Chris Hobson
Well-Known Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Those who have read my wibblings elsewhere may be aware that my wife Liz and myself are both running the London Marathon this year. For Xmas, my brother Mark bought us two books about the event which I have now finished reading.
The London Marathon – The History of the Greatest Race on Earth.
John Bryant.
As the title suggests, this book tells the history of the London Marathon that was established by a guy called Chris Brasher who was impressed after witnessing the New York Marathon a year or two before the first London Marathon in 1981. As someone who only began taking part in mass running events in 2014, it came as a surprise to me to discover that prior to the nineteen eighties such events didn't really exist. Running was something that athletes did, not ordinary people and running the longer distances was for a tiny minority only. I also learned that London gave the world the standard Marathon distance, having assumed up to then that it was something to do with Ancient Greece. There are chapters about how the event became established, about the winners the also rans and the eccentrics. Chapters about the charity fund raising, about shoes, about hitting the wall. Strangely I entered the event somewhat unaware of its significance in that it is now considered to be the most important marathon event in the world having eclipsed the events in the US that inspired it. Altogether a great read that I would recommend to everyone especially those who have taken part or are intending to one day.
Running the Smoke – 26 First-hand accounts of tackling the London Marathon.
Michael McEwan.
This one was a bit of a harrowing read due to the fact that a large proportion of the accounts come from people who have done the event in the aftermath of some kind of personal tragedy. There is much to take from this about triumph over adversity and the stories are pretty humbling. There are near death experiences due to injuries or cancer, bereavements, life changing injuries and in every case the subject has come out fighting. It is just that reading twenty or so such stories one after another is somewhat overwhelming. Mixed in with the sad stories are the accounts from the runners who have won the event, ultra runners who run the course three times in a row, the guy who did it in a diving suit and the guy who did the whole thing while keeping a football in the air. Again this was a good read but not for the faint hearted.
The London Marathon – The History of the Greatest Race on Earth.
John Bryant.
As the title suggests, this book tells the history of the London Marathon that was established by a guy called Chris Brasher who was impressed after witnessing the New York Marathon a year or two before the first London Marathon in 1981. As someone who only began taking part in mass running events in 2014, it came as a surprise to me to discover that prior to the nineteen eighties such events didn't really exist. Running was something that athletes did, not ordinary people and running the longer distances was for a tiny minority only. I also learned that London gave the world the standard Marathon distance, having assumed up to then that it was something to do with Ancient Greece. There are chapters about how the event became established, about the winners the also rans and the eccentrics. Chapters about the charity fund raising, about shoes, about hitting the wall. Strangely I entered the event somewhat unaware of its significance in that it is now considered to be the most important marathon event in the world having eclipsed the events in the US that inspired it. Altogether a great read that I would recommend to everyone especially those who have taken part or are intending to one day.
Running the Smoke – 26 First-hand accounts of tackling the London Marathon.
Michael McEwan.
This one was a bit of a harrowing read due to the fact that a large proportion of the accounts come from people who have done the event in the aftermath of some kind of personal tragedy. There is much to take from this about triumph over adversity and the stories are pretty humbling. There are near death experiences due to injuries or cancer, bereavements, life changing injuries and in every case the subject has come out fighting. It is just that reading twenty or so such stories one after another is somewhat overwhelming. Mixed in with the sad stories are the accounts from the runners who have won the event, ultra runners who run the course three times in a row, the guy who did it in a diving suit and the guy who did the whole thing while keeping a football in the air. Again this was a good read but not for the faint hearted.
