Maisie’s Marathon Loveseat

As I have grown older, I have become increasingly higher maintenance. Most of it is around my sleep. I am not too good to sleep on the floor or a couch, but if I have control I make sure I have a bed and ideally my own room. One of my best friends, Maisie, is a lot more easy going than me though.

This story happened a few years back when we planned to run the Nashville Marathon with some of our friends. Sarah, Maisie, and I had all run marathons before, but this was Carl and Anna’s first time. When I have a long race coming up, I plan to get some extra rest, more hydration, and sit a little more than usual in order to prepare my legs. Other people do a number of more extreme or elaborate things. Maisie isn’t one of these other people. She is one of the easiest to please people I know, especially when the annoyances or discomforts are for the sake of more quality time with people she loves. For this weekend, where hotel rooms are very expensive in Nashville and Airbnbs book up months in advance, we got one hotel room for the 5 of us and planned to get a cot. When we arrived though, we were told cots were a fire hazard, so they wouldn’t allow one in our room. I was pretty bummed and immediately tried to think of a solution. All the other rooms were booked because of the race. Maisie told me not to worry.

We went along with our night, had some laughs, and filled up on carbs. We decided to turn in pretty early. Sarah and I got in one bed, Carl and Anna in the other, and Maisie sat down on the loveseat and put her feet up on the ottoman. I tried to convince her she needed a bed, but she insisted on sleeping there. I eventually gave up and fell asleep. For a lot of people, sleep for the average day is important enough to demand a comfortable bed. For Maisie, the night before a marathon didn’t even require a bed.

The next day Maisie proved to me that she didn’t need that bed as she ran side by side with Anna all morning, offering moral support through the tough stretches of the 26.2 miles. That evening, we were all moving a little slower. Each of us was sore or chafed in funny places and were hurting. When I made it back to the room that night, Maisie, Carl, and Anna were already asleep. One bed was full, ours was empty, and even after a 26.2 mile race around Nashville, Maisie was asleep again on the loveseat.

Maisie insisted on splitting that room evenly between the five of us, and the only words I’ve ever heard out of her mouth about that weekend was how fun it was. This race (though we decided to do the half marathon) became our tradition over the next few years. It was one of my favorite traditions with our friends from Arkansas, and we always had a blast, but nothing tops the smile that comes to my face when I imagine the sore, chafed, and exhausted Maisie asleep on that loveseat.