The Art of Running

Much has changed since 490 BCE when the indefatigable Athenian herald Philippides made his legendary run and delivered to the people of Athens news of their city’s victory over the Persians. One thing, however, hasn’t changed: it is still 26 punishing miles from Marathon to the Acropolis. Each year, all over the world, thousands of professional athletes and millions of amateur enthusiasts replicate Philippides’s enterprise, many running with such gusto that one could be forgiven for thinking the fate of Athens still hung in the balance. Why do we run? To what end all the effort and pain? Wherefore this love of muscle, speed, sweat, and of testing one’s limits? The Greeks were the first to ask these questions and indeed wonder why we choose to measure ourselves against others; they were the first to appreciate that mens sana in corpore sano; they were first to suspend war, politics, and the daily workings of the state so that the populace could enjoy days’ long public celebrations of athletic prowess. The Greeks invented sport and understood from the beginning how it connected to emotional and mental well-being. As the pandemic entered its second year, despondent, isolated, and apprehensive about the future, internationally renowned classics scholar and best-selling author Marcolongo discovers running. After years spent with her head and heart in the books, trying to think like a Greek, she decides to learn how to run like a Greek. In doing so, she not only discovers a great deal more about the culture and civilization she has spent decades studying, but also learns much about herself. In this spirited, generous, and erudite book, she shares not only her scholarship but her own journey to understanding that a healthy body is a healthy mind.