Running Together, Year After Year

Running a race is about much more than the distance covered on the course. There are the countless hours spent training. There’s the opportunity to travel. And for friends Courtney Wallace, Michael McPhee, and Kyleen Ammerman, there’s the chance to keep in touch, support one another, and socialize. The trio has a years-long tradition of doing a race together every year—this fall, it was the half marathon at the Maine Marathon in Portland, which they chose for the seasonal foliage.

“And it did not disappoint,” Courtney says. “The weather was perfect, the atmosphere was great, the energy was cool, the medal was amazing.”

It All Started Over Brunch

It all started with a fateful brunch many years ago when the three of them were living in Oxford, Ohio, and working for Miami University. Michael and Courtney were runners by that point, and as they were talking, they started to talk Kyleen into it as well. “I was sitting with two runners—they’re marathoners,” Kyleen recalls. “And I don’t look like a runner; that’s something I didn’t think I could possibly do. And Michael and Courtney said, ‘Of course you can run. This is an inclusive sport. Anyone can run.’”

They talked her into it, and soon enough, the three of them were running the Flying Pig Half Marathon together. They chose it not only because it was local and convenient but also because they agree it’s a great race.

Exploring New Roads

That’s how the tradition began. “But after maybe two or three times, we said, ‘Okay, we got this race down. Let’s try to explore.’ There are so many good races domestically and internationally that we just wanted to try something different and have a different experience,” Courtney says. 

Over the years, life has brought new and different opportunities, but the chance to race together has given them an ongoing reason to stay connected, reunite for trips together, and keep learning lessons the sport always gives them. “There is an annual commitment to the friendship that we are all able to invest in regardless of what we have going on in our lives,” Michael says. “Sometimes we just squeak it out—a few years ago, we only managed to do a 5K at a time when Kyleen and Courtney were already planning to come out and visit me. … This commitment we have made to one another is changing and evolving. I think that’s why it works. And it’s carried over into other areas of life—just because we agreed to something at the beginning doesn’t mean that it doesn’t shift and change, and that’s okay.”

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A Friendship That Keeps Pace

As they grow as people and stay close as friends, running shapes them in more ways than they expect. Michael will be the first to admit running has taught him a lesson or two. “I’m not a very patient person—I think Courtney and Kyleen know that,” he says. “Personally, I think running has taught me a lot about patience, particularly distance running. If you have a 10-mile long run, there’s no shortcut you can take.”

Courtney acknowledges that goals change with age as well—something that she, as a lifelong athlete who tends to be competitive, has to keep reminding herself. “I’m not going to get my PR like I had in my 20s,” she says. “I’m in my 30s now, and that’s fine. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve accepted that I just want to finish. Yes, it’s nice to have a certain time in mind, but I’m proud as long as I finish. And I know Michael and Kyleen will be cheering for me. It’s good to have that support no matter how hard I am on myself.” 

Kyleen, who was reluctant to take up running before this tradition, has found that her identity as a runner is just as valid as anyone else’s even if she’s slower on the racecourse than others out there. “We all run differently, but we’re all doing the sport we love,” she says.

The Next Starting Line

As for the next race they’ll do? They haven’t decided yet. They might go back to Flying Pig in Ohio, or they might do the Bird in Hand Half Marathon in Pennsylvania. And if one of them gets into an international race, they know that’s their excuse to plan a big trip together and keep supporting one another, both on the racecourse and beyond it.

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