Ahhh … we made it. Another year, another annual gathering to kick tires on what we did well, what we could do better and all the things in between. Another chance to see folks we’d never see otherwise, catch up on their goings on, their families, their accomplishments, their businesses.

In coming together we lament our trials and tribulations. Our race finishes. Our health. We honor those we’ve lost. We tell their stories. We share a good laugh, and some tears, perhaps, over an anecdote that illustrates what we’ll never forget about them.

We also welcome in a fresh crop of newbies. The terrified and overwhelmed. The deer in headlights. We widen our arms to make them feel welcome. Let them know that everything is going to be OK. Just as someone did for us long ago.

All of this, I venture to say, is a necessary part of setting the stage for the coming year. Time together at The Running Event in San Antonio, TX, next month is a poignant way for each of us to fill our tanks so we might be ready to go out and do it all over again.

It’s about the people

So yeah, you’ve arrived at the show with a plan. That’s crucial and important. Maybe you even brought along a team of your people to help execute it. Folks with whom you can split the workload. Maybe you’ll together reconvene at day’s end to download the highlights. All the new products, new people, new partnerships. All the good discounts, the event support, the possible collabs. This is all in a day’s work at TRE. If you’ve been here before, you know the deal.

But let’s not forget about what’s most important at this gathering. It’s simple — it’s the people.

I’ve never been a shoe guy and frankly I don’t really care about tech or accessories. This may sound counterintuitive to someone in our business, but it’s the truth.

I have a lengthy resume of long races completed in shoes and insoles and socks of no particular category (shocker—they all worked fine). Many of these runs I’ve done in cotton clothing (the horror!) and eschewed science-driven sport nutrition in lieu of a pocketed baggie of trail mix and some nuggets of beef jerky.

I don’t much care about the what, but dang it, I am absolutely smitten by the who. My life is enriched by a wealth of colleagues who, over the years, have become dear friends. Sure, we may not talk all the time, but I’d drop everything on a dime to lend them a hand. And I know, without a doubt, that this move would be promptly reciprocated. It’s how we roll.

My years in the industry are also infused by a litany of folks whose names I don’t recall, but whose presence and words and willingness to take the time nudged me deeper into the fold. Folks who saw that “new guy” look on my face and graciously introduced themselves. A social cold call. How brave of them!

They saw me sitting alone at the lunch table and asked if they could join me. They struck up a pre-session conversation with a generic icebreaker (So…where are you from?). They didn’t mind fielding my awkward and sophomoric questions about things I probably should have already known. They made me feel like I was in the right place.

Now I’m the ‘old dog’

The people made me want to stay for as long as I’ve lingered — which, GULP, exceeds two decades at this point. My oh my, where has the time gone?

Somewhere along the way I became an old dog. A veteran to whom others reach out with questions. Someone with enough experience to have seen things done in multiple ways, some good and some not so good. Someone who remembers what once was.

I can tell the unbelievable stories, and from first-hand experience, of long ago days when we only used a Brannock device. When we held customers’ bare feet in our hands and wiggled their big toe to check their degree of STJ articulation. When we had to lace all the shoes before we put them in stock. When we accepted personal checks. 

All those details aside, the human component is all that really matters. None of us will give a dang about our multi-door mega network when we reach our personal horizons. But we’ll surely be thrilled to see a familiar face approaching with a knowing smile. A face that says, “I knew you when, and I still know you now.” One that conveys a certain joy for having landed in each other’s presence. Our connection is what matters the most. Shoot, it’s all that’s ever mattered.

So as you scoot through the halls in San Antonio, as you fill the city’s restaurants and bars and coffee shops with your fresh kicks, new PRs and industry chatter, I encourage you to take the time to stop. Pause a moment of comfort with comrades and find a chance to include someone new into the circle.

• The person sitting solo at the lunch table — that was you once.

• The person wandering the show without an entourage — that was you once.

• The person pretending to work on their laptop — that was you once.

• The person with no dinner plans — that was you once.

• The person who doesn’t know all the important stories — that was you once.

A chance to make an impact

Just like those who came before you in run specialty, just like those who made an indelible impact on your presence in this industry, you are what will become legacy for the up-and-comers. Let’s prove that what put us on the map is still a reality. That the people, more than anything else, is what makes specialty special. 

Have fun in San Antonio, folks. Your new friends can’t wait to meet you.