In memory of Zach

This morning, as I was thinking about my future after my traineeship, I visited the web page of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) at Georgia Tech to learn more about their program because of my increasing interest toward environmental studies. Instead of finding what I wanted, I found something I did not want - passing of my friend, Zach Wansley.

I met him during the first team meeting of GT Cross Country in 2005, which was the prime time of my running career. The kid sure had the endurance of a runner, but there was something that he lacked in order to qualify to be competitive at collegiate level - speed. He may have been able to beat most of my teammates for distances over half-marathon (13.1 km), but cross country (5-10 km) was too short for him. So he left the team, but we met each other quite often while running on campus. When runners pass by each other, there's not much you can say to each other... you only have a split second and one short breath to say something. Zach Wansley, however, used to always shout out "hey Masato!" when we passed by, even across from the street. We weren't really a friend, for we never hang out or did anything together that normal friends do. But somehow we were connected, and his shout still seems to be echoing in my ears as I write.

And it saddens me greatly to hear about this news.

According to the CEE website, he passed away while on a 20 mile (32 kilometer) run in preparation for an upcoming marathon. Reminds me of my first boxing instructor, who passed after a bout in Golden Glove Championship league. Their passing is truly sorrowful, but at least they passed while doing something they loved. I'm going to continue running and boxing on their behalf, and hopefully when I pass, I'll be doing something I love as well.

Rest In Peace, Zach. I hope running shoes are free where you are going.