The Lure of Long Distances Why We Run

Amateur ultra-distance runner Robin Harvie ran his first marathon after a bet. He has never broken a record and has never won a single race in his life. Like most people, his courtship with long-distance running was gradual--a leisurely pastime that became more alluring with every completed mile. In The Lure of Long DistancesHarvie elegantly blends the history of running legends with memoir to explore where simply putting one foot in front of the other can lead. His feats culminate in an effort to run the toughest footrace in the world--a non-stop 152-mile-long race of mythological proportions from Athens to Sparta. With every mile he discovers the possibility that resides in his legs, is surprised by his own reckless inhibition, and is awed by the beauty of motion. Through the scorching heat of the desert and into the darkest hours of the morning, The Lure of Long Distancestaps into the attraction to long-distance running. Why do we do it, and who has done it before? Do we run to escape the routine of everyday life, or are we motivated by the promise of returning home? This is a story for anyone who has ever laced up a pair of sneakers in search of release, of how an ordinary man took on the remarkable to find out what running is really made of.

Robin Harvie ran his first marathon in 2000 after a bet. When he realized he couldn't run 26.2 miles in under three hours twelve minutes, despite years of trying, he decided instead to see how far he could run before keeling over. In preparation for the toughest and oldest footrace on earth he ran 6,000 miles in one year, including the Round Rotherham 50 mile ultra, the Sri Chinmoy Transcendental 100 kilometer ultra marathon, in which he came fourth, and the 72 mile Bob Graham Round in the Lake District. He lives in London.