This Sunday I will be running the Mississauga Marathon. The race takes place on what looks to be a beautiful, scenic course in suburban Toronto. If I successfully finish this race I will only have to run New York and Montreal to complete the "Original Six" series of marathons. Devoted hockey fans will know that refers to the original six teams in the NHL. Those teams were and are the Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Blackhawks, the Montreal Canadiens, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Boston Bruins, and the New York Rangers. (No accident to which team I listed first.)
Just before a marathon I am frequently asked two questions. The first, how far is it or is this the 26 mile kind? To which I answer yes it's the 26.2 mile kind.
The other question I get is, "why do you do that?"
My answer is rarely prosaic. So allow me to note what Roger Bannister, the first man ever to run a mile in under four minutes, wrote in his aptly named book Four Minute Mile, "[Running] gives a man or woman the chance to bring out power that might otherwise remain locked away inside. The urge to struggle lies in everyone. The more restricted our society and work become, the more necessary it will be to find some outlet for this craving for freedom. No one can say, 'You must not run faster than this, or jump higher than that.' The human spirit is indomitable."
Thank you Dr. Bannister for giving me something to think about during the race. I need it since my race will take more than 50 times as long as your record-setting mile.
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