Love Story: The Outerbridges of Valley Stream

Altagracia Pierre-Outerbridge of Valley Stream recalls how her prayers were answered the day she met Lindrick Outerbridge.

Last year, after months of deliberating, I decided to challenge myself to running the Queens Half Marathon for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

So on Sept. 20, 2009, before dawn, I made my way from my home in Elmont to the No. 7 subway in Queens.

The train was packed with runners. It was exciting, but the excitement was mixed with a bit of anxiety. From the subway stop we were to catch a bus that would take us to the starting line in College Point.

Hundreds of runners were waiting their turn to board the buses. It was chaos, and I was worried: Would I get to the starting line on time?

I turned around to share my concerns, and my eyes met those of a beautiful man standing behind me. I was instantly drawn in - but I said nothing and turned away, readjusting my headphones. Just then, my batteries died. And even as my heart was beating out of my chest, I knew I had no excuse but to seize the opportunity to communicate with this beautiful-eyed stranger who otherwise soon would be lost in a sea of runners.

So I turned again. "This is crazy!" I said. He smiled with his eyes, and my heart did a somersault.

I knew from those eyes that he would shower me with compassion, affection, sincerity and chivalry. And I felt I would do the same for him.

On the bus we sat next to each other, talked and exchanged phone numbers. We ran the 13.1 miles side by side - he kept pace with me even though this was his fifth half-marathon of the year - and embraced at the end. It was a coup de foudre (love at first sight).

I marveled at how God had answered my prayers - at how such a good man wound up right behind me in a line of runners waiting for a bus, even as I had searched high and low for such a man to no avail. I mean, right behind me!

It turns out our proximity was not an accident.

As we dated, Lindrick told me he had spotted me on the subway and followed me to ensure he was behind me in line. And I had seen no hint of such mischief in his eyes!

Our first date was a 3-mile run. And three months later, on Dec. 24, 2009, we were husband and wife! We continue to share our love of running and plan to run the New York City Marathon in November.

I'm a lawyer and a full-time MBA student at Baruch College, while Lindrick, an NYC teaching fellow, teaches at IS 383 in Brooklyn.