Michael On July 8, 2001, the racing newsletter reporter ran the San Francisco Marathon. It was so incredibly tough that probably none of you softies can even imagine it. Let those who have ears to hear, listen: Anyone who even thinks about giving up will do so by kilometer 35 at the latest. The only way to complete the 42 kilometers is to firmly believe that there are only two ways to finish a marathon: crossing the finish line on your feet or lying on a stretcher.

For three long months leading up to the event, I had been preparing for the run according to the training program in the book The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer, starting with 5 km runs, four times a week, and a long run each weekend. The workload increases each week. By the way, you never run the full marathon distance in training—the longest training run is 29 km, three weeks before the actual marathon. But the most important part isn't the physical preparation—of course, your muscles need to be strengthened and your body needs to learn how to manage energy carefully. You have to learn to drink regularly and supply your body with carbohydrates through brightly colored sugar water called "Gatorade."

But most important is the mental preparation. You learn to play movies in your head for the moments when it gets hard to keep going. For example, you imagine yourself running past cheering spectators, passing the the finish line. Or that you're a steam engine that no one can stop. It's also very important not to set a time limit. The goal is to finish the marathon—whether in 3, 4, 5, or even 6 hours, it doesn’t matter at all. The spectators at the actual event were phenomenal, too. It was wild how many complete strangers were cheering me on: "Way to go! You're all winners! Looking strong!"

TODO

By the way, each runner receives a small computer chip that is attached to their shoe. It sends signals to the measurement stations that you pass by. This allows the marathon organizer not only to see exactly how long it actually took you from the starting line (which you may only cross a few minutes after the starting gun due to the many runners) to the finish line, but also to verify that you actually passed all the measurement stations along the route.

The first 32 kilometers go by quite easily; although there are some nasty hills in the way in San Francisco, it's manageable. However, from kilometer 32 onwards, it becomes extremely tough. The muscles threaten to cramp, the knees ache from the pounding of feet against the asphalt, even the arm muscles hurt and need to be shaken out regularly. This is the point where many people give up--either because they set a time limit that is now impossible to achieve or because it seems pointless to struggle through the last stage just to cover a few more kilometers. One might think that if you can run 32 kilometers, you can also manage the last 10, but that's misleading. Experienced runners know: A marathon is divided into two stages: the first 32 kilometers and the last 10 kilometers, both of which should not be underestimated. Of course, your honorable newsletter reporter couldn't give up for at least two reasons: Firstly, he didn't see why he should pay another 50 dollars entry fee for the next marathon, and secondly, he had already told so many people about this run that the shame of giving up would have been immense. The many millions of newsletter readers would surely have laughed themselves silly! And so, the racing newsletter reporter gritted his teeth and galloped through to the finish line. Thank you, dear readers, you saved me!

To celebrate the occasion, I would like to share a quote that I saved especially for this event (I planned ahead). From the internet broadcast of the football match in which the club Bayern Munich recently won the European Cup:

The next day was, of course, terrible. I discovered that you can drive even the shortest distances by car and that many buildings have well-functioning elevators. But the experience was unique. I can only recommend it to everyone--it was simply amazing to limp across the finish line after such an effort, cheered on by thousands of spectators. Then Angelika was right there, I got my medal, we left Golden Gate Park through a side exit, and as if by a miracle, a taxi came by. Out of sheer shock, I gave the driver a five-dollar tip, hobbled up the stairs at home, and slipped into a bathtub of hot water. Only once in a lifetime! To top that, next year I have to walk barefoot through Antarctica.

After the marathon, I realized that all my sneakers were worn out. Adding up all the training runs, they were about 600 km long! Since I already knew which brand and size I wanted, I thought I'd try something new: ordering sneakers online. I clicked around a few times on www.eastbay.com, paid with a credit card, and a few days later, a shoebox was delivered to AOL at the office, where I had them sent. Super cheap! Super fast! Super reliable! A few days later, caught up in the shopping frenzy, I placed two more orders.

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• More topics you might be interested in:

  	Cute little animals
  	Sweets
  	Japanese Class
  	The record of the month
  	Autounfall
  	How does one get the Green Card?
  	The president is sending us money
  	Help with spending money
  	Energy Crisis