This morning, the streets of Colombo weren’t just our running track—they were our playground.

The journey actually started back on January 4th, when the Landmark Challenge was first announced in our CCR WhatsApp group. Almost immediately, the chat exploded with people frantically looking for partners. The banter was top-tier, with some runners joking that it would actually be easier to find a date in Colombo than to find a running partner for a 90-minute scramble!

As I was reading the chatter, I reached out to my running buddy, Nirosha, to see if she was up for it. Luckily, she was all in! It was only as I sat down to write this post that I realized January is clearly my month for successful “proposals.” Exactly ten years ago, on January 9th, I proposed to my wife—so I’m taking this partnership as a very good omen.

Before we could register, we needed the perfect team name. Since Nirosha is an English Lit teacher and I enjoy writing, we wanted something witty. I pitched a few puns: “Worst Pace Scenario,” “Game of Soles,” “Between a Walk and a Hard Pace,” and “Agony of De-Feet.” We were both immediately drawn to the same two, which was the first sign we’d be a great team. In the end, we went with “Agony of De-Feet”!

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