The Marathon Chronicles: An Introduction

Eight months ago, I picked this book up from one of the Sunday markets in Cairns. There was a stall that sold second-hand and discounted books, with volumes stacked on either end of a long table which itself held a massive amount of paperbacks. Of course, this book stood out amongst all others, and it hit me with the same effect as when you're looking for someone you know in a large crowd and suddenly find him or her in between an ocean of people. I've heard a lot about this book (from the usual running crowd) and have searched for months in the Philippines trying to find it to no avail. So I snatched the lone copy the second I saw it.

Interestingly enough, I stopped reading the book not even halfway into it. Why? Beats me. I guess during those months I was slowly slipping into that non-running stupor and quickly lost the plot. It went to the bookshelf along with books previously read, where it lived for the next few months. Last night, it found its way back to my hands and this time, with more fervour in my part.


Murakami's foreword states "...it's all right to read this as a kind of memoir centered on the act of running." It's a very cool perspective, but as I don't think the world would benefit from my memoirs, I aim to follow his footsteps in just trying to chronicle my journey in training for my first marathon. I find it incredibly inspiring, reading other peoples' forays into running, especially those who are masters of prose and weave words together with spellbinding ease. If I manage to inspire even just a single person to run or strive to reach a goal by putting my experiences to words, that would be well worth the time and effort.

I've been thinking about running a marathon for three years now, and I've always imagined the time would come for me to document the entire (well, hopefully most of it) experience. And I've always known what I would call it: The Marathon Chronicles.

Fine. I know I'm not the first one to use it, but I like how it sounds!

Training has already started a couple of weeks ago. No proper training program in place yet; just trying to get the feel back. I reckon it has been largely successful, and my craving for the runner's high has definitely become stronger. I've been logging my runs again and keeping track of the kilometres that I put into my legs. Old habits have made a comeback, specifically scouring the plethora of Pinoy running blogs for tips and inspiring entries. Everything feels very familiar, and I find comfort in that.

In fact, running has permeated my life yet again that I write of it not just in pixels, but with the scratch of pen on paper; a sure sign that it is constantly in my head.

Welcome to the Marathon Chronicles

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