The Brightside: Veteran runs in marathon, finds new forever friend

DELAWARE. – Sometimes we find friends under the most unexpected circumstances.

70-year-old Timothy Parks found a friend in 10-year-old Leo Puglisi, his marathon trainer.

“I teach him to run, and I teach him to pushups and the splits,” Leo said.

Timothy ran the Veteran Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., a dream that he’s had for years, and it finally came to fruition in October.

“It was kind of a new experience there,” Timothy said. “It was one of the bigger ones in the country, so 40K people signed up, 35K showed up, and 30K actually finished, so during the whole race, there was always someone next to you.”

And he ran with a purpose. Timothy raised almost $5K for the Down Syndrome Association of Delaware’s cooking class, a course taught by Leo’s mom, Sarah.

“I wanted to raise some money for an organization, and I didn’t have to look far, because I was familiar what Sarah was doing,” Timothy said.

The money helped purchase a new pizza oven for the kids, and other cooking equipment.

“We’re making pizza, tacos, and my mom is a good chef,” Leo said.

Friendships have no age limit and Leo said he’s grateful for the bond he has with Timothy.

“He’s my good man,” Leo said. “He’s good, awesome, and he’s very brave.”