The Year is 2027...

Colt, we need more...

Enjoyable read and well written.

Quite the opposite of Greg’s screenplay and anything posted by Jamin.

Can’t wait for Chapter 3. Really hope Kara or SFH or Allie Kieffer enter the storyline in due time.

A 30's something Mary C , is sitting in a Seattle coffee house , lonely , wearing a pair of blue adidas Stan smith tennis shoes.

After reading the coffee shop owners text messages , she finds out the Owner is having marriage problems , something about " not helping out in the house" . Mary looks out the window and sees a running group of men , all wearing the new Oiselle mens running wear. All the men are bald, and have moustaches , which is odd , but not in Seattle . Mary finishes her tea , puts on her jacket and mutters ... I don't think the Coffee shop owner likes me ... and walks out the door .

We're only making plans, for Nigel. We only want what's best for him. We're only making plans, for Nigel. Nigel just needs that helping hand.

Y'all. How do you think Withrow handled one of his buddies texting him about some guy on Letsrun posting fanfiction about him coming out of retirement.

OP don’t go

You attempt to insult me but fall short!

You are a ?head though, I bet you stink so bad no one wants to be around you!

The year is 2027 and I'm doing better than ever.

OP you show a lot of talent, it was kind of funny, if that gets produced, all the power to you.

You poke fun at a lot of people, but maybe they'd be able to laugh at themselves and wouldn't have an issue

seeing themselves in a production like that.

I don't think some of them would appreciate the way you portray them. Creative writing yes, likely to be produced, no.

Will all the old hobby joggers cling religiously to their Alphaflys in the year 2027 even though the Chinese shoes will be vastly superior and considered cheating in some quaters?

Bump! Wejo restored the thread! OP, LRC eagerly awaits a continuation!

OP, please grace us with your presence again

Great story. Must hear how it ends!

Colt Goucher is cruising. His light footfalls are hushed snare-drums on the crushed gravel track on the back acre of Goucher Ranch. Billy Nelson, with a well-trimmed salt-and-pepper beard and a black cap pulled low over his eyes, watches with careful consideration from across the infield. Kara Goucher walks up beside him.

“How is he today?”

“Well. He’s still pretty upset.”

Kara nods and the two Buffaloes stand in silence as Colt rounds the bend and approaches them. His stride is smooth and efficient, a brilliant staccato. His legs are long and sinewy. He leans forward as he runs.

“4:42, 4:43, 4:44--easy tempo, relax!”

Colt gives Nelson a sideways glance, and starts to tighten the screw over the next three laps. 70, 68, 66. It is an awesome display. Kara watches her son with feelings bordering on Jocastan. He surges into the back-straight on the final lap of his six-mile threshold, he thunders through the turn, and Nelson clicks the watch as he comes through. 4:22! He hides his astonishment.

“Ok, Colt.”

Colt grabs at his knees briefly before walking to the low bench just past the starting post on the infield. He unlaces his Skechers GOgouch 3z NitroX Speed flats and slips on his Skechers GOmeb 12 trainers. He ties them, stands up, and takes a deep breath. The accomplishment of the workout temporarily satiates his anger.

“Easy cool-down, keep it down in the valley. Twenty minutes, tops. Good?”

“Yeah.”

“We’ll see you back at the barn then.”

Colt nods and lumbers off. Billy watches his back as he disappears into the pines on the south end of the track. Kara gets his attention.

“You don’t think they’ll actually go through with it?”

“Would you put it past him?”

***

The two-mile loop through the valley beneath the pines winds gently. The surface is soft dirt, a rust-red snake in the dense green wood. Colt loves the smell here.

His head is still spinning from the effort of the tempo. A dull ache presses behind his eyes from the whirlwind of endorphins rushing through his brain. His blood feels thick in his veins, and his calves are beginning to stiffen. The cool-down is no more than a token. It is three months after the simulation, and with each passing day Colt feels fitter and stronger than he’s ever been. He is a man possessed.

Alberto Salazar has been a fixture in his life for as long as Colt can remember, though he has rarely met the man. Strained smiles at the dinner table and voices on the other side of his bedroom door were hallmarks of his childhood. Kara and Adam did their best, and for his part, Alberto’s malfeasance filled Colt’s life with a singular purpose: surpass Galen Rupp, at all costs.

He runs into a clearing at the top of the loop. There is a small cabin with a short porch. Adam ran electricity to it a few years prior, a sort of getaway for Colt and his teammates during the summers. Miles of singletrack run up the mountain behind the cabin. Colt scampers up the two stairs onto the porch, glances at his watch, and does some mental math. I’ve got a little time, they won’t know I stopped. He pulls a dull key from his shorts and unlocks the front door.

Inside the cabin is a single room. Two twin beds, a futon, and a small table are arranged neatly in the space. A Colorado Buffaloes flag hangs in one of the windows. A counter runs along the back wall with a small sink and cooktop. There are a few cabinets below the sink, and two on either side above it. A mini-fridge is tucked under the counter on the far right side.

Colt takes four strides across the room and crouches next to the fridge. He opens a cabinet door, and reaches into the back for a red Folger's coffee can. He pulls a small tube from beneath the grounds. It feels heavy in his hands.

He unwraps a small piece of paper fastened to the tube with a rubber band. On the slip is a hand written note that reads:

Not long now! Another few cycles and you WILL be the greatest to ever grace a track. I'm proud of you, son.

A.

This thread will go down in history!

Keep going! Don't know if you're the real "OP", but part three was pretty well written so I'll go with it!

YES! Keep it going! This is getting good.

We want to hear more Daddy!