"April 26, 2008
Run On
For many high school students the annual school cross-country race is a less than inspiring occasion. English sports journalist Ian Stafford—admitting he has never had a fondness for running for the sake of running—tells of similar experiences in his school cross-country runs. In fact, one year Stafford and a group of friends tried to set the record for the slowest time for the school cross-country. However, in his final year of school he decided he would see how well he could do. He hatched a plan to start the race as fast as he could—at least he could say he had led the race for a part of it—and see what would happen. As the race progressed, Stafford was unable to keep up the pace but it took some time for any of the other competitors to catch up with him. He was eventually caught but was surprised to finish a creditable eighth.
Some years later Stafford—still not a fan of running—was persuaded by a friend to enter the Lambeth Half Marathon in south London.
To read the rest of the story in the April 26 lesson, Click Here."