“For this one day, we had converged from around the world; we had attached our microchips and we had pinned on our numbers. We had gone through our pre-race rituals, and then we had stood together at the start, perfect strangers to each other and yet brothers (plus a few sisters) in the maddest feat of endurance known to common man.

With our different-coloured vests, our different hopes, our different worries, we had set off as one. With our different gaits, some super-smooth and slick, other straggly and inelegant, we had surged forward, stretching slowly in the next few hours to cover mile upon mile of Mallorcan road as sweaty humanity pushed itself to the limit. And that was the joy; I realise it now. Not to do well, but simply to be part of it.”

I’ve been slowly reading this book over the past few months, alongside homework assignments and random entertainment magazines. I wanted to share this one quote from near the end, but there were several more than resonated with what I often attempt to say and explain about running. Now if I could just be this philosophical and global around mile 20 of a marathon.