape first. That boggles my mind. But somehow they manage to embrace both elites and schlubs, and welcome everyone with open arms. They know me by name, which also blows my mind. They know everybody by name. And if they don't know, they fake it, and make you feel awesome, valued, and empowered anyway.

I decided not to run the Women's 4 Miler this year. It was a tough decision, but every year I hate the circus of it, I hate running in the heat of summer to train, I hate feeling halfway burnt out just in time for 10 miler training. But I love the event and what it stands for. So this year I decided that even if I wasn't running, the least I could do was devote my Saturday morning to helping with this event.

A Lorenzoni is race director, and year after year, hundreds of thousands of dollars are raised and donated to the UVA Breast Care center right here in our community. In fact, every race sponsored by the CTC, with Lorenzonis involved, is not for profit, and all proceeds go to local causes. Hundreds of thousands every year. And in the process, people like me get and stay fit, and find themselves leading a richer life because of the support of Ragged Mountain, the CTC, and all those crazy Lorenzonis. To show you an inkling of their dedication, here are the instructions I received today for my volunteer post on Saturday:



Anyone who's ever had a training program written by Mark (which is practically everyone in this town) knows that handwriting. Yes, Mark hand-wrote and -drew volunteer instructions for the 80 gabillion volunteers. Some might scoff and say "I can hardly read that." But if you're a real runner in this town, you know that writing like your own, and will gladly decipher it, if it means being part of that family.

I will don my green volunteer shirt with pride on Saturday, and feel proud to be both a runner in this running town to end all running towns, and a volunteer, dedicated to spread the good word about my sport, and support good deeds and good health. I'm so lucky to run in a town where running is not just running.

PS For my readers who are running on Saturday, in case you *can't* decipher Mark's writing, I will be posted at the intersection of Garth and Free Union, by the Hunt Country store. I'll be on the right, about at the halfway point. Look for me and I'll do my best one-woman scream tunnel. Best of luck to you!!