A few hundred people showed to take over the streets of Raleigh with the recent Boston champion. I was tasked as his “run bouncer.” Run selfie takers were no match as I ran interference from the sycophants, threw a few much-needed elbows at the close talkers, blocked a few errant iPhones that got a little too close for comfort and safely delivered him to his photo/autograph booth unscathed. We first bumped, took a pic, said our goodbyes, and went off into the night. Meb rules.

My Meb memory does not come from a race but from a random encounter at a physical therapist’s office. I was recovering from a hamstring strain and went in for my weekly treatment session in Dr. Gino Cinco’s office in San Diego. Little did I know Dr. Cinco’s next appointment was none other than Meb, who was getting some work done after winning a half-marathon tune-up just a few weeks before racing the 2012 London Olympics.

In typical Meb fashion, he talked less about himself and wanted to know when I had planned after graduating college. When I told him I was moving to Sacramento to work at the state Capitol, his began talking excitedly about his respect for then-Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. Johnson, a former NBA star, made the successful move from sports to politics, prompting Meb to speculate whether he could ever become mayor of his hometown of San Diego.

Having seen generous spirit, level-headed demeanor and his passion for helping others, I just have one message for Meb – one that resonates whether he’s running his final marathon in New York City or contemplating a future political career: Run, Meb, run.

Chris Chavez

To this day, I think one of the best events that I’ve ever covered was the 2014 Boston Marathon. This seems like a very easy pick for best memory but I actually wasn’t out on the course on the day that Meb won. I was primarily in the press room but in the days leading up to the race, I had conducted enough interviews and spoken to enough locals to understand the magnitude of that year’s race. Whoever won wasn’t important but the fact that everyone was running and many with full hearts, was the reason to celebrate the day. From the press room, I watched Meb break away from the leaders and thought, ‘OK, when are they going to catch him?’ That was the feeling from most people in that room. If you recall, he had a dismal showing at the 2013 New York City Marathon that had everyone questioning whether he should’ve retired. You always hear the phrase, ‘There’s no cheering in the press box’ when it comes to reporters at sporting events. I was only 20 years old at the time and so the lesson was fresh from my classes but I noticed a majority of the other reporters were getting excited for Meb. They root for the best story and Meb winning was the ultimate story so the room burst out in a round of applause when he broke the tape. I still get goosebumps thinking about that room, especially when I go back every April.

I’ve been to a Spurs game with Keflezighi, I’ve run part of a 10K with him (he was pacing at 7:30/mile) and I had the chance to write a profile on the relationship between him and his brother in 2015 for ESPN. Nothing sticks out to me more than that April afternoon.

If you haven’t already watched Chris Heuisler’s Thank You Meb video, please do so and then tweet out your favorite #TYMeb moment.