Marriage, like marathonin', ain't easy

My best man speech yesterday. One of the hardest things I've had to do, mostly because I didn't want to mess it up.



Hello, I'm Ryan. If you know me, you know that i'm horrible w/ names. If i met you today, I've probably already forgotten your name and if we've been friends for years, there's no way i remember how we met. Someone has to make a really huge first impression for me to recall these details. for example, there are only two people in this room, I remember the exact moment we met. the first is my wife Joangrace (who is as beautiful as the day i met her during senior prom) and the second, this man, Joey Ting. Somehow, he found his way to my 25th birthday 8 years ago. All i could think was, 'dude, who brought this dork.'

based on that first impression alone, you're probably wondering how Joey and I came to be BFF - that's a little tricky to explain. you see that which had brought us so close together is sadly no longer a part of Joey's life. he'll say he's better now, but i think he may be permanently injured...I'm talking about running. up until the point where he blew out his knees, Joey and I ran several races together, including two marathons.

Through the miles Joey and I became best of buds. And best buds by my definition help you move, let you crash and take you to the airport. Believe me, I've hit him up for all three. He's the ninong of my child and had I met him any sooner, he would have been giving the same speech at my wedding.

my most memorable moment came in our longest training run leading up to the 2007 Rock 'n' Roll marathon. I was late and rather than running ahead of me with the rest of the 200-300 people in our training group, he waited. The course was 22 miles long and although joey's way faster, we were side by the whole time and some 3+ hours later, that's how we finished, side-by-side, sweaty and shirtless *unviels giant card board cut out of the two of us running*. and yes, this will be raffled off along w/ the centerpieces.

that year Joey and I ran the first 7 or so miles the marathon together before he sped off to finish w/ a 37 minute Personal Best. And although I came in well behind Joey, I finished nearly 1 hour faster than the year before, a Personal Best at the time. I know i couldn't have done that without Joey's support each and every Saturday morning in the 5 months leading up to that day and i like to think I helped Joey to his fastest marathon to date.

Recalling these moments made me realize that marathons are like marriage. They're both long. have their ups and their downs. all your friends think you are crazy for doing it.

Now i'm no expert, but I have run 9 marathons and I've been married for 5 years... 7 years. And the bottom line is Marriage, like marathonin', ain't easy. both need to be respected. Both take work, require commitment. and neither should be entered into lightly. Dont think about today as your finish line. because like marathonin', it's about the journey and who you choose to take with you. Erika, take comfort in knowing you've found the best training partner possible. I hope you both push each other to personal bests on a daily basis.

to joey and erika!


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