Befriended a Stranger on a Plane & Now We’re Running a Half Marathon

Sometimes the interaction we try to avoid ends up being exactly what we need.

In Colombia, we have a saying: “Al que no quiere caldo se le dan dos tazas.” It literally translates to, “Whomever doesn’t want soup, gets two bowls of it.” Meaning the more you resist something, the more you get of it.

You know that feeling when you’re exhausted on a plane, just hoping for a quiet flight with no chatty neighbors? After four days at a work conference, I felt like I had hit my socializing quota for the entire year. All I wanted was to zone out by the window and listen to Bad Bunny. As soon as I sat down, I scrambled for my AirPods to silently signal that I wasn’t up for talking. But before I could even find them, a stranger in the aisle seat sat down and struck up a conversation.

At first, I felt myself put up blockers to show I’d be polite but not entertain long conversation. However when the conversation took a fun turn, we ended up talking the entire two-hour flight and, I left the plane with a new friend. We talked nonstop, discovering we were both signed up for the Austin Half Marathon, both liked tarot cards, yoga, and were excited for the Benito Bowl. That flight reminded me that friendships and good conversations can happen anywhere…even at 30,000 feet. Sometimes the very thing we try to avoid is actually the thing that brings goodness into our lives.

The conversation started when the stranger noticed my conference speaker badge on the middle seat right next to my sweatshirt and snacks, which I’d pulled out while digging for my headphones. I was still hoping to put on my headphones and zone out, but the badge caught her attention.

“Hi, I see that’s a speaker badge. If you don’t mind me asking, what were you speaking about?” she said in a curious tone.

I explained that I work in marketing and impact communications for endurance sports, and that I was speaking at the national running industry conference. Her face lit up as soon as I said, “running.” Turns out she’s a new runner who’s spent the last six months training for her first half-marathon. When I asked which one, it turned out to be the same race I’m running: the Austin Half Marathon this Sunday.

As soon as I realized we had running in common, it was like I got the energy to be social again. Unbeknownst to her, she’d just become the subject of my market research, so I dived into questions about why she started running, how she started, if she joined run groups, what shoes and watch she wears, what training plan she is following, and her feelings toward certain brands.

When we exhausted the topic of running and agreed to meet up at the half-marathon, we discovered other mutual interests, like books, solo travel, and the Benito Bowl. Then we discovered we were both into tarot readings and sound baths, and, coincidentally, she was already planning to go to a tarot reading + sound bath event, so she invited me, and we met up a few days later.

Building new friendships as an adult isn’t easy. I spend most days working from home, running solo, going to the gym, and occasionally stopping by a coffee shop. Aside from that, I keep a few close friends and rarely make time to seek out new ones. If you’re anything like me (a bit of a nomad or a frequent traveler) you know how complicated it is to maintain friendships abroad and at home while always coming and going.

But putting ourselves out there to make new friends can feel overwhelming, too. There’s no guarantee we’ll meet our new best friend at a Meetup, art class, coffee shop, gym, or run club. Instant connections, like the one I made on the plane, are rare.

I’ve struggled with loneliness lately, telling myself I need to get out more. But maybe it’s less about forcing ourselves to seek new people, and more about opening our eyes to those already nearby, instead of hiding behind headphones and screens— whether on a plane, at the grocery store, or walking through the neighborhood.

Now Sunday is shaping up to be a special day. I’ll be running the half-marathon with my new airplane friend and with Reem (who was once an internet stranger and we ended up traveling to Morocco together last year). Reem is flying in this week to join the race as we celebrate both our 30th birthdays. Here’s to making friends with strangers and the unifying power of running.

This short story shows that sometimes our initial resistance to something (like wanting solitude in this case) is overruled by circumstance, and the very thing we try to avoid might turn out to bring a valuable lesson and gift us a positive, meaningful experience. Sometimes what may seem like an interruption or inconvenience can be a gift if we are open to receiving it and letting life’s little twists guide us.

Sometimes we just want to shut out the world and retreat to our headphones. But when we take time to notice and engage with the people around us, we open ourselves to new connections and unexpected moments of joy.

Taking the “long way home” isn’t always about taking more time or covering more distance. It’s a metaphor for the unplanned moments we initially resist or overlook. But it’s these exact moments that give life its depth and color.

Sometimes the very thing we resist, whether it's a conversation we don’t want to have or an interaction we try to avoid, is exactly what we need. Al que no quiere caldo se le dan dos tazas.

Read another story about a conversation with a stranger… this time at a bakery in Sydney…