Kalamazoo, MI ➡️ Defiance, OH
Today was definitely one of my favorite days of 4K so far! We each ran 10 miles, briefly crossing back into Indiana before heading into Ohio. It was a super hot day, so we were trying to get our miles done early, but the heat index was already over 100 before noon, and we knew it was supposed to get much higher with the current midwestern heat wave. What made our day so great was that right when some of us were hitting a wall with the heat and humidity, a guy pulled up next to our van in his pickup truck when we were waiting for the previous pair to reach us. We thought he was another kind stranger stopping to see if we needed help with the van (as many people often do), but he explained to us that he has a pond behind his house, and we were welcome to come and use it. He mentioned that he had at one point been a runner; his son had passed by our van on the way home and saw us running, then went home and told his family. We all thought it sounded awesome (although a little strange - a random guy inviting us to swim in his pond), but thought we might just go ahead and finish our miles after he left.
After another couple of legs, he pulled up to us again in a different truck, now with a teenager in the passenger seat, inviting us to hang out at his house with the other people our age who were also there as part of their family reunion. We all voted to go ahead over there (with a group of 14 people, we figured we would be fine if anything were to turn out to be sketchy), and we were all so glad that we did. We pulled up to a beautiful house with a little swimming pond behind it, complete with a floating dock (with a slide), a paddle board, and more. This incredibly kind family fed us lunch and welcomed us into their air-conditioned home, and we all swam in their pond. We ended up staying for over an hour and had some good conversation with everyone there - Pat, the man who invited us over, explained how they have an annual family reunion at their house, with as many as 40 people attending, so they could easily handle the 14 of us in addition to the 20 or so family members who were already there. It was an amazing afternoon on an incredibly hot day; the heat index reached 107 degrees, but our swim in the pond and ice cold drinks that this family so generously gave us made it so much more bearable. Some of us ran a couple of our remaining miles with one of the guys there who was our age, and we're hoping we convinced him to do 4K next year. This family was so interested in what we were doing and so ready to welcome us into their home that they gave us their information to see if they could host next year's team. It was definitely a highlight of my overall 4K experience - getting welcomed into a total stranger's home and immediately feeling like part of their family is such a unique experience that I think is very special to 4K and experiences like this.
