Runners are competitive folks. I think some might feel slighted they haven't got more recognition. I think they have a point. In running, you won't necessarily get noticed just for turning in good performances.

I went to college, grad school. I got an M.B.A., had a really cush corporate job. But I was just bored stiff. I didn't fit that mold.

Adventure books are my personal favorites. 'The Endurance,' a story about Ernest Shackleton's legendary Antarctica expedition, or 'Into Thin Air,' Jon Krakauer's personal account of the 1996 disaster on Mt Everest, are two notables.

Running is about finding your inner peace, and so is a life well lived.

Running back-to-back races requires a certain tactical prudence. Going too hard in any one race might jeopardize your performance in another. Maintaining proper hydration and caloric equilibrium also becomes increasingly critical.

Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness.

Toeing the starting line of a marathon, regardless of the language you speak, the God you worship or the color of your skin, we all stand as equal. Perhaps the world would be a better place if more people ran.