Fast Runner, Slow Runner Somehow Make Relationship Work
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A local running couple are still together after almost two years, Dumb Runner has learned, defying expectations of family and friends who predicted the relationship wouldn’t last.
Oliver Leiber, 36, met Paula Abdul, 29, at a Valentine’s Day 5K in 2024 and “immediately hit it off,” sources said, despite their obvious differences.
“Paula was wearing next to nothing, even though it was freezing out, and doing some strides before the start to warm up,” according to a fellow runner who requested anonymity. “Oliver, meanwhile, was just standing there in the middle of the starting corral, dressed in baggy shorts and a cotton hoodie, yanking one leg behind his back.”
“But somehow, they caught each other’s eye.”
Abdul went on to win the women’s race, finishing in 16:50; Leiber would struggle across the line nearly eight minutes later.
“I was wrapping up my cooldown jog when I saw (Leiber) finish,” Abdul told Dumb Runner in an interview. “I remembered seeing him at the start of the race, and I thought he was super-cute.”
The attraction was mutual, Leiber said.
“I totally noticed Paula,” he said. “She was so hot. And so fast! I never thought she would go for someone as slow as me.”
After a few dates, the two were officially a couple.
“People said it wouldn’t last, because we were so different,” said Abdul. “I mean, I do my easy runs at Oliver’s tempo pace.”
“Or I would,” she added, “if Oliver did tempo runs. Which he does not.”
Leiber admitted he had his own doubts, at first, when it came to the relationship’s long-term chances. But, despite some bumps, he and Abdul are “more in love than ever.”
“It just goes to show you,” he said. “Opposites really do attract.”
