Jill’s (almost) Jog With A Champion

The race director from Cancun told me that I’ll need to be at the press conference to help with the translation. He threw out some big names of some of the pros who will be racing, and it made me laugh thinking about my best friend Jill.

Jill is the perfect southern belle from Hickory, NC, and we became best friends about 30seconds after meeting each other the first day of Pfizer sales training.  She is the funniest person I’ve ever met.  Before Pfizer, Jill traveled around to different marathon expos selling socks. Her sales pitch was unstoppable, and she was the reigning sock queen in her company. 

Upon learning I was a triathlete, Jill couldn’t wait to tell me about her brush with triathlon fame: 

She was on a flight to another marathon expo out west when she started chatting up her seatmate.   The woman was tall, blond, and fit, with an uncanny accent from down-under, and she politely answered Jill’s 72 questions (all before the plane even took off).  When Jill learned that this woman was going to the same marathon, she was elated!  A collegiate b-ball and v-ball player herself, Jill has always been athletic and loves to run recreationally.  As she retold the story to me, she was cracking up:  ”She told me she was a triathlete, so I responded that I love to run, too, and that maybe we can go for a jog when we arrive!” 

They exchanged niceties and said goodbye.  Jill arrived at her expo booth to start selling the hell out of her socks.  She glanced across the expo room and immediately recognized the life-size poster of her seatmate from the plane:  Michellie Jones.  It was then that she realized how humble, gracious, and friendly this world champion had treated her, never once flinching when the southern belle offered to go for a jog with her before the race. 

I wonder if MJ will remember Jill.  She’s pretty hard to forget.

Jill, I’m gonna try to play it as cool as you did– but I won’t be asking MJ if she wants to go for a run, that’s for sure.  

Looking forward to my first foray into the world of race announcing!   I think it might be the next best thing to racing…  or who knows, maybe better.  We’ll see!