Sharing Water

Perhaps most of us have developed our own criteria over the years of what makes for a great day. The things which bring us joy or contentment or pleasure may be many and varied. It is such an individual thing. For some it may involve an elaborate scenario of happenings, while for others it may be found in the simplest of things. The same may be true in how we measure a good run. I have found that joy in sharing water with a fellow runner.

It was impressed upon my mind recently after making a difficult run with a friend who I already knew was special. We both struggled just to survive; but we also shared that day a camaraderie of pain, struggle and determination to finish that is still hard to describe. The problem arose when I tried to write in my combination scrapbook/journal something that would remind me of the good memories I never wanted to forget. What could you say briefly that would bring it all back? On this occasion I could think of nothing better than to write in the log "we shared water". It may seem somewhat meaningless to you; but to me it will always be a reminder of an extraordinary day.

You see, it involves more than just drinking from the same cup or bottle. It is something that you wouldn't want to do with everybody. After all, we live in a time when some would consider it to be downright dangerous. So it involves trust, confidence, and in some cases a special affection. It speaks of a closeness that runners feel for one another that they do not easily share with others. That is what makes it unique.

During my college years we had our own guidelines for measuring "true love”, just as college students before and since have had. Ours were probably no more insightful than yours. One of our questions was "With whom would you be willing to share your toothbrush"? I remember some resented the very asking of the question, for they did not intend to share their toothbrush with anyone!  The very thought of it was pretty yucky to them. Neither do I believe now that this is the best measure of true love; but there is one point connected with it that is worthy of note. If you don't really trust this person, then ANYTHING you share with them will not be a very meaningful and satisfying experience. On the other hand if you trust and respect them, then even small things become special. That is where sharing water comes in. It can mean far more than just taking a drink together on a hot day.

There may be other things in the special experience of running which affects you in the same way. Some simple, ordinary act which lingers in your mind afterwards; and which serves as a reminder that this experience was out of the ordinary. If so, I urge you to cherish those occasions; and repeat them when you can. They may lift the spirit of others, just as they have lifted yours.

One thing is Sure: If you run regularly with a person, you already trust them...maybe even more than you realize. You may run with a person a time or two and not even know their name; but when you do it regularly you begin a fellowship that is almost unsurpassed in life. You even begin to tell them things which you wouldn't think of telling others, simply because you know that they, too, live in a runner's world and thus they will understand. This is born out of shared pain and companionship; and it can bless both your lives.

There will be other people in your life with whom you will share a different kind of love. There are parents, children, special relatives and a marriage partner. They do not even have to be involved in running for you to love them dearly. Neither does what you feel for other runners have to infringe upon these feelings, for they are based on a different kind of relationship. But neither does your special feelings for them subtract from what you feel for your running partners. It is unique. It is special. It can hardly be explained.

It defies age. It has little to do with gender. You may know very little about the background of the people involved. You may not even meet them outside of a running experience. All you talk about may be in some way connected with your sport; but you know things about one another that others do not know. You can feel their pain. You can see their sorrow. You know when they are pleased or disappointed. You have learned to communicate without words.

For you have known the joy of sharing water.