“the looniness of the long distance runner” by russell taylor.
this is another 99-peso book from second-hand barter shops in malls. ‘got this one from market! market!. normally, i read borrowed books, or cheap trade books. when i was in hong kong, i read library books (from causeway bay library!). i only buy at elite-full-bookstore price if 1) it’s highly recommended and i can’t find people nice enough to entrust me their books; or 2) if it’s something so obscure that obviously i can’t find in all of my friend’s and their friend’s bookshelves.
going back to our subject literary work, this is non-fiction account of a londoner’s attempt to run a marathon from scratch. specifically the new york marathon, and at the beginning, he’s totally unprepared. it mainly goes from his activities getting ready for the run. briefly introducing marathon history right from its beginning, and when i say from the beginning, it really is from the very start like about 2,500 years ago from the Battle of Marathon, which was fought in ancient greece. it was well written and the first ever history section that i didn’t get bore reading. his tale includes his tread runs from the gym, to choosing his trainers, to joining pre-marathon races, and then right up to the actual event itself in new york. it was really ingeniously written, plus good humor, sometimes i look like a loon inside the bus or at work during lunch.
to quote, while he was on one of his runs:
I have now entered what I recognise as the transcendental phase of the run. This seems to occur after about an hour and a half, probably as a side effect of glycogen depletion. My thoughts wander far beyond the mundane reality of tramping across fields. I meditate on sheep. What is the point of being a sheep? They shit all over the grass. The shit makes the grass grow. The sheep then eat the grass and produce more shit. The Shit and Sheep cycle. What is the point? “What’s the point in being a person?” an astute sheep looking me in the eye from a safe distance seems to reply. “You run thirteen miles to end up where you started, and you don’t even stop to sample any of the grass.”
the nice thing about reading a non-fiction piece is that you could learn more things that are, well, non-fiction, as in facts. although it might be entertaining to be in the worlds of flying witches and how exciting the plot of blood-thirst vampires could be, non-fiction offers things that you could use and relate in dealing with your true ordinary life. 
for example, the foot types. if you are a serious runner, then you should consider acquiring a proper shoes designed specially for your feet structure. different people have different feet curves, and with a little help from professional althlete shops, you could get one the suits you. another fact to consider is that the human knee is not so well-engineered for long-haul running. knee ligaments/tendons are very fragile that once they’re damaged, they’re unrepairable. so, extensive running as a habit should really be well-researched and medically, one must have consultation on a regular basis.
now, i remember that i’ve been missing a lot of my regular tread runs. 
can’t keep it from my tight schedule hehe…i could only hope i could run a marathon!
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did you know that there is an annual race where you actually race versus a train? (man versus machine, haha)
