The Side Effects of Endorphins

There are times when I lived and breathed watching the marathon. One of my favorite sporting events of all time was in1984, that being the first woman’s marathon.

With a daring that successfully challenged the finest female distance runners in the world and an ease that surprised even herself, Joan Benoit took a calculated risk, ran away from the field after passing the three-mile mark, and won the first Olympic marathon for women.

Miss Benoit finished in 2 hours 24 minutes and 52 seconds, about 430 meters ahead of Grete Waitz of Norway, the world champion who had never before lost a marathon she had finished.

Until this day, Joan is a hero of mine. I did get to run with her a little bit in Bar Harbor, Me. 10 years later. That is a cherished memory.

I simply don’t watch much TV anymore. I certainly am not patriotic. I do watch the soccer, especially the woman’s matches and that is pretty much it.