#livelikeluke

Our family friend, Andrea Gray (right), said she was stopping by this evening and had a special visitor. We thought she was probably bringing her new pet hedgehog or something. Nope, she brought Abby Sweeney — her new friend, and fellow distance runner, who started at NW Missouri State this year. Abby is Charlie Sweeney’s sister. Luke and Charlie were in the same recruiting class at Western Colorado and we’re going to be roommates when Luke went back to college. Abby and Andrea (a Drury distance runner) met this winter at an indoor meet at Pitt State. They were both getting ready to run in the same race and were sporting “Live Like Luke” gear. They chatted about the LLL moniker and suddenly realized the connection. Many months later, they’re friends. Keep in mind, Abby’s from Maryland and transferred to Northwest from East Carolina. Just the coincidence that these two, both with a connection to Luke, would, not just meet, but become friends is mind-boggling. Sixteen months after Luke’s death, our family is still heartbroken, but the thought that these two young women would forge a friendship because they both knew Luke definitely lifts our spirits. #LukeLives #LiveLikeLuke https://www.instagram.com/p/CAUNpawDUY7/?igshid=17d35h4dwglfr

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been encouraged by how many people are keeping Luke’s memory alive and how kind people are to share those efforts with our family. Last weekend, our family friend Andrea Gray met Abby Sweeney at a track meet in Kansas. Abby’s the sister of Luke’s good friend and teammate at Western-Charlie Sweeney. Andrea and Abby are both college runners in Missouri, and they connected over the Luke tributes they both sport on their uniforms. This week, a former TV colleague from our days in Nebraska, Eric, encountered the Western women’s 4x400 team at the Denver airport. They were sporting Luke Miller ribbons and he sent photos to me. I haven’t talked to Eric in years, but he was kind enough to make the connection with the team and relay the encounter back to me. Friday, one of Luke’s friends at Western, Meg, sent Kelly and I a photo of the plaque honoring Luke at Western. That night in Gunnison, runners competed in the “Luke Miller Memorial Mile” during the final home indoor track meet of the season. That afternoon, I’d gone for a run by Luke’s statue. I stopped at his statue and was telling him about our trip to New York (yes, I stop and talk to his statue—out loud) when a nice couple stopped at the statue and asked if I was looking for the geocache in the statue. We got to talking about who Luke was and that I was his father. They did not know his story or why the statue is there. They showed me the geocache website, which had photos and a bio of Luke and I helped them retrieve the geocache log. I never want Luke to be forgotten—more than a year after his death I am encouraged that his memory will survive. Thank you. #LukeLives #LiveLikeLuke #ThankYou https://www.instagram.com/p/B86wrEyH9bj/?igshid=wet2cx3cm8ts

According to Luke, this was supposed to be the year for Mountaineer running glory. Two years ago this weekend, Luke ran with his Western Colorado teammates as a true freshman at the national championship and earned an NCAA Division II fourth place trophy. After that he said the plan was for him to redshirt in 2018 and then go after a national championship in 2019. This year, Luke and his fellow Mountaineer freshmen from the fall of 2017 would have another year of training and the older guys would be at peak fitness and ability. Luke got epilepsy and died when he was headed back to Gunnison to join his Mountaineer brothers. He never got the chance to try to achieve his goal and the team’s goal. Tomorrow, his Mountaineer teammates will compete for a national championship in California. I know the Mountaineers are missing Luke – not just as a friend but as a competitor — but, despite challenges, Western has a chance to win a title. So, boys, when you toe the line tomorrow keep this in mind: Pain is temporary, glory is forever. Repeat that phrase when you get that burn in your throat and your calves start to cramp and you want to take the foot off the gas – Pain is temporary, glory is forever. Run with Luke in your hearts and know that he is proud of you if you leave it all out on the course. I’ve got my FloTrack subscription ready to watch and I’ll be cheering you on from Missouri. Good luck. #LukeLives #LiveLikeLuke #feartheneers https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Mh_LTHOk7/?igshid=1xhzq0bjg9y6i

People are encouraged to wear cardigans today for World Kindness Day in honor of Mr. Rogers. This was Luke’s favorite sweater. I think it was a double XL. He wore it on this day for Halloween as a “philosophy professor at a small, east coast, liberal arts college.” His impression, vocally, was basically Larry David doing Bernie Sanders. Luke used to talk about the resurgence in popularity of figures like Mr. Rogers and Bob Ross as “Nice Core”—a response to our increasingly coarse society. While Luke swore a lot more than Mr. Rogers and was more intense than Bob Ross (who isn’t?) Luke embodied the spirit of “nice core.” He was a nice kid who always considered everyone else’s feelings. #LukeLives #LiveLikeLuke #worldkindnessday https://www.instagram.com/p/B40myijHeKO/?igshid=1plsncao4qb6c

Super proud of the Western XC teams. Men were second and the women third at the South Central Regional. Both squads were automatic qualifiers to the NCAA championships in two weeks in Sacramento. Plus, Luke’s buddies Charlie, Taylor, Evan and Gage were all top 20. Earlier this week, Charlie sent me a picture of himself in his #LiveLikeLuke shirt. Keep grinding and good luck. https://www.instagram.com/p/B4qSKG9HKIp/?igshid=1vlvs16rytzod

Early morning for me in Blue Eye for the Dogwood Canyon 15K trail race. Not as early as if I’d started my day in Springfield. Thanks to the hospitality of the Jarvis’s for letting me use their lake house to crash. I was not ready for all of the stream crossings. More than a dozen times we crossed through H2O with some of the water nearly knee deep. It was supposed to be 15k or 9.3 miles but it was nearly 10 miles. Crazy thing—my Garmin watch decided to re-set about 500 yards before the finish. My time and distance were preserved but my step count was erased. #RunnerProblems I wore my Live Like Luke shirt on the outside and my Western Colorado University Shirt underneath (the Mountaineers were at NCAA regionals today: Men were second, ladies third and both teams are automatic qualifiers for the NCAA D-II XC championships). Glad I ran it—glad it’s done. Digits: 229th out of 431 finishers. 17th in my age group out of 29. #LukeLives #LiveLikeLuke #TrailRunner (at Dogwood Canyon) https://www.instagram.com/p/B4p-kj8nidM/?igshid=hydhcc9f4gm2

Went for a ride tonight and got to visit Luke. People stopped while I was taking pictures and raved about the sculpture. They asked me about Luke and where he ran XC and track. They told me they’d heard the story about Luke and the statue from a fellow trail traveler. I’m so thankful to have this permanent marker of our son. Thanks to New Adventure Sculptures and Ozark Greenways. #LukeLives #LiveLikeLuke (at Greenways Trails) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1Xs6erHr4V/?igshid=1pw8kgxppia34

Tuesday night all ages track meet in Rogersville. Mile: 6:38 Half mile: 3:08 Quarter-mile split in 4x400: 1:22 Thanks to Fleet Feet Springfield for organizing the meet. Rocked my Western Track shirt as I try to #LiveLikeLuke. #LukeLives (at Logan-Rogersville High) https://www.instagram.com/p/Byl-f9kHF16/?igshid=1r5wjxctia9xt