What is your most memorable running moment?

was two miles from home on the longest run I’ve ever attempted. It was one of the hottest days of that summer, and my legs were so fatigued I seriously thought about calling an Uber. As I crested the last hill on my route, I noticed something glittering in the flowers on the median.

I crossed the road to see what had caught my eye; out of the mulch I pulled a Pokémon card. It was Pangoro. I’d tossed my collection of cards long ago, but seeing this one brought me back to the days when my dad would buy me packs of cards from the gas station. Back then, I never would have guessed I’d run almost 30 miles at once. Cradling the shimmery card in my sweaty hand, I knew I was going to finish that run. Whether it was Pangoro’s hammer fist power boost that got me through or just some good old childhood nostalgia, I clinched my longest run ever that day, and I’ve still got that Pokémon card as a reminder.”—Morgan Petruny

Yeah! I thought for a while after a long running career what moment to tell......well.....

I think it must be when i raced in the Europe Cup for club teams in Verona back in 1988.

The Italian team was topped by the Olympic champion at marathon in Seoul 1988 , Gelindo Bordin. Bordin won the race and I placed 18th among 72 elite runners from all of Europe. I ran the 10 miles in 49:58 and just in front of me was the famous runner Marti Vainio. After the race there was a great banquet with good food and a big cake to share. I remember we got every one of us in the team some "food money" and about 300 bucks and a box with white and red wine in it. A memory for life....... :)

Had breakfast twice with Wilson Kipketer in the Olympic village food hall at 6am, the day of the semi-final and the rest day between semi and final. Nobody else in there for the first 30min - just him and I.

He was my running idol at the time (WR holder, multiple World Champ and the best running form still to this day of any human that has ever lived). Talked about his training, his favorite races, the night he went out in 48.4 seconds in Zurich and still ran the WR, and what he thought his ultimate best time could be. He was just a great guy. On top of that he ended up coming over to our area of the village later that day to deliver me a signed vest. The WR holder and GOAT (at the time, still might be) taking time out of his day to do something so personal for me - a complete nobody, is probably my favorite ever memory the sport gave me and I was fortunate to have some good ones.

But that's the best by far.

I built a winter base for the first time ever, going into the indoor season with a 2:32 800m PR.

Feeling confident that I was in better shape, I put myself in the 2:20-2:25 heat at my first indoor meet. We went out in 68-69, and I was in the lead pack and felt way too relaxed. I then kicked it in around 58-59 gapping the crap out of everyone in the heat, running 2:07, finishing with the Allen Webb scream and all.

I’ve run much faster since then, but this was probably my defining race, as I PRd by more than 20 seconds in an 800m and was known in my region as the guy that will beat you if he’s with you at the bell lap from then on.

2007 Chicago Marathon. If you were there, you’ll know why.

Either my classic woodbridge untouchable PR, or the time I took a wrong turn on a long run, and half way through felt the urge to go number 2. The urge was coming and going which led to me walking whenever I felt it come on. I was about 5 miles from home, and the nearest bathroom. After 2 or 3 miles of walking and jogging, my body forced my hand. I understood that it was gonna come out whether I was jogging walking or standing still. So I found the biggest bush on the side of the (busy) highway and hid behind it while straight liquid left my body. Found a leaf to wipe and then jogged it on home feeling like a thousand bucks, and threw my underwear in the trash.

I have a lot but probably winning the PENN Relays 10,000m. I won it back to back. I say the PENN Relays because that was the first place I ever read about as a kid that I fantasized about winning.

Mine was the first race I ever won, a small charity 5K through my neighborhood. It was just me and one other guy at the front through most of the race. He surged with about a km to go and I covered it, but I wasn't sure if I could hang on to the finish. About 400 meters out, I kicked as hard as I could, and my opponent didn't come with me.

It was not a fast race by any stretch of the imagination, but it was so exciting to be at the front making decisions that would affect the outcome of the race. Plus I won a gift certificate to a hibachi place.

1980 Old Santa Fe Trail 10km with my Dad and college roommates Dave and Kevin. Frank Shorter was in the race, just a few months after the Olympic Trials in Buffalo NY. As we sat around and drank a few Nattie Lights, Frank came up and shook our hands. Never forget the look on my Dad's face. Frank was the reason I started running, watching the 1972 Marathon with my Dad. Awesome day...

I'll give you 3

1. Billy Mills handing me a 3rd place medal @ Kinney (now Foot Locker) regional;

2. Going from a 4:29 1600 PR to 4:18 @ Arcadia my Soph year;

3. Going toe to toe with Bob Kennedy (for 900 meters at least :-) @ Penn Relays college DMR 1200 lead off leg and clocking 2:58.

CPD wrote:

I have a lot but probably winning the PENN Relays 10,000m. I won it back to back. I say the PENN Relays because that was the first place I ever read about as a kid that I fantasized about winning.

I'm guessing your winning times were 29:05.07 and 29:36.08 the previous year. (That double winner's initials, in the Penn Relays program I bought one year, are CD...maybe it's you.) Congratulations, now and for the rest of your life! I've only been a spectator at the Penn Relays, and really one of my favorite memories is witnessing the unbridled energy and enthusiasm of the Jamaican fans in the crowd. My cultural upbringing has often, detrimentally, stymied such displays of fun and joy.

As a runner, but not a champion, my two favorite moments are:

1) The finish of my first marathon. I'd gutted it out and overcome adversity down the stretch, and I completed the 26.2 miles five minutes under my target time on a chilly, overcast afternoon. I was so happy and emotional (and cold and zonked), but I stifled my tears of joy (and maybe a couple of pain-related tears, too) when I really felt like letting them flow. To have just let it happen emotionally in that moment of personal accomplishment would have made for the perfect ending, but, nevertheless, it was near-perfect, and over three decades later I can still smile and whoop with satisfaction, not just over the finish, but the entire run.

2) I usually train in the last light of the day, and sometimes beyond. Running one hot summer night as dusk was upon me, with vision limited due to increasing darkness but with safe footing, I felt a sensation of super speed as I finished my run around a farmer's field. The trees in the forest on my left seemed to be flying past. I've never felt as fast as on that evening.

As an athlete:

1. Running my 1500 PR (3:51.5) and getting a win on the Iffley Rd track (where Bannister ran the first sub 4) way back in 1982.

2. Placing 12th in 1500 World Masters (50-54) in Sacramento in 2011

As a fan:

1. Seeing live HG and PT battle the 10K in Atlanta the same night that Carl Lewis won the LJ

2. Attending the 2016 OT Trials at Hayward Field

As a coach:

1. Boys XC Team won our school's first ever (in any sport) State title in 2012

Not running but HJ.

When I was a high schooler I won the indoor state meet in PA my senior year. It came down to a situation where I had to clear a 3rd attempt at my PR and if I did I won and if I didn’t I lost. It was kind of a 2 strikes bottom of the 9th bases loaded down by 3 situation. The amount of adrenaline I had going through my body is probably unmatched to this day. I ended up clearing it and was told I had a good 4-6 inches to spare. Of course I went 3 and out at the next height.

enjoying the thread!

NAIA National XC championships for me. I know it's NAIA, but you need to understand that when I visited the college in high school, the coach told me straight: "you're not fast enough to make the team." I had only broken 5 minutes for 1600m a few times, with a PR of 4:44 my senior year.

I had been right about 25-35 throughout the race, and with 400m to go, I needed to pass 4 people for the top 30 spot. I remember a rival coach from our conference cheering his guts out for me, and everything else was a blur. I just barely got it (high 20's), but I saw my parents after and had big hugs with tears down our eyes. That's the part I remember the most, and while I had other great races before and better PR's post college, that was my favorite race, with the best memories.

So when I earned NAIA All-American honors 3 years later, and able to run sub 5 pace for 4 miles, it was a nice way to solidify my choice to continue running in college, no matter what anyone said. (that coach quit after my freshman year, did not remember the conversation, and we see each other at church now and have a good relationship.)

Junior year of high school I spent the whole outdoor season chasing a district qualifying time. I had to run under 2:08, and I probably ran within 2 seconds of that about 10 times without breaking it. It got to the point where I felt like I was going to keep running 2:08.xx every race of my life.

When I finally ran a qualifier in my absolute last chance of the season, one of the really sweet and cute girls from the girls team ran up to me after the race and gave me a hug. Not one of those quick pat on the back hugs that athletes sometimes give each other. Like a true warm embrace where I could feel our chests touch and her hands squeeze my back and shoulders. I can literally still remember exactly what it felt like. And it wasn't just a physical pleasure, it was like a feeling of connection where I realized that this awesome girl actually cared about me and was excited for me.

That girl is married to a guy from my team now, and I'm honestly a little jealous lol. It's like the best moment of my life is something that he can experience multiple times per day. I wonder if guys like that realize how lucky they are.

You don't need to know any details or who I am but won a world masters title and medaled in another event.

Beating Rupp at Boston in 2018.

Army 10-mile run 1988

Runnin' with the devil back in '78.