I have read a couple of marathon books, and parts of a couple others, and I've got two or three that I'm trying to get through the library. The one that I would recommend to non-marathoners is First Marathons: Personal Encounters with the 26.2-Mile Monster, by Gail Waesche Kislevitz.
As the name implies, it is a collection of First Marathon stories from a bunch of different people -- 37, in fact. Some are well-known marathoners, but most are not. Some have run many marathons, some have run only one. Some have won marathons (Bill Rodgers won Boston and New York four times each) and some have barely finished. Some started young (one guy ran his first at 13!) and some started older. It's really an interestingly diverse group.
Most of the other marathon books that I've looked at are really how-to books. But this one is something different. The author describes the gap she was trying to fill:
I bought running books filled with important information: training routines, nutrition guides, stretching techniques, injury prevention, speed work, pace and performance guidelines. Everything I needed to know about the technical aspects of running amarathon, except the most improtant thing to me--its soul. No book took on the task of describing the feeling, the heart, the core of a marathon.
Well, now one book has taken on the task, and done it admirably.
I'm having some trouble convincing Mrs. Jogger that it would actually be a good idea for me to run a marathon. She supports my running, but thinks that a marathon is just too much. If I can get her to read this book, perhaps it will give her some insight into what I'm thinking. Or at least she'll know that there are at least 37 other nuts out there as well.
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