I started running to escape the memories that drinking couldn't cover up

It had been said that the marathon doesn't really begin until mile twenty. I say mile twenty-six would be more appropriate. The final two-tenths of a mile is filled with emotion. No matter how desperately you're struggling at this point, thoughts typically drift away from the immediate task at hand (ie, survival) to broader feelings.

Running back-to-back races requires a certain tactical prudence. Going too hard in any one race might jeopardize your performance in another. Maintaining proper hydration and caloric equilibrium also becomes increasingly critical.

If you just go out there and run 100 miles, it breaks down a lot of barriers in terms of self-imposed limitations.

I run with a credit card and a cell phone, so when there is not a 7-Eleven around, like some of the country roads out there, I can get him to deliver a pizza to me. And I kind of give them a coordinate, a corner.

Running is a simple, primitive act, and therein lays its power. For it is one of the few commonalities left between us as a human race.

If someone had said to me before I started doing this that a human being is capable of running 100 miles nonstop, I would have just said: 'No way. I mean, how?' If you just go out there and run 100 miles, it breaks down a lot of barriers in terms of self-imposed limitations.

I run to breathe the fresh air. I run to explore. I run to escape the ordinary.

I do a lot of marathons as training runs. If I'm somewhere and there's a marathon, I'll sign up and just go run it.