2007 - December

[El Gordo]

OK, so I'm capricious. But I also need to maximise my chances of success in Boston, and for that reason I've decided to start using the old website again www.runningcommentary.net -- for a while at least. It's hard to explain but I need my own space again. It's a little more motivating, and I need to take every scrap of help I can get.

I hope no one minds.

[Sweder]

Whatever works (and so gets you to that Boston start line) is OK with me mate. I must look out this Sheehan character's works - he seems to speak a good amount of common sense. Where's a good place (book) to start?

Personally I'm going to stick with the 'old' diaries (here in the forum) for all my reports and musings as this seems to generate more 'banter'. There's been little enough activity on the Typepad site, and without visible visitor stats its hard to know if anyone's even reading the stuff.

[El Gordo]

Sheehan is strangely hard to track down. He deserves to be lauded in the running community, and actually he is. But for some reason his books go out of print, though occasionally get republished as new generations discover him.

I've bought 6 of his books (3 of which were in one volume), but had to buy them all second-hand from Amazon. Sometimes they reach high prices though I notice that there are currently some reasonably-priced copies of one of his classics, Running And Being, on there at the moment.

For more immediate satisfaction of Sheehan hunger, check out http://www.georgesheehan.com, and pick out a few of his essays at random. They're short and very readable. Most of them will make you think, and some may make you want to punch the air -- even if you don't actually carry through that urge.

He's a fascinating guy, if somewhat eccentric. Each morning he would run for an hour in ski mask and long johns, along the shore in New Jersey where he lived, before attending to his patients. He was a GP. He used to recommend a couple of beers each evening. But a great runner too. Started at the age of 45, and became the world record holder for the mile for the 50 age group. He got his marathon PB of 3:01 at the age of 60.

But it's his writing that was truly his talent. Not just the writing but the perception and the wisdom that drove it.

As you can tell, I'm a big fan.

Success rests in having the courage and endurance and, above all, the will to become the person you are, however peculiar that may be. Then you will be able to say, 'I have found my hero, and my hero is me.

[El Gordo]

Gosh, I just found this link on the George Sheehan site:

http://www.joehenderson.com/

:mad:

[Sweder]

What a dastardly cad!

I'll check out the Sheehan essays. What I've read in your recent posts got my attention; hearing that he advocates a few beers in the evening makes him essential reading

[stillwaddler]

Following your recommendation ElGordo I bought a copy of Running and Being from Amazon, received it yesterday and read about a third yesterday evening.

Thought provoking stuff, if anybody would like to borrow it after I've finished it I'll happily post it. Come to think of it, I've got a few running related books now and would be happy to share if anyone is interested?

Once again - I'll be thinking of you all in Almeria.

I'm glad we're back on this site, it still seems easier to use.