I don’t normally invite people to join me for a run, and so far, July has been a reminder of why that is. I got stood up twice.

Person Who Must Not Me Named 1 said she couldn’t join me for the bike social but would join me for my long run the next day. When my alarm when off, I thought I had to get ready quick in case there’s a knock at the door that would wake up others.

I scrambled to get my water, reflection vest, watch, and other gear on. No knock on the door. No text. “Maybe she’s waiting for me in the front of ___,” I thought. No, she wasn’t.

I started my run, mentally planning other places we could meet if she called late. Yeah, there was no reason to do that. I never got a message. Actually, I still haven’t gotten one.

Person Who Must Not Be Named 2 asked if I was going to the Footworks July 4 Run/Walk. I hadn’t planned to, but it’s free and I just got invited, so sure.

I got there with just minutes to spare before the run started. No one was there to meet me, so I called. “We’re headed there now,” I was told. And then about a minute later, the run started. While running, I kept looking around to see if I just missed Person Who Must Not Be Named 2.

At the turnaround, I checked to see if Person Who Must Not Be Named 2 was just really behind. Nope. No one.

I phoned PWMNBN2 when I finished the run. I learned they were at a park walking. PWMNBN2 thought the race started half an hour after it actually started.

So that happened. Not actually showing up is one thing. But if anyone actually did keep a running date with me, I’d hit Issue 2 - mismatched paces.

Do you have a running buddy? Do you have a similar pace? If you don’t, does one person slow down for the other or do you all just meet up at the end?

​The photos below are from the Footworks July 4th Run.