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Marathon & Beyond Archive · Topic

Humor

38 articles — Essays and columns that find the funny in 26.2 miles. Includes Bingham, Henderson, and reader-submitted pieces.

M&B · 2000 It’s OK to DNF — Really! It’s OK to 1 DNF—Really! The Marathon Will Always Be There, Waiting for You to Return. BY TIM MARTIN T HE ODDEST thoughts flash through your… Tim Martin · 5 min read Vol. 19, No. 3 · 2015 Back to the Basics It’s funny how cell phones used to be big and bulky. Through the years, they got smaller, sleeker, and smaller still. The ones that were the… Cara McLaurin Esau · 26 min read Vol. 19, No. 2 · 2015 Hats Offto Larry! Champ of what? Well, champion of what this magazine is all about, that’s what! Richard Laurence (“Larry”) Macon has undisputedly run more marathons (with some ultras)… Chuck Savage · 10 min read Vol. 19, No. 1 · 2015 The Pacer “Y ou should train for a marathon. Philly is in November,” I said. “I’ll do it if you promise to train and pace me,” she said.… Michael Green · 20 min read Vol. 18, No. 6 · 2014 How I Became Gary Fanelli, Part 4 Since I was 17, I had that feeling, an intuitive feeling, the dream of competing in the Olympic Games. But more than a decade of training… Gary Fanelli · 23 min read M&B Vol. 18, No. 4 · 2014 Top 10 Ways Your Crew Might Sabotage Your Finish During an ultrarunning adventure, participants often joke that the one constant is weather fluctuation, a guarantee that conditions will change during the race. Your support crew… Kara Garrod · 21 min read Vol. 17, No. 6 · 2013 Start, Turn, Finish The scene in the predawn dark before the Zoom! Yah! Yah! Marathon is simultaneously perfectly normal and completely surreal. It’s 6:00 a.m. on the first Sunday… Dallas Crow · 16 min read Vol. 17, No. 4 · 2013 The 2010 Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon Multiday journey-type ultramarathons have always fascinated me. We’ve all heard of the Marathon des Sables through the Sahara Desert. I picked a different part of Africa… Heather Howells · 14 min read Vol. 17, No. 1 · 2013 Going Far, Part 3 Going Far The first trip outside the United States was more than memorable. Part 3. BY JOE HENDERSON 8. The Olympics MEXICO CITY, MEXICO, October 1968.… Joe Henderson · 18 min read Vol. 17, No. 1 · 2013 Iowa, Oh, Iowa I wandered lonely as an Idiot Who floats up and down Iowa bluff country When all at once I saw Something flashing A Tommy Christmas Tree… Ted Gamble · 16 min read M&B Vol. 16, No. 6 · 2012 So You Think You’re Tough? Jon Longley (left) and Ben Kirkup (right) keep a sense of humor after surviving the “Electroshock Therapy” obstacle. © Dmitry Gudkov for Tough Mudder Jon Longley… Gail Kislevitz · 14 min read Vol. 16, No. 5 · 2012 My Most Unforgettable Ultramarathon (Vol. 16, No. 5) Trail Advisory There is absolutely nothing special about the subpar Mount Mitchell Challenge, the Bud Light Chelada of ultramarathons. Aid stations stock only Brussels sprouts. The… Dean Schuster · 17 min read Vol. 15, No. 5 · 2011 My Most Unforgettable Ultramarathon (Vol. 15, No. 5) HILLSBORO, NEW MEXICO, Ghost Town 38.5, January 16, 2011—The first time I saw a running magazine, I thought it was a joke. Actually, I am sure… Greg Henneman · 15 min read Vol. 15, No. 5 · 2011 Going The Distance In Pennsylvania “W hy did I ever agree to running this?” groaned Sarah, my running partner for the day on the infamous stairway to heaven at mile 25… Phil Hesser · 22 min read Vol. 15, No. 3 · 2011 The Good, The Bad, And The Beautiful At the San Francisco Civic Center, another runner and I laced up together at the starting line. Just over 52 days later, I finished alone on… Marshall Ulrich · 15 min read Vol. 14, No. 6 · 2010 The Purple Runner, Part 2 The Purple Runner Warren Fowles heads to England to get the rest of his life underway. Part 2. By Paul Christman Chapter 3 Thirty-six-year-old Warren Fowles… Paul Christman · 30 min read Vol. 14, No. 4 · 2010 The Marathon Life Of Reilly So you think you would like to be an athletic agent. Zephyring through airports to exotic locations, schmoozing with fit-looking thinclads, running helter-skelter down forested trails… P.J. Christman · 23 min read Vol. 14, No. 3 · 2010 2:59:59 To understand my trepidation as I approached the finish of the 2008 Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon, you have to understand the history. It’s not that with about… Steve Paske · 18 min read Vol. 14, No. 1 · 2010 Pacing As Soulcraft My ex-husband was a big, handsome guy—lumbering, soft spoken, quick to make a gentle joke. But you would never call him graceful. Not unless you saw… Rachel Toor · 15 min read Vol. 13, No. 1 · 2009 Full Hyakkai Raku-Sou Kai Running the World Full Hyakkai Raku-Sou Kai Happiness is a running club that sports pink clothes. by Don McNelly Ten years ago, I was invited to… Don McNelly · 7 min read Vol. 12, No. 6 · 2008 Hate Runs The great herd of college students had long since migrated, and with the majority of native Bostonians either down on the Cape or up hugging some… Toni Reavis · 18 min read Vol. 12, No. 5 · 2008 Twelve Hungry Men This is the story of 12 madmen on a voyage of attempted Arthurian scope. No armor did they wear, yet this ad hoc Coloradoan band remained… P.J. Christman · 22 min read M&B Vol. 12, No. 5 · 2008 Van, Psy.D., And Bridget A. Murphy, Ph.D. » Ted with his son, Gary, and wife, Ruth, after the Olympic Trials marathon in Yonkers, New York, in 1956. pile, I found his Olympic uniform.… John P. Sull · 6 min read Vol. 12, No. 3 · 2008 Flanagan’s Run, Part 6 Flanagan’s Run The FBI Decides to Keep an Eye on the Trans-America Race. Part 6. By Tom McNab The first ten chapters of Flanagan’s Run were… Tom McNab · 39 min read
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