Sigh. I finally donated these red Brooks shoes to a thrift store. For road racing, I run almost exclusively in Brooks Launch, and these were one of the first pairs I bought. They’d been hanging out in my garage, deflated, useless for running. It’s hard to give up shoes that have given you so much.

So I wrote my shoes a sonnet.

My Worn-Out Red Running Shoes

My scarlet Brooks, with laces all askew,
Haunt my garage, red badge of races past.
They brought a new PR, my first BQ,
And helped me run some crucial races fast.

I wore them first in nearby Parowan,
When sliding mud the runners did obstruct,
Re-routed, so the race could carry on,
Those last four uphill miles, they truly sucked.

Then in September’s drizzly Cedar race
Four hours of sleep and windy at the start,
They carried me at such a frantic pace
My previous records seem to fly apart.

And last, in red-rock hills and templed gorge,
We qualified for Boston in St. George.