1 minute read
REMEMBERING Lalatendu Bag 1978-2020
Lal, with his friends and training partners, Shawn Scott, Lindsay Ferris Martin and Dustin Martin
BY LINDSAY FERRIS MARTIN
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When I read of Cincinnati’s passing, I was in disbelief. I’m sure when I write this, and if you knew Lal, you too would agree. He was taken from us all too soon.
There is no way I’ll ever write anything that will truly reflect the kindness in his soul.
Long distance running was a farfetched idea to me when I first started running with MDRA and met Lal, but with him and the rest of the MDRA family, I realized that with friends (also known as my running family) long distance running wasn’t just a crazy notion but a reality, an escape from stress and a place to find lifelong friends and inspiration.
Lal (or as many of us called him “Cincinnati”) and I got a chance to run together often. Being far more experienced (and faster) than I, he often would slow his pace down for me, just so we could engage in long run convos (a form of communication you can really only understand if you’re a part of a long distance running group like MDRA).
Hours of running felt like minutes. When pain took over my feet, legs or tried to mentally get me to quit, Cincinnati made for a great distraction and inspiration. We talked about family, especially our daughters. Our daughters are about the same age. We were excited to see them start to catch that run bug as they watched us train, supported our water stops and attended races and MDRA meetings. It was wonderful to see Lal cross the finish line with pride and, most importantly, watch him beam with joy when he’d meet up with his family at the end of the race. I adored seeing the races he and his daughter would do together.
His life finish line came up too quickly for most of us. For his family and closest friends, thank you for sharing Cincinnati with our running family a few hours a week. I’m humbled to not only have the opportunity to know him but to learn from him and to be inspired by him.
