January 21st 2014

To My Friends at Reston Runners,

At 82, I am the oldest regular runner—now walker—in Reston Runners. Some of you know that I started running in Michigan at age 55. Training with the Club in the last 25 years, I have run virtually every 10 K in the Washington area as well as the Cherry Blossom and Army 10-Milers, twice. I have run marathons in Dublin, London, Paris, Madrid, Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Stockholm, Vienna, Torino, Rome, Venice, Athens, Berlin, Prague, Moscow, Brisbane, Beijing, Tokyo, Toronto and Ottawa. I have run marathons in Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles (twice), New York (twice), Chicago (twice), and Washington (six times). If you count the JFK 50-miler as two, I have run 37 marathons, the last when I was 80, retiring after the Ottawa marathon as a Canadian Masters Marathon Champion.

During my Reston Runners membership, I have tried to popularize the Club by appearing in a full-page Washington Post health section and in a full-page article in The Washingtonian magazine. When announcing on WGMS, I often mentioned marathon running. I nominated Anna Bradford for a Golden Shoe award in Runners World (which she won), an award illustrated by a photo of Reston Runners in training. All of which is to say that now, with deep regret, it is time to close another chapter. Complicating matters, I have a diminished sense of balance, an issue of long standing. I still walk 10 miles a week, but on a level, closed course. So this is farewell. I hope to see you and say so personally. All of you have my heartfelt appreciation for your warmth, encouragement and friendship over the years. Keep running!

All best,

Bill Day

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