. At the Marine Corps Marathon one year, I almost finished in the top 15,000 runners. I would have, but I went out too fast!As I enter my 10th year as a runner, I have to admit that I’m no longer the new kid on the block. I’ve had some wonderful races and some
as they can. Matters such as prize money, pride and bragging rights are at stake. But from where I view the race, the burden of time is more of a load than I want to carry. This year the temptation to savour the experience by extending my time on the course
After university I decided to get back in shape – about once every 10 years, that is. In my early 20s I took up tennis. In my early 30s I played squash. And, of course, in my early 40s I discovered running. I got a lot of exercise playing tennis
.But it was this runners first encounter with himself. You see, Andrew was only eight years old. And suddenly, two and a half miles into a 3.1-mile race, he had to confront himself. Like so many of the adults around him, Andrew had to decide if he was willing to confront
.But it was this runner’s first encounter with himself. You see, Andrew was only eight years old. And suddenly, two and a half miles into a 3.1-mile race, he had to confront himself. Like so many of the adults around him, Andrew had to decide if he was willing to confront
that performance doesn’t matter. People who routinely finish races before I reach halfway sometimes believe that all that matters to me is being out with friends on an easy jog with water tables and police protection. That is not the case.I get the greatest
and hair thicker.Younger runners are often caught up more in potential than performance. Today’s race is only a tune-up for tomorrow’s. They cruise at an unthinkably fast pace; their minds focused on a moment weeks, or years, ahead.It’s a shame these young
convinced that I was going to seriously hurt myself. As I continued to run and race, though, my joy became contagious. When my mother retired, aged 65, she took up racewalking and rediscovered the athlete she had abandoned 50 years before. Suddenly she
in the shadow of a 10,000-year-old glacier. You’ve just imagined the 2001 Antarctica Marathon, aka ‘the Last Marathon’.To me, it seemed like the perfect idea – the Penguin running with the penguins. But just reaching the Last Marathon was a marathon in itself: a
’.I was angry that I was 43 years old and seven stone overweight, but I wasn’t going to change any more than I had to. I was angry that it was more and more difficult to walk up steps, mow the lawn, or wash the car, but I was not going to stop doing the things I
