Running

I am not a runner, but I know a man who is – Arthur Knaggs – and he knows many others who are.

Chasing Laces is a book of interviews with these runners. It takes you far futher than just the running track.

Extracts from the series of interviews will be posted daily on The Phraser over the next few weeks.

Here is an introduction, written by the author of the pieces, Arthur Knaggs.

“I am a runner but I am not very fast. When I ran my first marathon I was overtaken by a man wearing chino shorts and a belt. My legs hurt and he just rolled past me like it was any old Sunday morning. I was so tired that I couldn’t even try to keep up. That was a lesson.

Another time, I ran 10km up Mount Vesuvius in Italy. Before the race, I was really excited. I like running up hills so I started like a march hare. Bang! Straight out front and up the volcano. That wasn’t clever. My legs and lungs couldn’t keep pace and I was overtaken pretty quick. Wow, that race was tough.

Why do I run? I like doing difficult things in beautiful places. 15 miles up and down the hills near Cheddar Gorge? OK! 22 miles around the Jurassic Coast? Sign me up! 200km around the town of Nijmegen in Holland? Great! I walked that one but it was still a lot of fun.

I have met some really cool people through running. This book is a collection of some of their stories. I hope you like it.”

© Copyright Arthur Knaggs 2019