Early Goodbye?

Anthony Harris, hybrid half-miler and utility runner for Garden State Track Club, retired last night from complications of  training for his most prominent 800M race. He was 27 years old. Out-spoken and dedicated, Harris never looked the part of embattled runner and dreamer. But, in the final days of his life, he revealed an unknown side of his psyche. This hidden quasi-Olympian persona surfaced during the Michael Johnson-like pursuit of a long reputed personal record, a time with whom he was within a precious and mere .08 seconds of breaking. Sadly, the protracted goal ended late Saturday night in complete and utter failure as Harris once again failed to reach his goal suffering a loss along with heartbreak. Yet even in certain defeat, the courageous Harris secretly clung to the belief that life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences. Uh-uh. But rather, its a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite, sublime plan. Asked about the retirement of his dear friend, Chuck Schkneecloth, the President and Head Coach of the Garden State Track Club, described Harris as a changed man in the final days of his career. "Things were clearer for him," Schknecloth noted. Ultimately Harris concluded that if we are to live life in harmony with the track Gods, we must all possess a powerful faith in what the ancients used to call "fatum", what we currently refer to as destiny.