How We Met
Like most modern-day love stories, ours started with a swipe right. Daniel and I met on Bumble. Since the woman makes the first move on Bumble, I had limited time to make a first impression. His profile boasted of travel and said he was looking for someone with an open mind and a good backpack. So, I responded by simply saying “I have a good backpack. Where are we going?”. It caught Daniels attention and we spent the evening chatting about travel, our bucket list adventures, and making plans to maybe share some adventures together. We had spent a week chatting over Bumble when Daniel finally asked me if I wanted to meet up with him and if I would be interested in going to see a local band with him that coming Monday night. We agreed to meet for happy hour at a local dive bar before going to the show.
When I walked in, I immediately hugged him and instantly felt at ease, as if I already knew him. We sat talking, laughing, and getting to know each other over a drink for so long we were almost late heading over to the show. Somewhere in the night’s conversation, I mentioned to Daniel that I was going to be running in the Austin Cap10K that upcoming Sunday and he asked if anyone had ever come and cheered for me at my races. I told him no and not to come because I would be so embarrassed. He didn’t care and showed up anyway, surprising me at the 1-mile mark in front of the Austin Capital with a sign asking me on a date. The sign read “GO LAUREN!! RUN NOW, DRINKS LATER?” It was a wild surprise that put a massive smile on my face.
How They Asked
A year later Daniel wanted to recreate that same surprise but x10. Daniel and I had planned to run the 2018 Austin Cap10K together. However, the day before he calls to tell me he twisted his ankle at his workout and wouldn’t be able to run. Naturally, I believed him and called a couple of my girlfriends who said they were crashing the race and they would run with me. That morning as I headed out for the race Daniel kissed me good luck and I told him I would try to finish up quickly, so we could go to brunch. When the race started, I began running towards the capitol. I told my friends Daniel would be there to cheer for us. They asked how I knew that, and I simply responded because that’s where he was last year and of course he would be there. As I started to approach the Austin capital, I saw Daniel standing in the distance in the same spot he had been the previous year with what looked like a blank sign.
Once I was a couple feet away from him, Daniel flipped the sign around and it read “GO LAUREN!!! RUN NOW, MARRY ME LATER?” I was shocked! He got down on one knee and everything became a blur. I remember responding “Yes! Of course!” It was the biggest unexpected surprise of my life. As I started to remember where I was, I asked how I was supposed to keep running after that. Everyone laughed and told me I wasn’t going to be finishing the race and that an entire day was planned. As a runner, I have never, not finished a race, but this was the best reason to not complete the run. Daniel pulled me out of the Cap10K to call family and friends to tell them I had said yes.
He then took me to brunch where I was surprised again. All our closest friends here in Texas were there to celebrate with us. After brunch, we all got on a bus to the Texas hill country and spent the day celebrating our engagement. It turned out Daniels sprained ankle wasn’t real, my friends who crashed the race were in on it, and he had even brought along a couple extra friends to get video and pictures. It was the biggest surprise of my life and the biggest surprise Daniel has pulled off yet. It was truly the absolute best day.
