That's some good runnin'

Running Past Midnight:
A Woman's Ultra-marathon Adventure
by Molly Sheridan

Could be subtitled, "What to do with the Second Half of My Life?"  I liked the beginning best--she's 48, facing empty nest syndrome, and a younger friend asks her to do a marathon. She starts off training, almost immediately gets a stress factor, and is told by a young, know-it-all doctor that she shouldn't be running. No questions. No discussion. Immobilize the food for six months and never try to run again.

It turns out she's not the kind of person to listen to bad advice, as you already know since it says right on the cover that she becomes an ultra-marathoner.  Did she spend the next seven years proving the doctor was wrong, or was she simply trying to answer her own question--how far can I run?

At the time of writing of the book, the question doesn't appear to have been answered. I like that--and maybe, there is no answer. Maybe a better question would be, "How far do I want to run?" and it appears that for Ms. Sheridan, the answer is, "as far as someone can plan a race for."

The writing is often so matter-of-fact that it makes running 100 miles seem as do-able as driving to work on a crowded Monday morning. (And as pleasant)  And reading about the times when she had to stop--or should I say pause and try again next time--gave me a new sense of determination to not give up myself even though the heat of Texas summer is beating me down. I've been doing shorter and shorter runs at slower and slower times. But that's not the end! Ms. Sheridan might make a reasoned decision to stop, knowing that pushing on with an injury is just going to result in a longer healing time before she can race again.  But...stopping is not the same as quitting.  The battle is lost--the race goes on.

What's she racing against? Mortality? Immortality? Just pure pig-headed stubbornness? I don't know, but I hope she figures it out and writes another book.