Phedippidations

In order to start the conversation that plants the seed of an idea into someone’s head that they might want to begin the process to adopt the running life style, you need the right ammunition: you need to commit to memory at least a handful of logical arguments that will make your proposal effective and produce results.

“To be or not to be?”, that is only the second question we have to ask ourselves: the first is: Are we? or Are we not?  Do we exist or is this all just a dream?    Descartes had something to say about all this, and it’s to Descartes that we will go, as we begin to contemplate that one thing that makes us appreciate the way it feels to run across the Earth, to feel the sweat, effort and joy of getting our miles in and moving these bodies that we either are or inhabit.  Descarte can help us begin the process of understanding why, as we run a race or by ourselves on the open road: we feel, very much alive.

In this episode I present for you an abridged for podcast version of Henry David Thoreau’s essay “A Walk to Wachusett”.    As you listen to these words, think about the excursion you might make wherever you live; knowing that you could cover the distance on a long run, but instead taking the time to walk and explore the world around you.    This is one of the great lessons of Thoreau: that we should savor the journey and experience our environment.  It’s as Professor Nancy Etcoff said in my episode 274 on the Pursuit of Happiness: The pleasure system in our brain responds positively to the beauty of the natural world.     I love to run, as I know you do: but maybe every once in a while we should slow down, and just go for a walk.

Philosophers have been asking the question “What is Truth” for thousands of years, as they try to determine if truth is subjective, objective, relative or absolute.   I think that we, as runners: have a special opportunity to both ask and, in some specific way, at least, answer the question for ourselves.    Truth can be found in the hard work and determination we put into every mile; truth can be understood based on our personal experiences about what we can achieve and the goals we can accomplish: and truth can be felt in the exhaustion, sweat, agony and tears associated with the triumphs and failures of a life on the road.

I propose to you that running can bring you great happiness, and since I know that I’m preaching to the choir here, I’ll ask you to consider how running can bring happiness to those in your family, friends and acquaintances whom you’ll meet in your life…and that no matter how sad or broken they and we may sometimes feel: we have an obligation and a certain unalienable right to engage in the pursuit of happiness.

In this episode we tackle the philosophical question “Is it morally right to quit a road race?”.  For help in understanding the question en route to an answer, we call about the great minds of Professor Richard Dawkins, Immanuel Kant, Socrates, and Aristotle.

The 6th Anniversay of Phedippidations.

This episode of Phedippidations is intended to recreate for you the experience of running with fellow runners and friends.  On April 30th Team Poco Loco gathered in Boston Massachusetts to run a half marathon distance around the mighty Charles River.  

This is the story of a fellow runner by the name of Katie who fought a good fight in that all too familiar way where all options are gone and the only thing left to do was to make a terrible agonizing choice: “When you have nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire” 

A tour of the Poco Loco Course  

“From where he tottered before the couch, on muscles immune to elongation and contraction, Duncan contemplated his next move.  Opposite the lavatory, on the northern end of this dwelling, was his bedroom: unkempt and festooned with the discarded wrappings of many cakes, candies and snack treats; necessary supplements to his ongoing carbohydrate loading.”   This is the story of Duncan, a man without ambition or purpose who stumbles upon an idea that challenges his very existence and forces him to consider living a different life.  In this original story, I try to convey the importance of inspiration and how powerful positive examples can have to those who seek to live a better quality of life.   LINKS:   Trail Slammer's 100 Mile Ultrarunning podcast:   Book recommendations:    Core Performance Endurance by Mark Vertegen    Athletic Body in Balance by Grey Cook     Manzanita Beach Walk/Run:   The song “Go” was a new track by the band Stray Palace, a side project of Black Lab’s Paul Durham.  Go to http://straypalace.com to learn more and you can download this song at http://blacklabworld.com   The song “Make a Wish” was an instrumental composition by Dan and Adam Skinner

  The term varietal describes an elementary form of something.  With wine, it’s the fermented product of a single grape.  With running, the word varietal describes the specific practice of a training element.  With running as with wine it’s important to understand the differences between the fundamental elements that go into the final product, so that when the harvest is released: be it after bottling or on race day: the end result can be savored over time; with rich expressive notes and a fine lasting finish. The concept of varietal is as useful to wine as it is to running.  It helps to define the unique elements that make up a good training plan, or great a Bordeaux, Meritage or Blended wine.   It’s important to understand each varietal and how they bring out the best in the end product of that which you seek to consume: be it the finish line of a 26.2 mile road race or the lasting finish of a remarkable bottle of wine.  Get to know the varietals that comprise your goals, and you’ll savor the glass or medal as you live your life to the top. LINKS:     The song “Rocky Road to Dublin” was by the Blaggards stout Irish Rock from Houston, Texas.  Check out all their great music over at  

We all know how running can improve our lives, our health and our disposition with the universe around us.  We know that running is part of a healthy lifestyle and that it can improve the condition of our cardiovascular systems, and that we have evolved as homo sapien sapiens from Australopithecus Africanus to run across the savanna in search of the meat from fallen animals.  The benefits of running are clear, and new evidence is being found that further supports this idea that we should be runners: because as we’ll learn with the workings of the inner brain: running is the smart thing to do! LINKS:   The song “An Ordinary Guy” was written, performed, and produced by one of the most talented musical artists currently residing in this quadrant of the galactic spirally arm: Matthew Ebel; who creates incredible music right here in the Boston area.  Go to his website at join his email list, see where he’ll be playing live, and buy one or five of his great albums at

You and I are out on a run together.  As we’re getting our miles in we start to talk to each other to pass the time. This is where we get to know each other, where we start to open up a little and reveal ourselves as the persons we really are.    You and I are different, with different backgrounds, different beliefs and different understandings of the universe around us.  I want to know what you’re all about, and you might want to know what’s going on in my teenie tiny little head.  So today, let’s acknowledge that we really are out on a run together, and I’m going to reveal to you a little bit more about who I am.   These are what I call: Intervals and I’ve even gone ahead and created a couple of podcasts where I express my thoughts in a rambling diatribe format, one is recorded in audio, the other in video, both are available on iTunes.    In running, of course, an interval workout is one where you run hard for a specific duration or distance, such as once around a track, and then you run at a relaxed rate, or maybe even walk…during an interval between the running portions.   So while Phedippidations is a podcast where we have a conversation about running and running related topics; today’s episode will be an interval break from that.   Today I’m going to open up an audio family picture book of sorts, and tell you a few stories from my life.  There’s nothing earth shattering of deeply profound here…just a few snippets from a life I’ve lived that will better help you to understand this goofy middle aged, middle of the pack slightly asthmatic fellow runner who you run with each week.   LINKS:   The song “I am a Man of Constant Sorrow” was performed by, in order of appearance: The Soggy Bottom Boys and Dan Tyminski; Norman Blake, and John Hartford:

Today I present the second in a series of episodes that I’m calling “Running Blogcasts” featuring the writing of fellow runners in our community who have a talent for the written word.  The author of today’s episode is Kim Cowart. (Kow-ahrt).   Kim is one of the writers for the “Reasons to Run” blog over at Deseretnews.com.  She’s a 35 year old mother of two from West Jordan, Utah.    Kim spent much of her childhood living in Eugene, Oregon where running is as common as breathing.  In her teens, she moved to Utah, where there is a large and very strong running community.  Kim has always run off and on, but it was after she had her second daughter that her love of running became more serious.    It started with a 20 minute run, and before she knew it, she found herself registering for her first marathon.  She had never run a race before, ever.  Her husband says she’s an all-or-nothing kind of girl, and this just proved him right.    Kim finished her first marathon alive and well and even qualified for Boston.  Since that day she has run nine marathons including Boston.  She plans to run Boston again this April as well as the New York Marathon and the Utah Grand Slam which is a series that requires runners to complete four major Utah marathons over the course of six months.  It’s that all-or-nothing part of her personality again.   While Kim loves to call herself a runner, she is many other things.  She is a mother of two beautiful little girls, the wife of a curly, red-haired bowling math whiz, a daughter, a sister, and a friend.    Kim is a fitness instructor at a local gym where the members inspire her and bring her joy on a daily basis.  She is a jig-saw puzzle addict.  She was a high school English teacher in a former life.  Her astrological sign is Cancer, although she has no earthly idea what that means, but apparently is it important to some.    She is a cyclist and spends as much time as she can in the beautiful Wasatch Mountain range riding with her friends in the summer.  She is a voracious reader of historical fiction.  She is an organizer and master list-maker.  She is a dancer, but only when she’s playing Dance Dance Revolution with her girls, so that probably doesn’t count.   It was a gym member who attends Kim’s spin classes who asked her to contribute to the “Reasons to Run” blog and it’s been a joy for Kim to be able to combine the two joys of her life: running and writing.  Her blog isn’t necessarily always about running, specifically, but it’s always the inspiration.  She hopes her honest thoughts about running, exercise, balance and finding joy in the simplicity of life will inspire others to get up and move and realize that it’s never too late to change for the better.  It’s her mission to tell people that life is good and it’s worth living well.  Running makes it all the sweeter.   I am honored that Kim would agree not only to let me re-publish her article from the Reasons to Run Blog, but that she took the time to read it for us herself….and did so on very short notice.  I present for you an amazing fellow runner, Kim Kowart, with her essay on a topic we can all relate to: Pre-Race Jitters.   LINKS:   Please support The Mojo Loco Fund:   The song “Bound” was by Black Lab off their new album: Two Strangers. http://blacklabworld.com