May as well ... 2014

[glaconman]

I think the thing that resonates with people about FITC and BTR are the fact that they both have a strong dramatic narrative. The're film-scripts waiting for a cinematic release. This narrative is also woven very well with reference and historical material. That makes them more complete and satisfying books certainly.

Ultimately the later BW/RA books are more personal accounts of running. Like dna or finger-prints. We would all write very different books given the time and publishing deal. So to that extent I relish BW's position without necessarily agreeing wholesale with it all. His struggle to come to terms with big city marathons is a keen anthropological insight for me.

I suppose this another example of what Freud referred to as 'the vanity of small differences'. We could celebrate our unity as runners; but people are more motivated to differentiate.

Young people will often congregate around fashion, 2-wheeled motorised transport and intentional sound made by small groups of their peers. You would think this would unite them. But instead they created mods and rockers and fought. Personally I wondered from tribe to tribe as a youngster. I suppose that's what I'm doing as a runner.

It might be worth pointing out that the BGR is completed by a wide variety of people. Some are elite fell runners (B Bland 13:53!). Some are long-distance walkers who have upped their training. Some are back-of-the-pack runners in shorter races.

But they understand how to cover long distances economically. And they have tremendous stamina and will-power. It's an extraordinary achievement. But not everybody's idea of a measure of elite running.