New York City Marathon - 5 Day Countdown! - "A Race Like No Other" review

Continuing with the motivational trend (it's all about getting psyched before Marathon day, right?), I am currently reading the book A Race Like No Other by sportswriter Liz Robbins.

I looooooove it. It's a must-read for anyone running the New York City Marathon.

The author takes you through the 2007 New York City Marathon and captures the spirit of the race mile by mile. The book has 26.2 chapters, each one dedicated to a mile. She examines the five boroughs in depth and tells you about the synagogues, the churches, the bathhouses, and the landmarks along the course.

Did you know that at mile 11 we will run by the Metropolitan Pool in Williamsburg, Brooklyn? It's a famous bathhouse (the precursor of the modern swimming pool) designed by famous architect Henry Bacon in 1922. He also designed the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

Did you know that at mile 12 we will run through Manhattan Ave, also known as Little Poland? We'll pass the top-rated restaurant Lomzynianka, famous for its authentic Polish borscht and blintzes.

What? Never heard of Polish Blintzes? Let me get you a visual.

Yummy!

The author also tells us the stories of a handful of runners (both elite and non-elite), the volunteers, the fans and the musicians like Stanley Rygor who has been playing the accordion for the runners for the past 26 years.

She does an amazing job at transporting the reader to the marathon. It's truly inspiring. I feel it's going to be easier (not necessarily easy) now that I know what to look for at each mile of the course. I can't wait to run in the concrete jungle and meet some of the characters described in the book.