Introduction by Gail Waesche Kislevitz
If you have the passion, you have the power.
I had already been pounding pavement for twenty-four years when I made
the decision to run my first marathon. Growing up in the late sixties
when women's sports was called cheerleading, I had no formal training in
running techniques. I just ran, pure and simple. I ran for the joy of
it, the thrill of it, the escape of it. During college, I played
lacrosse because there wasn't a women's track team and it seemed like
the next best thing to do. But I still remained faithful to my daily
run. I ran through the bitter-cold winters of Michigan during graduate
school, through two pregnancies and countless other miles that seem to
blend into one long life's run.
I don't know when I made the transformation from running as a sport to
running as part of my life. I can't separate the two. When I run, my
mind and body fuse together, creating an energy source that empowers me.
It is my private time, my therapy, my religion.
Ultimately I had to test myself, to see just how far I could go. I
wanted to train correctly, so I bought running books filled with
important information: training routines, nutrition guides, stretching
techniques, injury prevention, speed work, pace and performance
guidelines. Everything I needed to know about the technical aspects of
running a marathon, except the most important thing to me-its soul. No
book took on the task of describing the feeling, the heart, the core of
a marathon. What would it be like? What would I feel out there? Would I
hit the mythical wall? Could the last six miles be so difficult? This
was the information I craved.
I spoke with friends (and strangers) who had run marathons. They
answered my questions with such passion, such fever and excitement for
the event that I was mesmerized. I inhaled their stories as they
captured every moment of the race: the lows of utter despair and pain,
the highs of inner strength. They became my role models.
That was the beginning of this book. I am going to let runners speak for
themselves-famous runners, unknowns, fast and slow, old and young.
Through their experiences, you will feel the pain and the glory of
running the marathon. Their lives h
