Overthinking the Marathon

Overthinking the Marathon is an intimate look at one man's preparation for his 21st marathon.

Reading Overthinking the Marathon is like having Ray as your partner for a season of training, 17 weeks that culminate in the 2012 Cape Cod Marathon. Some days Ray talks about the nitty-gritty details, other days, it's about the things that make running interesting and fun, even – no, especially – when it hurts. Training for his marathon is important to Ray, but he leavens his obsessiveness with a dry humor that acknowledges that one mid-packer's race isn't going to change the world.

"Ray Charbonneau insists he hasn't written a marathon guide, and he's right. Instead, he's loaning himself out as a thoughtful, veteran, and funny training partner. You couldn't find a better one as you get ready for your next 26.2-miler."

-Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner and Editor-At-Large, Runner's World

"Marathon running is the easy part. It's the thinking that's the challenging part for the long-distance runner. Ray shares his internal dialogue with us as he readies himself for one more attempt at 26.2."

-Dave Goodrich, the "Marathon Maine-iac" (Marathon Maniac #238)

"Ray is the opposite of me: he's speedy, understands math, and cares about the weather. I have instructed his cat to keep him awake until he agrees to pace me."

-Vanessa Rodriguez, author of The Summit Seeker: Memoirs of a Trail Running Nomad