This unlikely couple met each other at a triathlon training camp in Bend, Oregon. They swam, biked, and ran (a lot). Their interactions were sparse but Marc felt something he couldn’t explain. After camp was over, Doris went home to Seattle and Marc went home to Washington, DC. Months passed but he couldn’t shake the feeling so he took a chance on a story that required all the puzzle pieces to be aligned…
Spoiler: they were.
Marc traveled to Doris’ hometown of Panama City Beach, FL to support her at her “A race” of the year: Ironman Florida. He claimed he needed the “heat training” for a race he had later in the season. He saved the day after her watch died less than halfway through the marathon and gave her his to wear for the rest of the race. He was there at the finish line and he and her dad each took her hand post-race. It was in these moments their relationship began to develop. Though separated by thousands of miles, they spent nearly every waking moment communicating. They only lasted 6 days apart before D was on a plane to see M. They had their first official date and everything felt comfortable and familiar and easy.
Less than a month of dating long-distance and Marc flew Doris to South America for his last race of the year: Cartegena 70.3 in Colombia. (Thankfully it was an incredible adventure -- international travel with a new partner could have gone very wrong). They continued the back and forth from one side of the country to the other-- never apart longer than two week’s time. They coined the phrase “together-apart” for all the time they spent doing the same things at the same time from afar-- watching movies and series, drinking the same bottles of wine, cooking dinner, riding their bikes, the list goes on. They met each other’s families and soon after the new year, she moved into a new house and he began staying longer and longer. Not too long after, he brought his dog, Bailey, and they officially moved in. Luckily Bailey and Willow get along wonderfully and they are two peas in a pod.
And now, they’re “together-together”. Forever.
While spending the holidays in Ohio with his family, Marc casually mentioned they’d be going out to dinner with his parents. They swam in the afternoon (and of course Doris didn’t wash her hair) and she spent all of about 5 minutes getting ready. They went to TJ’s, the place where his parents first met (nearly 50 years ago, to the day), and sat in a booth in the back. Marc ordered champagne for the table (not too out of the ordinary), but as soon as he said “I’d like to make a toast”, (totally out of the ordinary) her heart dropped and she knew what was happening. Luckily, his dad captured most of it on camera.
