This Sunday we celebrate Mother’s Day. I hope you can at least visit, if not run or walk with Mom to commemorate the day.

This will be my first Mother’s Day without my mom as she passed away this February at the age of 91. Many of you knew her as Margretta Lutz the champion, holder of national records, Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame inductee, mentor of and inspiration to countless runners over her decades of running.

For this week of reflection, I’ve resurrected an article, on Patriot’s Day, written in April of 1989 for Perpetual Motion Running Club’s newsletter as a tribute to my mom and running buddy for so many miles:

Happy Mother’s Day everyone. I know you’ll think it’s a bit early, but for me, Mother’s Day falls on the third Monday in April — Patriot’s Day in Boston. It wasn’t always this way, but my mom wasn’t always a runner.

Mom was the original model for today’s Supermoms. After sending us kids off to school, she would straighten the house, put in a full day of office work, then come home to make dinner, do farm and garden chores and help with homework.

I remember cuddling with Mom and a bedtime book when I was a child about the age of one of my own children (seven or eight years old). It seemed there was no task too great or too small for Mom’s boundless and selfless energy.

Mom discovered running in her fifties and after years of being everything to everyone, she found something just for herself. At first, she ran with and for me, thinking she looked foolish sweating up and down our country road at her age. Gradually she came to realize that she didn’t care if she did look foolish.

Mom and I have put a lot of miles behind us. We’ve pulled each other through slumps and comebacks, celebrated delicious victories together and commiserated over countless defeats. Sometimes we’ve plotted and planned our training and then we’ve run just for the joy or escape of it.

Running has made us giggling schoolgirls and homespun philosophers, sometimes parent and child, other times best buddies, but always with a deep and unspoken closeness.

Sometimes an event can distill complex thoughts and emotions into a single sweet picture to remember and treasure. For me that event is the 1988 Boston Marathon.

It had been my goal to compete at Boston, too, but it was Mom who posted a qualifying time at the 1987 Pittsburgh Marathon. She trained throughout the winter with a schedule I had prepared, knowing she ran as much to fulfill my dream as her own.

On race weekend, we travelled to Boston alone, knowing that we couldn’t devote our attention to both the marathon and our family’s needs. We shared the feeling of being strangely unencumbered, yet almost lonely as we boarded the plane. We finally decided to stop feeling guilty for leaving our loved ones behind and focused on having a weekend of fun.

On Sunday we enjoyed the experience as first-time Boston marathoners. At the runners’ expo we were bargain hunters together, soulmates at Dr. Sheehan’s inspirational talk, and lost travelers in a foreign land on the subway ride home from the carbo-loading dinner in town. To friends we met, we were alternately a mother-daughter or runner-coach team, but for certain an inseparable twosome.

After the togetherness of Sunday, it was hard to part on Monday. I gave Mom some pre-race instructions and a pep talk before her departure on the bus for Hopkinton. As we hugged our goodbye, I noticed as never before how small, almost frail she seemed and as I watched her board the bus, I felt the mixed emotions of a parent sending a child to summer camp for the first time.

After she left, I jogged through the quiet downtown streets and out to our prearranged meeting spot in front of a firehouse at the 17-mile point in the race. I anxiously awaited her arrival, chatted with firefighters and spectators or watched the race unfold on a small TV in the firehouse.

By the time Mom rounded the corner and into view, nearly 30 people who had heard Mom’s story burst into cheers and wished us good luck for the finish.

I mentally pushed, pulled and tricked her through the last difficult miles, but she graciously allowed me the privilege. The effort was all hers.

We rounded the last corner and I told her to take it home. Although the street was littered with cups and dotted with runners, Mom appeared to be the only one in the race. I watched her fly down Boylston Street, never so proud as when my own mom crossed the finish line of the Boston Marathon.

We returned to Pittsburgh later that night, conquering heroes, tired but deliriously happy. We shared a piece of pie we’d smuggled onto the flight and watched Patriot’s Day fireworks explode in the sky below us, all the while grinning like two Cheshire cats.

Back in the real world and the warmth of family, we could not adequately recount our adventure. Only we would understand its importance as runners and as mother and daughter. Those memories would forever be our own celebration.

Happy Patriot’s Day and Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.

Upcoming events

May 1 through May 31: Miles of Smiles You May Run Virtual Half Marathon and 5k, Ellwood City. Run a half marathon, 5k or both. Email times to bonnherb@yahoo.com. Earn a finisher’s medal (or two) and t-shirt. Submit as many times as you wish. Fastest time counts. Register at runsignup.com/Race/PA/EllwoodCity/MilesofSmilesYouMayRunVirtualHalfMarathonand5k or bonnherb@yahoo.com

May 10: Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, Pittsburgh. This event has been rescheduled to September 13. Registration is now open. 412-651-5504 or komenpittsburgh.org

May 13: Muskie Mini Marathon and 2 Mile Walk, Jamestown. This race at Pymatuning State Park has been cancelled.

May 15: Elderton 5k, Elderton. This race is postponed to a future date to be announced.

May 16: Glacier Ridge Ultra (30k, 50k, 50 miles), Portersville. This rugged trail race at Moraine State Park has been postponed to a future date to be announced. http://glacierridgetrailultra.com/

May 16, 8 a.m.: Hollidaysburg Diamond Dash 10k and 6k Runs and 5k Walk, Hollidaysburg. http://www.blairregionalymca.org/raceseries/diamond-dash/

May 16: Diamond 5k Run/Walk, Blue Spruce Park, Indiana. This race is postponed until Oct. 3. 724-349-1111, ext. 7356 or www.diamonddrug.com/5k

May 16, 8 a.m.: AmVets Post 113 Patriots’ Day 5k, Tionesta. 814-775-3404 or eric.cepek@gmail.com

May 17: Mighty Moraine Man Sprint Triathlon, Portersville. This event in Moraine State Park has been cancelled. Sign up for Mighty Moraine Man Fall Multi-Sport Festival at www.mightymoraineman.com/north-east-regional-championship

May 17: UPMC St. Margaret 5k, Pittsburgh. Cancelled for this year.

May 22, 7 p.m.: Fryburg Mayfest, Fryburg. This event has been cancelled. May 23: Blue Knob Trail Face 3.75 Mile Trail Race, Claysburg. This race has been cancelled.

May 24: Mark Jeffrey Sampson Memorial 5k, Titusville. Cancelled for this year.

May 25, 7:30 a.m.: Freedom Challenge 15k/5k/Relay, Erie. Postponed until Labor Day, Sept. 7. 814-838-7515 or runsignup.com/Race/PA/Erie/FreedomChallenge

May 30: Freeport Flash 10k & 5k Run/Walk, Sarver. Virtual race this year. First race in Freeport Triple Crown. Register and run now through June 30. runsignup.com/Race/PA/Sarver/FreeportFlash5K10K

June 4, 6:30 p.m...: Gateway Track Mile, Monroeville. 412-372-3212 or don_tammy@msn.com

June 6: God’s Country Marathon. Half and Team Relay, Galeton. Cancelled for this year.

June 6, 8 a.m.: Boston Trail ½ Marathon and 5k, Elizabeth Township. Run from Boston Trailhead of Yough River Trail on Great Allegheny Passage. (Rescheduled from April 18.)412-780-7802 or thebostontrail.com

June 6, 9 a.m.: Yuengling Gold Rush 5k, Pittsburgh. Virtual race this year. 765-729-0691 or www.yuenglinggoldrush.com

June 7: Greenfield Glide 5k, Pittsburgh. Cancelled for this year.

June 7, 10 a.m.: Get Lost 5k Run/Walk, Erie. Benefits K-9 Search and Rescue. amym@nwpak9sar.org or runsignup.com/Race/PA/Harborcreek/SearchandRescueGetLost5k

June 12, 7 p.m.: Riverview Park 5k Run & Fitness Walk, Pittsburgh. 412-255-2493 or runsignup.com/Race/PA/Pittsburgh/RiverviewPark5K

June 17: Summer Solstice 5k and 1 Mile Run/Walk, Portersville. This race at Moraine State Park has been cancelled.

June 20: Clarksburg 10k, Clarksburg, WV. Virtual race this year. 304-672-3637 or runwithhat@yahoo.com

June 20, 9 a.m.: Butler Road Race 5 Mile and 2k, Butler. Virtual race this year. 724-287-4733 or cdreher@bcfymca.org

June 20: Beartown Rocks Trail Race, Sigel. This race has been cancelled.

June 20: Butch’s Bucket Brigade, Worthington. This race has been cancelled.

June 21: ERC Father’s Day Race, Erie. Cancelled for this year. runsignup.com/Race/PA/Harborcreek/SearchandRescueGetLost5k

Send comments and suggestions: Patricia Neubert. Phone 724-352-4395. Email lotzak@consolidated.net

Pat Neubert is a running columnist for the Butler Eagle