“Nope,” said Cam. “Mile five. It’s the best mile. It’s where people really need encouragement because they’re starting to falter. Here, put this on.” He handed her a shirt that said race volunteer on the back. Alexa couldn’t remember the last time she volunteered for anything, or wore an ill-fitting cotton T-shirt, but she put the shirt on. It hung down to her knees. “Sorry,” said Cam. “They were out of smalls by the time I picked them up. I had to get large for both of us. If it helps, you look hot in that.”

“It doesn’t help,” muttered Alexa, even though actually it did, a little.

Once they were set up with their supplies, Alexa peered down Merrimac Street, which was an asphalt wasteland. The sun was so bright and so high she couldn’t imagine running to the corner and back. She wished she’d thought to wear a hat. Most of the volunteers were wearing hats, and Alexa knew a brim suited her. Cam’s hat was from the Newburyport Brewing Company and had a picture of a greenhead on it, for the Greenhead IPA. The green of the hat did something wondrous to his brown eyes. She knew that if she asked, Cam would give her the hat right off his head. But if the old Alexa would have asked for the hat, the new Alexa would let Cam retain it. Moral growth!

After some time there rose a stir of excitement as the lead runner came toward them. There was a slight bend in the road before the five-mile point, and with the sun and the undulating heat he looked almost like a mirage. The people lining the street cheered. One volunteer held out a cup of water, but Cam leaned over to Alexa and said conspiratorially, “The first ten guys never take water. They’re too focused. They can’t break pace.”

He was right, but after the fastest people went by and the pace became somewhat normal, people were happy to have the water. Some of them even paused to say thank you, or at least to grunt pleasantly. Cam had prepared a string of helpful platitudes, and he said them over and over. “You can do it!” he said. “You’re stronger than you think you are! You’ve made it halfway! The worst is over!”