I would run with Joe and his good friend Paul Mercer on Sunday mornings. Joe joined me a couple of times at the annual Walpole Labor Day Road Race. He had a goal of breaking 40 minutes for the 6.2 mile distance. For a couple of years, he came close. He would start out a little too fast and go into oxygen debt, slowing him down at the end of the race. One year in the 1990's my job was to play the role of the turtle. In many races, someone plays the role of "the rabbit" setting the pace for the first couple of laps to ensure a fast time before dropping out. My job as "the turtle" was to control a slower pace for the first four miles, before letting Joe go. That day, he finished in a time of somewhere around 39 minutes and 48 seconds. It was a happy day for both of us.