I ran track in high school and college but never in any race that went more than once around the track. So when I started running road races of 5K and 10K distances, I had no idea of how to train. Much of what you learn comes from actually running a race. More information can be learned from experienced runners who gave you training advice or tips on running and buying shoes, etc.
The other source to get some information on long-distance running came from buying books on the subject and reading it cover to cover. Books like “Target 26,” Jim Fixx’s book, “The Complete Runner,” “Consumer’s Report on Marathon Running” and one of George Sheehan’s books were great sources of information. Of course, I had to subscribe to the magazines, “Runner’s World” and “Runner” for a monthly upgrade of information. Now the books are more on a serious level like, “Spark,” “Sport’s Gene,” “RunSmart,” and “You (only faster).”
For some reason, my wife was clearing out an old storage box and came across some of these older running books. While most of them dealt with training programs, one was a look at the humorous side of running. It was a small hardback-covered book titled, “Running,” and was published in 1992. That is almost 30 years ago and some of the cartoons and short stories can be used in today’s running circles. It is always fun to look at the humorous side of sports in general and running specifically. Most of the cartoons will give you a laugh, or at least make you smile, and probably originated from an actual occurrence by runners. I could relate to several of them throughout my career as a runner. Here are a few of the ones I could comment on. How many can you relate to?
