PHOTO BY MARTINERIC/FLICKR
In New York City, where I live, the annual marathon is a very big deal. On November 4, more than 47,000 runners planned to pound the pavements of the five boroughs—a logistical tour de force that the municipal authorities manage to pull off year after year. But 6 days before the marathon’s starting gun was to fire, a hugely more impressive tour de force named Hurricane Sandy pounded my city and a wide swath of the surrounding East Coast, inflicting record-breaking destruction that led NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to reluctantly cancel the marathon at the last moment (and to announce that he would vote for Barack Obama because of the President’s position on climate change).
What makes so many people—of all ages—such avid marathoners? Just ...
