A Fun Read

The title suggests it is a book about running.  Ok, I'm listening.  But, it turns out to be much more than that.  It's a book about priorities and perspective.  Jim Axelrod's journey is about so much more than completing a marathon.  Along the way, he discovered what is really important in life.  Now, you've got me.

On the surface, Axelrod and I seem to have a lot in common.  We're both broadcast journalists.  He's a CBS national correspondent, I manage to get a few stories on the air here in Chicago.  We're about the same age.  We are both runners, and balance our running with family and professional responsibilities.  Jim's book, In the Long Run, is about his effort to train for, and run the New York marathon.  I ran it the same year he did.

We are also quite different.  He is a well-travelled network correspondent who has covered the White House, the war in Iraq and many other big stories.  I occasionally get a road trip to Gary, or Dekalb.  He is the author of a book that was reviewed on the CBS morning show (you can find the interview here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7365589n).  I write a blog about running that I link to Facebook.  At least I've run more marathons than him!

Anyway, when I saw a brief review of the book somewhere a while back, I was immediately intrigued, and ordered a copy.  I often get backed up with the books and magazines that seem to pile up before I get a chance to read them, but this book immediately went to the top of the pile into the 'must read' category.

And once I started reading it, it was one of those books I didn't want to put down, but also didn't want to race through.  It's a thoughtful book, and I wanted the experience of reading it to last.

The running part is actually a pretty small portion of the book.  You wouldn't read it for training tips.  In fact, Axelrod took a pretty random, unorganized approach to training.  He was out of shape, overweight, drank too much, and hadn't run since high school when he got the bug.  He sought advice from relatives and friends, but he didn't follow any specific training program.  He increased the distance of his runs mostly based on confidence.  He stopped and started his running program numerous times over the year leading up to the marathon.  He did virtually nothing besides running different distances at the same pace.  No intervals, hills, or tempo runs. 

Initially his goal was to beat the time his late father had run at his age.  Eventually he realized 3:29 was well out of reach, and he decided that simply finishing was victory enough. 

He cut back on drinking, lost weight, and began to eat healthier.  And he did finish, in about 4:30.  He also hurdled numerous obstacles from work conflicts to injury to reach his goal.  And he made some realizations about his life that helped him understand that he needed to make fundamental changes in his priorities before it was too late. 

He emerged a better person, not for having finished a marathon, but because he learned to value his family more, and his career less.  He made peace with memories of his troubled relationship with his father.  He writes that it was tremendously emotional to cross the finish line in Central Park.  In many ways, it was just the beginning.

See you on the roads.....

 

Comments

[Kelly McCain]

Thanks for the tip! Sounds like a great read. I'm getting my copy this weekend!