How To Run Like A Man, Part II
I can't run a 4-minute mile (and I bet you can't either) but I can learn from record-shattering runners how to persist in the face of obstacles to run like a man.
I'm running my next marathon in a little over a week. My goal is to run a sub-4 hour marathon. Not an impressive time, but nearly 12 minutes faster than my personal record. In this second part of a three-part series on How To Run Like a Man, I look back into the history of running to identify the things that make runners great. Listen as I tell the story of Roger Bannister and John Landy, the first two men to break the four-minute mile. I tell you how they did it -- spoiler alert, it wasn't by having a winning attitude, it was by applying masculine characteristics that go far beyond the manly resources of their bodies. I define and explore those things in the video -- ambition, attention to detail, complex problem solving, and applying a strength of personality and character. The same masculine traits that I will need to draw on in order to run my sub-4 hour marathon a week from now.
I didn't mention this in the video, but this is a fitting memorial to Australian John Landy who passed away on February 24th of this year at the age of 91. I'm proud to have his signature on a commemorative print hanging in our guest bedroom.
I didn’t do a substack post on the Part I in this series. I got it up on YouTube and Facebook and then ran out of time. But here’s the video if you want to see the original conversation that precedes this one.
Stay tuned for part III in this little series where I let you know how my marathon went and if I managed to run like a man after all.
Resources:
Two outstanding books I mentioned in my video —
The Perfect Mile, by Neal Bascomb. This is the book that inspired me to buy the commemorative print that hangs in our guest bedroom. It’s a book about three men, each of whom diligently sought the elusive four-minute mile. Only two of them — Roger Bannister and John Landy whom I mention in the video — accomplished the task. And the story of why the third man, Kansas farm boy Wes Santee, did not is itself worthy of your time. Highly recommended.
The Sports Gene, by David Epstein. Formidable review of everything we know about how genes become bodies that can train hard, increase in performance, and go on to win. In the eight years since the book was published, the discussion of genes and sports performance has only gotten more complex. I would love to see this book udpated. But as a foundation to the entire history of wondering what makes champion muscles strong, their lungs robust, and their hearts so capable, this book can’t be beat.
Here’s the data I shared in the video. Interestingly, women who consider themselves very feminine also score higher than other women on some of these traits. But I’m getting ahead of myself, there will be future videos on that.