(SOLE)MATES

Long-distance runners find long-term romance

By Bill Pennington

    For most runners, crossing the finish line signifies the end, but for David and Tina Vigh it marked the beginning.
    It was a hot, humid day in December 2000. Tina was drenched in sweat, hair askew, face contorted with pain. David, her boyfriend at that time, was waiting to greet her at the finish chute at Tampa’s Hops Marathon.

    With 26.2 miles behind her, it was refreshing for Tina to see a friendly face. David had completed the marathon  about an hour earlier and was near giddy with anticipation of seeing Tina. Though they had run a couple of other marathons together, there was something special about today’s race.

A ‘sneaky’ proposal
    The holiday season was in the air, and Tina was feeling the rush of completing another marathon.
    “I had a really great run,” she said. “I wanted to make up for a bad marathon that we had run together in Washington D.C., so I was feeling like I had redeemed myself.”
    David was also pleased with his performance, but he had other reasons for his excitement. There was a sly grin on his face as he saw Tina racing to the finish banner.
    “I thought David was so sweet to meet me at the finish line,” Tina said, remembering that day, “but I thought he was crazy when he bent down to take off my timing chip. I told him, ‘Don’t do that, you might get a cramp.’ You know he had also just finished running a marathon. ‘They have people to take these off,’ I told him.

    “The next thing I know he’s taken off my chip and looked up at me with a ring in his hand and said, ‘Will you marry me.’ My first thought was, I can’t believe you can think about marrying me the way I look right now… I must look awful. I mean, I just ran a marathon.”
    But while frivolous thoughts rushed through her marathon-fatigued mind, her words clearly erupted from the heart. “Of course I will,” she said, still smiling broadly five  years later as she relived the moment.
    David, normally a focused runner of few words, had trouble containing his excitement during the race. “There was this guy that I was running next to it seemed the whole race, and we kept passing each other along the way. About mile 20, I looked over at him and said, ‘My girlfriend’s in this race and I’m going to ask her to marry me when she finishes.’ He said, ‘You’d better pick it up or she’ll be waiting for you at the finish line.’”
    David’s longtime running mate Steve Devlin had also completed the Hops Marathon and witnessed the special day. “It’s emotional enough just to finish a marathon, but to add that… it was a lot to take. She was pretty surprised,” he said. “I was so happy for both of them.”
    The engagement was not only the confirmation of both their passion and love for each other, but also their bond with the sport of running.
    “It’s what we do,” says David when speaking of the sport.

A running date
    Long before dating, these two had forsaken wingtips and high heels for stopwatches and Nikes.  You’ve heard of a match made in heaven -- this is a match made in Runner’s World. They had been literally running into each other for years before they were formally introduced in 1998.

   Both were members of the Amelia Wellness Center and admit they probably were in the same workout room a number of times before their first meeting. They also know they must have passed each other during weekend runs on the island.
    Like a couple of chefs falling in love in a restaurant, Tina and David’s first meeting, other than a passing glance, was, of course, at a race — the 10K Jacksonville Navy Run. Their best friends and running mates Steve Devlin and Lisa Haviland helped with the introduction.
   After the race, the four were all talking about a Thursday afternoon running group that was forming at the health club (obviously, years before AIR).  Tina usually ran in the morning and David in the afternoon. But when Tina finally spoke with David, she says, she decided that running twice on Thursdays might not be a bad idea.
    “I knew I wanted to see him again. I said to Lisa, ‘I am going to run six miles in the morning, work all day (as a first grade teacher), and then I’m going to run again with those guys… and you are too,’” Tina said.
    The next thing you know David Vigh and Tina Stauffer were running, dating, and talking about a future together.
    Of the AIR running couples, the Vighs might be the most accomplished. David is one of Amelia’s top male runners, and in large Jacksonville events, routinely finishes among the top competitors in the ultra-tough 35-39 age group. In the 2005 Gate River Run, he polished off a 55:51. That’s less than six minutes per mile for 9.3 miles.  He has also completed 12 marathons. And David doesn’t just finish them, he flirts with sub-three hours routinely.

    And Tina, although she professes a non-competitive nature, is one of the top female runners on Amelia. Her workout routine has her near 40 miles per week. While speaking for this story — only two days after completing her eighth marathon — Tina had warmed up for the interview by running her usual seven miles.

   As a couple, they have combined for 20 marathons, and estimate they average 35 miles combined on their long Sunday runs. “No partying on Saturday nights,” they say.
    So, we’ve got Tina and David who met at a race, fell in love during training runs, and got engaged at a race. There wasn’t going to be a WALK down any aisle for this couple.
    The Vighs don’t walk.

Sweet repeat
    For the engaged pair it was back to the 2001 Tampa Hops Marathon to make the union official. They invited the whole crew to join them for a post-marathon wedding. Steve, Lisa, and family members were invited to the finish line ceremony.

    Of course the blushing bride ran in the race, as did the groom, best man Steve and maid of honor Lisa. David’s brother Rob, an attorney and notary, presided over the ceremony.      

   “It was a real emotional day…a marathon, a wedding, the family and friends all there,” David said. “But, we both felt like we didn’t want to do it any other way.”
    The unique wedding was held about 100 yards from the finish line in a park with Tina, David, Lisa and Steve in running shorts, and others in more formal attire. Actually, the best man almost didn’t make it. Steve had struggled through the race and required EMS assistance and IV’s after the marathon.
    “We’re getting ready to get married and there was Steve sitting in the ambulance about 50 yards from us,” David said. “I went over to the guy giving him the IV and said, ‘Dude, I’m getting married over there, and I need this guy just for 10 minutes to stand next to me.” Steve staggered over, made it through the ceremony and the reception.
    And David and Tina finished one race, but began a lifetime event.

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