One of the things that makes the Cape Cod Marathon such a pleasure to experience, is the way the local residents come out to cheer, volunteer and entertain the runners as we work the miles. In this episode, I run the 2005 Cape Cod Marathon in Falmouth Massachusetts, attempting to set my second PR is as many weeks.

Too short of a taper period will leave you tired on race day, too long of a taper will leave you unprepared physically. In this episode I cover the basics about “tapering‿ as documented from the experts, and I confess to my own failures at properly preparing in the days before most of my marathons.

Listen as I run the first of two Fall 2005 Marathons, this time in Lowell, Massachusetts: home of the American Industrial Revolution. This is a very flat course where, despite hitting the eventual “wall‿ I attempt to set a new personal record in the Marathon.

According to section 2.00 of the Major League Baseball rule book: A runner is an offensive player who is advancing toward, touching, or returning to any base.‿ In this episode we discuss the "Runner verses Jogger" debate.

The human brain is a fascinating organ, and while few completely understand its true operation; some of its properties can be found in the way that it retains such high resolution memories from observations made during extreme physical exertion.

Of the many ways that we can prepare our bodies and minds for the act of running a road race, it’s the long slow run that is most effective, both physiologically and psychologically. Your body needs to change: BOTH muscularly and metabolically.

There's an interesting behavioral quirk that many runners nurse and foster over the years, myself included. We develop this need to seek acceptable answers to our medical questions which meet our demanding requirements, rather than submit to the expertise of our own assigned doctors.

Life is meant to be pounding, screaming with sweat and power: explosive and breathtaking with all the energy you can bring to a boil. You are most alive, as a runner, living life to its fullest: on the road, as fast and far as you possibly can. Greg Gumbinner lived his life to the fullest. I run a race dedicated to his memory this week, and ponder the concept that all runners are living their lives to the top of their game.

What is pronation, and why do we need to understand our unique running gait? I've often been told that I don't pronate. Other runners have been found to pronate "too much". What does poor pronation mean to a runner, why is it a bad thing and what can be done about it are all questions answered (to some degree) within this weeks episode. Also: I run the Charlton Old Home Day 5 miler road race.

There must be a reason. There must be some compelling motivation to get any none runners out there to want to lace up their shoes and join the fun. This episode was recorded from the Upper Richardson Lake in northwestern Maine, during a camping trip with my Dad, son and nephew.