Love: Rachel Gordon and David Wilderman

Rachel was an online-dating veteran, tired of sustaining the required effort, which had yielded nothing worth mentioning.

The profile she had found in fall 2012 interested her, but all she could muster was, "Hi. How's it going?"

Dave, the man behind that profile, was conversely so full of first-timer enthusiasm he ignored advice to discount all halfhearted emails like Rachel's.

He checked out her profile. "She had this big smile," he said, "and the kind of energy I wanted to connect with."

Dave, who grew up in Ambler and is now 34, was earning his MBA at Temple. Rachel, who grew up in Millersville, Md., and is now 32, was working toward her doctorate in finance at Drexel.

After a few emails, Dave suggested drinks or dinner. She chose drinks, but their great conversation stretched single beers out longer than a meal.

One of many discovered things in common was love of a good run. But to Dave, that meant hitting the treadmill 30 minutes a few times a week, and Rachel ran marathons.

Future dates were frequent, and their bond grew quickly. Three weeks in, Dave invited Rachel to the birthday celebration bar crawl his friends had for him, dubbed the Wildebeest Stampede. She did not balk at the zany cheesiness of the event, or at the sight of her new beau wearing a giant, inflatable wildebeest costume.

"We both have an appreciation for the atypical," she said.

One weekend in Atlantic City, Dave joined Rachel on an outdoor run. Running together became one of their favorite pursuits.

Dave was near the end of his MBA program. Six weeks after they met, he accepted his technology-consultant position at DeLoitte Consulting in Washington. "Our choices were to shut it down or to try long distance. And we decided we would see where it would go."

A few weeks before his move, Dave's mom needed to talk: His father, anesthesiologist Barry Wilderman, was in the hospital with shortness of breath.

As what the family assumed would be a short hospital stay lengthened, Dave's dad told him he needed to start his new job on time. It was incredibly hard to do, and Dave says he could not have done it without Rachel. "She helped me through my feelings and encouraged me. We went on runs to deal with stress. And she told me she would be there for my mom and would visit my dad," he said.

He moved to Arlington, Va., coming home each weekend to be with his parents and Rachel.

Complications from Barry's medication led to acute respiratory distress syndrome, and he died in July 2013.

By then, Rachel was solidly part of the Wilderman family.

The couple did the Broad Street Run together, and Dave worked his way up to a half-marathon when Rachel did the entire 26.2 miles in Philadelphia.

In October, Dave ran his first full marathon in the city where he and Rachel had first run together - Atlantic City.

It was Rachel who taught him that carrying fuel and water on a belt made for a better race, so she had no reason to find an extra pack suspicious.

Rachel was not having her best race ever. She had been interviewing at a jobs conference in Nashville most of the week, was tired from traveling, and her dress shoes had left her with blisters. Her back was killing her.

This was Rachel's ninth marathon, and Dave knew it would not have been a huge deal to her if she didn't finish. He could not let that happen, and he tried to motivate her. "I can't wait to kiss you at the finish line!" he told her. "I want to go right to the medical tent," she said.

Any nonrunner would say they crossed the line together, but for the runners: She beat him by two seconds. First came ice for Rachel's back, then Rita's Italian Ice for both at the finishers' pavilion.

"I think I feel like a normal person again," she said.

Taking that as his cue, Dave reached into his extra pack for the ring he had cushioned in cotton - his bubbe's diamond - and dropped to one knee. "We accomplished a marathon together. I think we can accomplish anything together. Will you marry me?"

She said yes, and then she had to help Dave stand back up; after all that running, his knees got stuck.

Her parents, his mom, and a few close friends were there to celebrate much more than a successful marathon.

During their ceremony at the Crystal Tea Room, Rachel wore her grandma's veil and her bubbe's necklace. Dave wore his grandfather's cuff links and his father's watch.

In their interpretation of the Jewish tradition, she circled him three times, he circled her three times, and they held hands and walked the seventh circle together. He lifted her veil, and they kissed before walking beneath the chuppah.

Saying, "I give you this ring to make you my wife" really got to Dave. He started to cry. Rachel retrieved her something borrowed - her grandmother's handkerchief - from her cleavage. Wanting this breakdown in front of their 250 guests to end ASAP, Dave quickly dabbed his eyes, took a deep breath, and stuffed the hankie right back where it came from.

Everyone - including the bride - struggled with their laughter.

"Part of the reason I love this man," Rachel said, "is because he makes me smile."

Their wedding did not interrupt their training. The couple, along with a dozen guests, ran 3.5 miles that morning, from their hotel near City Hall to the South Street Bridge, where the couple placed a lock with their names and the date before tossing the key in the river. "Philly is home for me, and it has been home for us as a couple," Dave said. "This was something special to symbolize our bond."

Rachel felt married the moment they signed their ketubah. "After we officially signed our marriage contract, I felt like we were kicking off a whole different chapter, and it was pretty awesome."

A bargain: The Crystal Tea Room's after-party package included food, an open bar, and a DJ at a flat rate that did not depend on the size of the guest list.

The splurge: The custom cake topper, a replica of the couple running the Atlantic City marathon, "was totally not in the budget," Rachel said, "but totally worth it."

Dave still lives in Arlington. About a week after the wedding, Rachel started a new job: assistant professor in finance at the University of Missouri in Columbia. "As frequent travelers, we are not in a position to take a big trip at this time," said Rachel. "But we have a little honeymoon every weekend."

StartText

Officiant: Rabbi Jill Maderer, Congregation Rodeph Shalom, Philadelphia.

Venue: Crystal Tea Room, Philadelphia.

Food: Finley Catering, Philadelphia.

Photography: Philip Gabriel Photography, Media.

Music: Janis Nowlan Band.

Do you have the date? Email us - at least six weeks before your ceremony - why we should feature your love story: weddings@phillynews.com. Unfortunately, we can't respond individually to all submissions. If your story is chosen, you will be contacted.

EndText