Before there were “The Penguin Chronicles” a friend and I, Lee Alsbrook, wrote a column called “The Recess Bell” for a local newspaper. This is one of those early columns. December has always been a strange time of year for me. In addition to the holidays, my birthday is in December and so this month has become a watershed in my year and in my life. This was the month that society granted me important permissions. In December I became old enough to drive, old enough to get married, old enough to vote, and old enough to drink. I also…

Running for something other than yourself is the greatest gift of our sport. In the fall of 1966, a very good friend of mine was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease. Over the next couple of years, her family and friends watched helplessly as both the disease and its treatment took a toll on her body. The outcome was never in doubt. It wasn’t a matter of if she would lose her battle with Hodgkin’s; it was simply a matter of when. And in the spring of 1970, the battle was over. Thinking about my friend’s death nearly 40 years later still…

Sometimes it isn’t the miles but the people who make the run. Of all the changes that running has brought to my life, maybe the most important one is my awareness of my need for people. Having spent most of my first 40 years as a musician, I became accustomed to spending hours alone in a practice room. The practice room became a sanctuary, a safe haven from the pressures of work and relationships and family. I thought running would be the same. I thought that I could simply replace the time alone in the practice room with time alone…

The transformative powers of running apply at any age. Last April, I went to the Yakima River Canyon Marathon, a point-to-point race from Ellensburg to Selah, Washington. I was there to help 77-year-old Bob Dolphin celebrate the completion of his 400th marathon. You read that right. A 77-year-old doing his 400th marathon, with Yakima being the 24th marathon Bob had run in the past 12 months. Perhaps even more amazing is that Bob didn’t run his first marathon until he was in his mid-50s. Joining me in the celebration were members of the 50 States and DC Marathon Club, the…