5. Running is a time to sort you mind out, and most runners will tell you that it's the time where they can think most clearly.
4. It is man versus nature. It is man versus the open road, and we're drawn to those sorts of conflicts, battles of wills.
3. It promotes good cardiovascular health, and with a race looming around the corner, it motivates us to keep training on those days where we want to sleep in.
2. Once you do a race, you want to do a longer one. Then when you do a half-marathon,
inevitably someone says to you, "Anyone who can do a half can do a full." That goes in the back of your head, and the next time you want to sign up for another half, you think about that.
1. We run marathons so we can feel superior to people who haven't. Never mind the rest of the list. It's mostly just this one.
