Matt Long

Whatever you’re doing right now: Stop it! You need to go get a copy of the March 2009 issue of Runner’s World.

I’m not kidding! Go get it… I’ll wait.

You back?

OK. Turn to page 87 to read “A Second Life:”

Matt Long had life by the horns — until the day he got crushed by a 20-ton bus. Though the once unstoppable firefighter and Ironman suffered horrific injuries, he somehow survived. Then he had to do something even harder: learn to live again. so Long took on another impossible challenge. He decided to run a marathon.

You can watch a bunch of videos about Matt on the Runner’s World site… AFTER YOU READ THE STORY. Seriously. Do not cheat yourself out of reading the article. It’s very well-written and even though you know the outcome, it’s packed with suspense. You might get a tear in your eye. And you’ll definitely think twice about whining during your next training session.

Also in this issue:
– a story about the Bataan Memorial Death March in White Sands, NM on March 29 (Heaven help me! I have ZERO interest in running a marathon, but this challenge is VERY enticing.)

– some really great tips on posture, stride, and training to help you run injury-free

– a personal essay by Caleb Daniloff about how running helps him manage his sobriety (“No longer am I running from my demons, but running to look them in the eye.”)

– a great edition of “The Newbie Chronicles,” a monthly column by Marc Parent, a new runner; see his columns online here.

– an ad for the North Face Endurance Challenge that got me fired up thinking about doing a half marathon trail run in San Francisco next December (“A majority of the course covers run-able fire road (very little technical single track) overlooking the Pacific Ocean with occasional glimpses of the Golden Gate Bridge.”)…

… or Madison, WI next October. (“The forested area, massaged by monstrous glaciers many millennia ago, contains wake-up-call hill climbs of 200-300 feet and enough undulating terrain to challenge even those granite-legged mountain runners. Overall, the soft, forgiving course is 80% singletrack, with slightly wider, equestrian sections sprinkled in between.”)