Book Review: The Addicted Runner

A friend of mine ran 366 days in a row last year. He ended his streak on January 3, 2010. When I asked him why he decided to start this endeavor he replied, “I was pondering what goal I should set for myself running-wise for the year, and knew that with a toddler and a baby on the way, I wouldn’t have time to train for a marathon. I had seen the US Running Streak Association website and figured I could at the very least do the minimum requirement for a streak.” So, once you’ve been running for an entire year straight, why do you suddenly put the streak to bed? My friend had originally set this goal for one year and although tough to let go of at first, he was happy to put it behind him.

Streaking has caught my attention over the years not because I care to start my own running streak but because of the addiction associated with it. I mean, you have to be seriously addicted to consciously decide to run every single day with no days off, right? Running is both an easy and healthy fix for the addictive personality. The endorphins become as necessary as your morning coffee, sometimes they even replace coffee if you can believe that.

I came across Marc David’s book, The Addicted Runner, courtesy of a friend who, while vacationing in Arizona, met Marc at a race in Phoenix. I soon got in touch with Marc, a native Allentonian, via Facebook and learned he would be in town for this past weekend’s half marathon. In fact, he had a table set up at the Expo on Saturday. I do hope you had a chance to stop and talk with him and buy his book. It’s well worth the read, even if you aren’t a streaker.

Marc hasn’t always been a runner but he got hooked – in a big way. He hasn’t missed a single day of running in over 27 years. This is the whole premise of his book: the mindset of an addicted runner. Marc’s writing is both humorous and honest as he reveals his running habit, something which is difficult to keep hidden for very long. I mean, what kind of crazy person would head outside for a run on a day when an entire city is shut down due to snow and the only place to run is in the tracks of a National Guard Hum-V? Or run on sheets of ice? Or how about doing speedwork in 105° temperatures, just because. You’ve got to hand it to the guy, not many people can run like he can. I’m not sure I could run every single day. The longest I’ve gone is about 16 days and that is completely fine with me.

On some level I can completely connect with this guy. He can’t sit still for very long having spent many of his years going from assignment to assignment, job to job. After a couple of years it’s time for a new adventure. I spoke briefly with Marc about this wanderlust because I, too, have experienced this, only I couldn’t sit still in one place for more than six months at a time, at best. Ask me about it someday. I definitely think there is a strong connection between Marc’s wanderlust and his running addiction. It’s almost as if you can never really quench that desire, that need for more, for something bigger and better. You keep going and going, sort of like the energizer bunny. While some might view Marc’s running streak as preposterous or neurotic, I think that running is that one constant in his life that helps keep him grounded.

If you are a native of the Lehigh Valley or have lived here for some length of time then will probably recognize many of the names that are dropped in the book, the places and the events. Marc mentions Ron Horn’s infamous and sadistic sense of humor and devotes an entire chapter to Horn’s crazy races. The book’s chapters are quick reads, between 2-4 pages long. Marc references local friends and running legends such as Mark Will-Weber, Budd Coates, Bart Yasso, Randy Haas, Laurie Gordon and Fran Gough just to name a few. He also talks about the Lehigh Valley Road Runners club and their annual New Year’s Day 5 mile run each year. This is a run that I look forward to every year, a noon-time run up and down the mountain from Emmaus to Zionsville and back. A perfect start to my new year!

You can find a copy of The Addicted Runner at Aardvark Sports Shop, The Finish Line Running Store and on Amazon.com. You should also check out Marc’s website, theaddictedrunner.com. Do yourself a favor and give this book a read, you’ll be glad you did.