…Guest Post by the World’s Strongest Librarian…
Most of what I’ve written here are mostly from my various experiences with my new found pursuit, running. I have been preoccupied to think of other things to write related to it, aside from my daily grind. In one of my “Googling session” ( I’m beginning to like the sound of it 
), I chance upon Josh’s blog. Anything that deals about books, I’m all for it. So I became a frequent visitor and I even commented on his book review of the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. When Josh mentioned it in his blog that he’s willing to write a guest post for anyone interested, I wasted no time.
So, guys take the time to read this post by no other than the World’s Strongest Librarian himself. Please don’t forget to check out his blog and subscribe to his feeds.
Thanks, Josh. 
Second Hand Runner’s High
by Josh Hanagarne, World’s Strongest Librarian
I have to be honest: my motivations for running cross-country in High School were sinister. I told everyone that I was doing it to get in shape for basketball. The truth was, the cutest girls were runners and we all joined the cross-country team for the long bus rides with them.
The scandalous games of truth or dare that we all dreamed of never erupted on the bus, but it was still lots of fun. Something happened to me that first season—I never learned to enjoy running, but I did learn the intoxicating effects of hard physical effort.
Arch Enemy
I was finishing the last mile of a three-mile race in Elko, Nevada. I had run side by side with someone from another high school for most of the race. For some reason, we had fixated on each other and ran the last mile as if nobody else existed. I wanted to beat him. He wanted to beat me.
I was running harder than I ever had in my life, but it hurt less than ever. The physical side of things barely existed. There was nothing but the competition. There was nothing but the test. We flew up and down the final hills before streaking towards the finish line (in slow motion…we weren’t fast).
I beat him by about one foot. We each finished in the final ten racers. But it didn’t even matter that we were so mediocre. I saw that guy at five more races that year and we always made a point of saying hello and running together. He beat me every time after that first race, but we brought out the best in each other. He told me later that he just loved to run and didn’t care that he wasn’t very good at it.
It rubbed off on me.
The test is everything
What I experienced was not runner’s high, but the narcotic effect of a physical test. I no longer run—I have different goals now—but every day during my workouts, I strive to recreate the feeling of being outside myself. To achieve the sense of pure concentration and perfect movement.
If you haven’t read the book Born To Run, I can’t recommend it strongly enough. It says all these things I am flailing out way better than I’ll ever be able to.
Still, as drugs go, the girls on the bus were still way better than running side by side with that sweaty guy as we fought for the 10th percentile of racing glory.
About the Author: Josh Hanagarne is the twitchy giant behind World’s Strongest Librarian, a blog with advice about living with Tourette’s Syndrome, kettlebells, book recommendations, buying pants when you’re 6’8”, old-time strongman training, and much more. Please subscribe to Josh’s RSS Updates to stay in touch.
