Books: The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances

It's taken almost a year, but I'm finally ready for the Palm Beaches Half Marathon next weekend. Before I started training regularly, my longest run was a shade over three miles; now my Sunday long runs top 11 miles. That means I have just enough stamina to tackle the 13.1 mile circuit, which runs on Flagler Drive from Manatee Lagoon down to Washington Road.

My minor infatuation with running is nothing compared to cartoonist Matthew Inman, who explains his running obsession in the book The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances:

Most of the material comes from the multi-part webcomic of the same name. In both, Inman describes how he does not run for health or vanity, but to quiet the terrible noise of life on Earth (I find that my long runs do the same thing for me, to a point). Inman is a fairly serious runner (he's completed ultra marathons), but the book still comes at running from a funny, grape soda-filled perspective. It's a great gift idea for someone taking up running as part of a New Year's resolution.