First Marathons: Personal Encounters with the 26.2-Mile Monster

While I enjoyed most of the writing in this book, it took me a couple of chapters to wrap my mind around the prose. Nonetheless, I enjoyed 25 of the 26 stories chronicled, and found moments of inspiration, humor, and wisdom. The book embraced the likes of Marathon legends as well as the first time runner ("adult onset athletes" as penned by John Bingham:) All in all, a great read, and certainly a huge reason why I believe I can succeed at running my first marathon targeted for this September.

While certainly not a "how to" book, (in fact in some cases it's a "how NOT to" book) this book made it possible for me to complete my first marathon. It provided the motivation every time the training became really hard. Gail Waesche did an excellent job providing a broad cross section of first marathon experiences. For some strange reason though, it was always the stories of runners who really suffered through their first marathons that I read again and again. These were the people I thought I could really relate to! A marathon IS a 26.2 mile monster. And because it's such an awesome accomplishment, it is often a lifechanging experience. That's what Ms. Waesche gets across, and that's exactly what is was like for me. Everyone who has run a marathon, or more importantly, has even the hint of desire to run a marathon, has to read this book. It makes a very difficult and wonderful experience seem humanly possible. Thank you Gail for writing this book. And please PLEASE come out with a volume II.

I want to buy this book for everyone I know because I firmly believe, after reading this book and having run my first marathon, that ANYONE can do it. I became so involved in the stories of these people, I couldn't put the book down and when I reached the end, I wanted more. So I ran my own marathon. I opened the book again, after I'd run the 26.2 mile monster, and randomly picked one of the stories...I started to cry because it suddenly meant so much to me. If you read this book, not only will you want to run a marathon, you'll believe you can make it happen.

Many of the miles I've run to train for my first marathon have been spent thinking about the people written about in this book. The individual's stories in this book are not only extremely motivational but also touching and sometimes funny. I would recommend this book for all first time marathoners as well as people looking for that extra inspiration in reaching that goal that you're not quite sure you can make.