Local Runner With No Marathon on Calendar Aimlessly Drifting Through Life Like a Rudderless Ship
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For the first time in five years, a local runner has no upcoming marathons on his race calendar, Dumb Runner has learned, leaving him feeling aimless and bereft.
Ben E. King, 36, a social media manager and father of one, ran his first marathon at age 31, sources said, and since then has run at least two each year—one in the spring, one in the fall. Sometimes, the sources said, he would run an additional marathon in between, as a “training race.”
Now, for reasons that are unclear, King’s race calendar is empty. The effect on King, said those who know him, is impossible to miss.
“I asked him the other day what he was training for,” said a source. “Because, you know, Ben is always training for something.”
King froze, the source said, then looked away.
“Nothing,” he said. “Just… nothing, I guess.”
The lack of a race goal has affected not just King’s running motivation, sources said, but his overall mood.
“I’ve never seen him like this,” said one. “Ben has always been really driven and focused, you know? Now, though, he seems listless and adrift, almost.”
“A shell of his former self,” the source added.
Reached for comment, King told Dumb Runner, “Sigh.”
