The Runner

It was the first time he had run competitively in a very long time. It felt so much different from daily training where you could stop and rest or slow down whenever you felt like it. There was a definite feeling of pressure, even though this was supposed to be a fun run. He had already stumbled on the way down the trail to the crater floor, and now the heat was burning up through his sneakers, as he made his way across the caldera. He dreaded the climb back up the hill on the far side. Already his breathing was uneven and laboured, and he couldn’t seem to find his rhythm.

He was watching where he put his feet as the terrain was so uneven and when he raised his head to see how much further he had to go, he noticed that he was following a pair of very attractive long female legs. His eyes moved up to a pair of silky royal blue shorts, which were topped off with a cropped white tee shirt. Her blonde hair was tied back in a bouncing pony tail. She seemed to be running effortlessly, her feet light and even on the warm lava rock. He tried to lengthen his stride to catch her up, but found himself gasping for air and a side pain developing.

He decided that although it was embarrassing to be having trouble keeping up with a girl, actually it did have its advantages. He hadn’t seen her face yet, but the view from the rear was certainly more than promising. Her legs were muscular and tanned, and her buns were round and taut as they moved beneath the silky fabric. He noticed that his breathing had become less laboured while he was distracted, and his stride had become more rhythmic.

Soon they were approaching the uphill climb that he had dreaded. Two men running together passed him, and his view of the long legs and blue shorts was limited to a glimpse every now and again. It was crucial that he watch every footfall as there were so many lose rocks on the narrow trail. When they reached the top he tried again to increase his pace to catch up to the swinging pony tail, but she was pulling ahead of him with long, relaxed strides. “Damn,” he thought, “if only I was 20 years younger, this would be no problem at all. It sucks being 40.” He laboured his way across the finish line and was greeted by his wife and son cheering him on and snapping pictures.

There was a large crowd of finishers and supporters milling around, and he grabbed a cup of water and wondered around for a few minutes looking for the girl. There was no sign of her, so he headed down the road to cool out. After a while he started to walk, and stopped to stretch out his hamstrings for a while. As he was leaning against the railing doing some lunges, he suddenly saw her jogging towards him, and she flashed him a wide smile as she passed by.

He turned immediately and started walking back to the finishing area. The place was mobbed with people now, runners and supporters mingling together discussing the race. He was waylaid several times by old friends and other runners, during each conversation his eyes roamed through the crowd searching for the blonde pony tail and blue shorts. There was no sign of her. He stayed with his family to watch the awards being presented, but still did not see the girl again.

Later as he was taking his shower he closed his eyes and felt the pleasure of the hot water running over his sore shoulders. His mind became filled with fantasies: she was standing behind him in the shower. She was soaping his shoulders, her hands running down his sinewy back muscles, down over his outer thighs. Then she brought her hands up the inside of his knees, up his inner thighs, then around over his flat abdomen and up over his chest. “Oh, touch me there,” he thought, “touch me there”. He realized his penis was full and hard, throbbing with desire, he could imagine her slippery fingers encircling his organ, gently squeezing, caressing its delicate head. He could feel her erect nipples pressing against his back. He moaned involuntarily and was left with no choice but to relieve himself. “Wow!” he said to himself, “if this girl is such a turn on in a fantasy I wonder what she would be like in real life?” Who was she? Where had she come from? Perhaps she was here from another island to run the race, and he would never see her again. She was certainly the stuff that dreams were made of that was for sure.

The next day he felt incredibly tired, and his wife suggested they drive across the island and spend the day on the beach. She even agreed to do the driving and he put his feet up in the back of the car and watched the tops of the trees and the telephone wires zipping by. His mind kept wondering back to the girl in the blue shorts. Each time it did, he felt a physical throb in his genitals and a bulge growing inside his shorts.

It was a beautiful sunny day at the beach and the wide expanse of hard sand was very inviting. Although he didn’t feel up to running he wanted to stretch out and walk. His son was happily splashing in the shore break so he strolled off along the beach on his own. When he reached the far end of the beach he stopped to cool off in the water, letting the gentle waves slap against his ankles.

Something caught his eye and he turned around sharply. There, running towards him, was the girl. There was no mistaking the pony tail bobbing and the loose rhythmic stride, which covered the wet sand in such a relaxed manner. This time she was wearing a very revealing, blue high cut bikini. Blue must be her favourite colour, he thought. He could see her breasts bouncing as she ran. He turned to face her, and she seemed to recognize him because she smiled brightly and slowed to a walk. Then even better she stopped and said “Didn’t I see you at the race yesterday?” He wished his mind would work quicker, he wanted to come up with some clever or witty thing to say to impress her, but all he could say was “Yes, I was behind you for a while.” Oh, God, how lame, he thought. “I must cool out now, do you want to join me?” She asked. Do I ever, he thought, and said “Sure, I’ve just been walking myself.”

They walked briskly towards the end of the beach, and he asked her “Do you live here, or are you visiting.” “Well,” she answered, “I’m only here for a few days, then I’m going to Australia. I’m staying with some old family friends in Hilo, and they’re not into running or anything physical.” So he asked her, “Do you usually train every day?” “I love to run, but actually I would really like to have a running partner while I’m here. Would you by any chance have time to show me some good places to go?” His first thought was, “Shit, I probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with her!” But who cared, she had invited him to run with her and he couldn’t imagine anything more delightful. “Of course,” he responded “I know all the good spots, and I usually run in the evening after work. Would you like to meet up tomorrow and I can show you around a bit?” She said that would be perfect, and that her name was Robyn. They made arrangements to meet up at Lilioukalani Gardens since she was staying near Banyan Drive.

When he headed back along the beach, the tiredness he had felt earlier had completely disappeared. The long expanse of hard wet sand was now tremendously appealing, and he couldn’t resist breaking into a slow relaxing jog as he made his way back to his family.

The next day seemed interminably long and tedious. All he wanted to do was to get ready for his rendezvous with Robyn. He kept glancing at his watch, and sometimes it seemed as if it stopped altogether. Every time he thought about running side by side with her along some back roads his heart quickened, and his pulse raced. The familiar bulge in his pants started to expand again. Finally he made excuses to leave early explaining that he was going to run with an old college friend, Robin, who was here visiting for a few days.

When he arrived at the meeting place she was already there sitting on the grass stretching. She greeted him warmly and they discussed how far they would like to run. It was decided they would keep it to a 5K and he planned out a route for them. Soon they were running together over the bridge and up towards the hills. Either she had slowed her pace for him or else he was so elated that his running had suddenly improved. He seemed to have no problem keeping in step with her, and they were even able to chat a little as they went.

She told him that she and a girlfriend were going to meet up in Sydney. They had a bet together to see who could run in the most states in the country. They had thought it would be more fun if they split up and then shared their experiences afterwards. She also enjoyed photography and tried to take pictures of the places she had been running so that she could show them to her friend. Part of the bet was to keep records, so she had been very good about keeping a journal and describing all the places she had seen on the trip. He was fascinated by this, and as she related some of her running across America tales he was more and more entranced with her.

When they arrived back at their original starting place they drank water and sat down to stretch out again. It was a warm, humid evening but not raining. He so wanted to touch her golden, suntanned skin. See her hair let down out of its pony tail, put his hands on her firm breasts and butt. She kept things very neutral though, and he didn’t see an opportunity to make any progress in this direction, until she asked him, “Do you by any chance have a 4-wheel drive vehicle?” “Well, yes I have a truck for my business.” He told her. “Why?” “Well, one of the things I just think would be so incredible to do, would be to drive up to the top of Mauna Kea and see the stars and run a little at 12,000 feet elevation.” “Whoa,” he said “Going from sea level to that much elevation can make you really light headed you know?” “Oh, I guess you’re right.” She replied, “I hadn’t considered that. It just seemed like such a novel experience – I might even get extra points in the bet for it! He thought for a moment, and then said, “How about if we ran at about 6,000 ft. and then drove up the mountain afterwards to look at the sky?” She immediately replied, “Well, that sounds like a good compromise, can we do it tomorrow?” “No problem!” he said, his mind racing ahead to star gazing with this delectable companion.

He drove her back to the apartment she was staying in, and when he leant over to open the door for her, she kissed him on the cheek and said how much fun it had been having him as a running partner. He was elated. This running goddess thought he was fun! Wow. He smiled to himself all the way home, and as he took his shower that evening his fantasies grew even more outrageous. As he threw his head back beneath the steam and hot water he could feel her rubbing herself against his back. This time her hands reached for him and gently caressed his throbbing shaft, she cupped her hands under his balls and he let out a groan of ecstasy. She seemed more real now because he could even hear her voice whispering into his neck, saying “Sean, you’re so sexy, you’re in such great shape, you feel so good to touch.” He could hardly wait until their next running date tomorrow.

Eventually the time did indeed arrive, and as he drove up the Saddle Road with Robyn beside him he was thinking, “Geez, life doesn’t get much better than this!” He parked his truck at the State Park and they set off on their run. She regaled him with stories of previous runs, comparing this elevation to running in Denver. Although it was usually harder to get enough oxygen into his lungs at 5,000 ft. this time he seemed to have no problems at all. They ran along together and it felt as if his feet were hardly touching the ground. As they ran back towards his truck Robyn reached for his hand and squeezed it, saying “Hey, we did it Sean, this was really a run to write home about.” His delight increased even more, and he couldn’t keep the grin from spreading across his face.

After they had cooled down it was already quite dark, and they set off up the road to the summit. It was a slow drive but they chatted comfortably together as if they had known each for much longer than just a few days. When they reached the crest they jumped from the truck and found it to be extremely cold outside. They decided the best solution was to cuddle up under a blanket in the back of his pick up so that they could gaze up at the stars.

Robyn was quite knowledgeable about various constellations and as the night grew darker the stars became brighter than ever. The Milky Way stretched across the sky like a brilliant ribbon of light and as they lay back looking up at the vast expanse of sky she laid her head on his shoulder and told him, “You know this is the most romantic evening I have spent in my life!” Before he knew it they were kissing deeply, and then beyond his wildest dreams she was running her hands inside his shirt and along the waist band of his shorts. He followed her cue and slipped his hands inside her running bra to feel the creamy skin beneath and the erect nipples waiting for his touch. They practically tore the clothes from each other in the heat of passion, and within minutes he was slipping inside her wet and slippery treasure box. It seemed to be the ultimate climax of his life, a beautiful girl, the stars, the heat they were creating beneath the blanket. It was almost unbelievable, he thought he might be dreaming, but when she said to him, “God, that was totally wild, Sean!” he had to believe this was real.

They drove back down the hill to sea level, and as he glanced across at her he could see her smiling, and felt incredibly satisfied with himself. This was one night he would never, ever forget for the rest of his life. Finally they had reached her apartment, and not wanting the evening to end, he walked her to her door.

She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him one last time. He sighed contentedly and didn’t want to ever let this vision leave. Then she said, “You know what, you just made me the richest girl in the world.” He wasn’t sure exactly what she could mean and looked at her questioningly. “Well,” she explained “I told you only half of the bet I had with my friend. It’s true that we bet money to see who could run in the most states, we also had another bet to see who could get laid in the most states in the most unusual places! I think the top of Mauna Kea definitely takes the prize, don’t you think?”