Life is a Marathon, by Matt Fitzgerald

Matt Fitzgerald is that rare individual whose hobby is also his career.  He has built his living around writing about running and competing in triathlons.  For his latest book, Life is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance, Fitzgerald puts together a cross-country marathon quest to run eight marathons in eight weeks. 

Interspersed among Fitzgerald's road stories and race reports, he writes about his life, particularly about his marriage.  Through the hardships of his marriage to a woman who struggled with bipolar disorder, he demonstrates this truism: "Because life truly is long and difficult, it demands endurance, fortitude, patience, resilience, and long-suffering.  The marathon develops all these fundamental human coping skills."

Fitzgerald's marathon times aren't quite elite, but he is definitely a front-of-tbe-packer.  However, the rest of middle- and back-of-the-packers can relate to his struggles in training and on race day.  He writes, "if you run marathons, you will fail.  The marathon is no respecter of persons.  It humbles everyone sooner or later--and I mean everyone."  Most of his races attest to this, and if have ever run a marathon you surely agree. 

So why do we do it?  Fitzgerald say he has "become a connoisseur, of sorts, of this unique brand of suffering.  The pain of endurance racing is to me now as wine is to the oenophile."  After a painful race, which he won in three hours flat, he said he "rose smiling, not about the medal but about my scorched esophagus and throbbing calves, welcome signs of a body well tested--an acquired taste, to be sure, but like many acquired tastes, superior to most easy gratifications."

As much inspiration as he provides in the world of running, his endurance as a husband is admirable as well.  His bipolar wife had several episodes of manic violence in which she literally attempted to kill him.  After brief hospitalizations, she would return home for another chance.  It's a miracle they're still together.

Fitzgerald said he wanted to find the magic of the marathon.  I agree with his conclusion, that "in the pain of a marathon we learn who we are, discovering within ourselves both the weaknesses and flaws that hold us back and the strengths and virtues that drive us forward, which are different in each of us."  I enjoyed reading about Fitzgerald's racing and training, and, like any good running book, he inspires me to get out and run and sign up for another marathon!


Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!