Cheers!

I’ve never been good with names. The shaking, the sweaty palms, gearing up for my awkward introduction – “Hi, I’m Freya,” –  the person I’m actually meeting gets lost in my internal chaos. It’s unfortunate, I know. 

This morning, within minutes of meeting the Achilles athlete I was about to run with, I realized I already forgot his name (no surprise there!). I guess it also didn’t help that I was so wrapped up in the mileage he wanted to do – six miles was certainly sounding like a lot given the humidity. The guilt came rushing to me as we started our run and the athlete kept on working my name into our lively conversations. He remembered my name despite all the obstacles he must face as an athlete with a disability. I wanted to at least do the same. But how? I knew his name started with an “R,” but guessing from there was way too risky. Simply ask? No, he already knew my name when we exchanged greetings and I really didn’t want to seem like his hadn’t mattered enough for me to remember it. 

I was about to give up, when I heard a “Wooh! Go Raymond!” from behind me. Then Raymond raised his arms in victory and tipped his head back with a smile, yelling back, “thanks, man!” So his name was Raymond! Turns out everyone from Achilles, athletes and guides from other groups alike, knew his name and loved him. Along our six mile run, so many different people yelled out greetings to Raymond, and he, in turn, would smile and laugh and yell some motivational phrases back. It was by the second or third greeting, so still at the beginning of our run, when I realized that this run, for Raymond, was all about having fun. Throughout the run, Raymond carried a small speaker from which he blasted his favorite 80s hits. He also quizzed me on 80s trivia along the way. Although my brain became a tangled web of 80s theme songs, one stuck out. On a particularly beautiful, flat stretch of Central Park, the theme from Cheers began to play: “Sometimes you wanna go where everybody knows your name. And they’re always glad you came.” I then realized what Achilles was for Raymond – a place where everyone knew his name. Along the run, Raymond told me that he’s been running with Achilles for ten years, and that the most special aspect of Achilles for him is the social scene. Raymond travels by train from New Jersey early every Saturday morning because going to a place where everyone knows his name is just that special. 

For Achilles athletes like Raymond, Central Park is the bar in Cheers. While New York City can feel like an impersonal metropolis, when you’re a regular with Achilles, that all melts away. We are like the regulars at Cheers; except, rather than sitting and drinking beer, we are conquering challenges together through.

This run put things into perspective for me. In this situation, I didn’t really have to learn Raymond’s name. I could have gone through the entire run without saying his name. But then I wouldn’t have been continuing this theme of connection Achilles has going. I would have been ignoring the very thing that makes Raymond want to wake up at 5:30 every Saturday morning and make the trek towards our running community.