I ended up turning onto the street above, and the view was so incredible that I had to take a picture. I even posted it to Instagram and Facebook–something I rarely do these days.

I then started to look through my feed on Facebook and came across a post about the passing of one of my running friends. It has been a couple of years since I last saw him out on a run. He was a handsome guy who ran much faster than I ever could and had a disarming smile. He was one of the friendliest persons I knew and very down to earth. He was part of the group I traveled with to Spain to run a race and loved how he threw himself a great party on his birthdays, December 31st. I remember thinking how lucky he was in life with a wonderful family, a great career, and a natural athlete with good looks. I still can’t wrap my head around that he passed away yesterday. He was so full of life!

A couple of times, we ran together even though I was a much slower pace for him. I remember him asking me for recommendations for classical music performances to take his daughters and also talking about colleges and universities for them and asking me about my alma mater.
I’m in shock and disbelief.