Dear Reader Column - June 21, 2022

Dear Reader,

Today’s guest author, Kelly I. Hitchcock, is a humorous fiction author who grew up in the

Ozarks but now calls Austin, Texas home. Her work has been featured in Clackamas Literary Review, Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, and Moms Don't Have Time to Write. Her new book is Community Klepto, set in suburban Kansas City in the early 2010s, Community Klepto--a droll combination of Bridget Jones' Diary and Choke--makes incarnate the characters and shenanigans that go on in every gym in the world.

Be sure to enter Kelly’s giveaway. (Details are at the end of her column.)

Please welcome to the book club, Kelly Hitchcock…

I hated running before I loved it. When we had to do the timed mile tests in PE, I'd be the one walking and sulking the whole time while my little brother lapped me, going for a new land speed record. I wasn't fast (my brother must have gotten some mutant gene that I didn't), and I would never be fast, so I didn't see the point. Also hurdles terrified me.

It wasn't until a couple friends of mine ran a marathon that I thought distance running was in the realm of possibility for me. I didn't have to be fast--they sure weren't--I just had to keep going. I started training when I was living in Kansas City and getting roped into events for Corporate Challenge, because I was in my 20s and couldn't say no to people yet. I refused to do any sprints (not a flat-out refusal, more of a suggestion that someone with a remote chance of sprinting off the blocks was a better choice), but I agreed to run the one mile.

In my heat was a visibly pregnant woman. Suddenly I had a goal. I didn't have to be the fastest; I just had to be faster than the pregnant woman. I ran that mile in a little under 9 minutes, which

was a personal best. The next week, I ran two miles (slower, since I was by myself and didn't have any pregnant ladies to beat). The next, I ran 4. Finally, I registered for the Twin Cities Marathon, reluctantly paid my $50 fee, and started training in earnest.

And I was shocked to find out I didn't hate running after all. I didn't even hate 4 AM, which is when I'd have to start my long Sunday runs to avoid the summer heat. When I was out running early in the morning, it was the only time I could really sit with my thoughts and feelings, feel the breeze on my face, and watch the city come to life. I discovered audiobooks, which meant I could read for hours without being accused of being a lazy slug. I could top off the day with a 2,000-calorie cheeseburger and a nap.

I miss distance running, but my knees sure don't. Now that I'm pushing 40 with two young children, I'd give my left arm to have hours outside all by myself, a 2,000-calorie cheeseburger, or a nap...let alone all 3! But I'll happily settle for nice long walks with nice long books.

I am giving away 5 advance review copies of my forthcoming novel Community Klepto. To enter the giveaway, send an email with a dirty limerick (okay, the limerick is optional) to: [email protected] along with your name and mailing address.

-- Kelly I. Hitchcock

Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.

Suzanne Beecher
[email protected]

Comments

[Kelly I. Hitchcock]

Thank you for featuring my book and my letter! It was a lot of fun to write (both the book and the article).