I try to read every running book I can get my hands on. The last one was a special one. Originally it was released in 2009 but unfortunately i just got it a couple of weeks ago.

Biographies or training books is what you usually find when searching for running related books. Charlie Spedding combines both genres in his very own direct way.

Outsiders to the running sport will ask themselves where the beauty of a running book lies. If there is one book that can transfer the feeling and pain of a race or training than you do not have to look further than “From last to first”. Charlie describes everything that the life of a distance runner in the eighties involved and gives ideas to runners nowadays. A step back could be a stride forward for some athletes. As he asks after analyzing nowadays performances with the provided possibilities of U.K athletes coming up to the 2012 Olympics “…So why, why, why, are today’s best British runners running slower times then we did twenty or thirty years ago?”

Beside wining the Houston and London Marathons, Charlie himself won a bronze medal at the Los Angeles Olympic Marathon and fulfilled his childhood dream. The book starts with his biggest achievement (L.A. Olympics) and catches the reader straight away with a “on point” writing style. The physical and mental intense of a important championship race has never been better described. The first chapter glues the book to your hands and the next 13 chapters (e.g. Chapter 6 – “The Beer Drinker’s Guide to Sports Psychology”) do not disappoint you in any way.

Training and racing stories of old-school running greats , personal setbacks, thoughts, perspectives and injuries– this book covers everything that the “blue collar” runner needs to know and wants to read.

Thank you Charlie Spedding – Great book!

The book is available at www.charliespedding.com

There was a buzz around Iten yesterday. First XC race of the new year.

Lots of excitement on the course and beside.

I met Florence Kiplagat while getting treatment for the body by fellow mzungu Jeroen.

Funny for her to watch such an inflexible white guy trying to ease off.

Before Jeroen could get his hands on her legs i had the chance to take the above shot.

I suppose there are millions of kids around the world who have the same dream: joining your favourite football team for an ordinary session on their training ground. Being just another guy in the team you support. Getting a pass from Ryan Giggs on Manchester Uniteds Carrington Training Ground or a “Good Morning” greetings from Steven Gerrard while he’s walking on LFC’s Melwood Drive pitch warming up for a mid-week session.

For a runner, that dream might be looping around the pitch in front of Saint Patrick´s High School in Iten. The legendary boys boarding school that brought the world so much distance running talent still creates this magical atmosphere. The pitch just beside the school’s front gate is a simple but magical place, where juniors warm up beside the greatest runners. The atmosphere is quiet, relaxed and focused.

With my current location beside the school, I am also able to use the pitch to warm up, cool down, and stretch. To run on that plain and simple 200m grass loop when the sun is rising is the perfect start to another training day. Being on the same spot, running the same loop while watching the sun set on the horizon marks the end of another perfect day in a perfect running environment.

Going home after experiencing this simple joy, and being able to look forward to a humble “good morning” greeting from Choge, Rudisha or Songok makes a grown man feel like a kid again.

Sunday is church-day in Kenya.

As I’m staying with locals I followed the golden “When in Rome, do as the Romans do” rule and went to 10 o´clock mass with the girls.

Antonia and Gladys made me wear the best outfit I had. “No runners. No t-shirt – it is Sunday. You have to look good!” After getting the final OK from the girls we walked to the “African Inland Church” in downtown Iten. Everybody was dressed up for the special day of the week. The place was jammed. As there was no space left the acolytes main job was to tell people to move together and make space for people coming into church late.

One major thing the girls did not tell me was that the mass was held in Swahili and that everybody visiting the church from outside the Iten community must stand up, say prayers and a quick hello to the parish. I think the church has never been that quite during mass when I stood up…

Nevertheless it was a great experience to see how other cultures celebrate the same religion. The mass took 3 hours but time flew by. Lots of singing and dancing with a prayer that, even in Swahili, is hard to beat by any western preacher.