Such wounds to the heart will probably never heal. But we cannot simply sit and stare at our wounds forever.

That's evolution. Evolution's always hard. Hard and bleak. No such thing as happy evolution

As we go through life we gradually discover who we are, but the more we discover, the more we lose ourselves.

There’s nothing wrong with not looking like something. It just means you don’t fit the stereotype yet.

It was a strange feeling, like touching a void.

I was feeling lonely without her, but the fact that I could feel lonely at all was consolation. Loneliness wasn't such a bad feeling. It was like the stillness of the pin oak after the little birds had flown off.

For me, running is both exercise and a metaphor. Running day after day, piling up the races, bit by bit I raise the bar, and by clearing each level I elevate myself. At least that’s why I’ve put in the effort day after day: to raise my own level. I’m no great runner, by any means. I’m at an ordinary – or perhaps more like mediocre – level. But that’s not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday. In long-distance running the only opponent you have to beat is yourself, the way you used to be.