Richard and Andrew didn’t make me run.

“You’ve created a monster.” That’s what one of my colleagues told my marathon running friend, Richard, the other day.

Richard and I meet weekly, but not to talk running. But I usually know when he’s heading to Boston or another marathon site. I used to laugh when he talked about running ten miles before we meet on Mondays.

Andrew is our son of twenty-eight years. A few years ago he started running. He’d run ten miles in a gym or in the streets of Chicago.

Rob lives back east. He started riding m...