Book Review: The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances

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I had a little over four hours to kill on the train on my way back from the Rock ‘n’ DC Half Marathon. I received a few running related books for Christmas so I decided to bring one of these books on my trip. I wanted something light and funny so I chose The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances by Matthew Inman. It seemed fitting since I had just somehow made it through 13.1 miles, in the rain, with an injured ankle, and was wondering – why am I doing this to myself?


I knew the book would be hilarious because it was written by the genius behind The Oatmeal website. If you’ve never gone to this website, you have to check it out. It’s hilarious and right in line with my sense of humor. 


So let’s just get into the book review. This book is hilarious and awesome. If you have a love/hate relationship with running (like me), then you’ll enjoy this book. Matthew identifies things that I’m sure every runner has thought at one time during a run.


Why this book is awesome:

• “The Blerch” – (funniest name ever!) Matthew identifies the blerch as “a fat little cherub who follows me when I run”. The blerch is basically that little voice inside your head that tries to sabotage your runs. You know, the voice that says “let’s sleep in today” “slow down, you’re going to fast” “you should #eatallthefood since you ran today”. We all have a “blerch” and often it’s hard to make it go away, but eventually we do because we’re runners and we need some sort of discipline, right?
• Food – I think we all struggle with this. After a long run, I often feel like I can eat all the food in the refrigerator (its funny because I never feel this way after a race haha). I think we rationalize that since we ran X amount of miles, we can eat enough food to feed 3 people. This is still something I struggle with, and sure I fall off the wagon sometimes, but for the most part I keep this in check
• Agony – Let’s face it, running long distances is hard work. It’s not like anyone can wake up and say “I think I’ll run 20 miles for fun this morning”. Aches and pains are par for the course when you start logging longer distances. For me, running is a challenge so that’s why I do it. To me the agony and hard work is worth it whenever you meet a goal or finish a race.
• Clarity – Running can often provide clarity. When you’re outside logging miles for a long period of time, it gives you a chance to think  – you can think about work, family, friends, errands, things you have do later on in the day, etc. 

#eatingallthefood – Source

“Do’s” and “Dont’s” of running a marathon – Source

“The Blerch”- Source