A lifelong long distance runner, I had just incurred the injury which would end that running career, and leave me with only the option to walk. At the time Big arrived, I still thought I would work my way through this problem, the same way I always had before. Big was there, with his quiet acceptance of the hand he had been dealt, along with his refusal to be less than joyous in the playing of those cards. With Big at my side, I walked into a new chapter in my life; discovering that the love of covering long distances on foot did not have to end, just because I could no longer run them. Big’s adventures continue in this fifth installment of the Big Dog Diaries, covering Winter and Spring of The Big Year.