“You should write a book!” someone said years ago before I had a story to tell.
“I can’t wait to read this story,” someone remarked not long after my OTQ chase in 2019. I was perplexed because, from my perspective, it’d already been told.
Raised a Runner explained my entry to the sport.
9,000 Seconds detailed my first major marathon achievement.
Why Faster? explored why we chase these seemingly silly time goals.
Together detailed my friends and my improbable 2:23 marathon.
And then things got cookin’…
Burn The Boat framed the improbability of the OTQ task at hand.
The Marathon Doesn’t Owe You Anything was my ode to the distance and the lifestyle.
Keep on Dreamin’ recounted the painful beauty of running at the limit of my ability.
Belonging captured my day on the Boston Marathon Elite stage.
Qualifier Queasiness detailed the rollercoaster of emotion involved in chasing a time goal.
Confine Your Runner Mind delved into the mental battles involved in weekly workouts.
And then, The Bubble of a Dream laid it all out, stripping the journey bare to expose the crazy man that I became in pursuit of a dream.
So, I’d said it.
I felt that I’d documented my journey and brought you all along turn by turn.
But there’s more.
The past years have marinated the meaning of the pursuit. They’ve afforded me perspective on how those years sat atop decades of running lessons and experiences hard-earned since childhood.
Also, from outside the bubble of that dream, it feels even more improbable. Writing about running 5:15 mile splits didn’t feel like much when they had occurred a week earlier. With hindsight, I can appreciate just how many things went right and the fortune that enabled those sessions.
As well as the cost.
With that chapter now closed, I can appreciate the price of such a pursuit: its personal, professional, and psychological expense. Such beauty takes a toll.
I started forming the story into a memoir over two years ago, but life intervened, and I put the project down. In the past six months, I’ve regained momentum and have thrown myself into scenes from 2016 to 2020, as well as key moments from earlier in life that founded the pursuit.
Today, I sit with tens of thousands of words, multiple draft chapters, an outline for the work ahead, and so much writing to go.
“Memoir.” It’s such a funny word—a literary term for me, me, me.
When I told Mom what I was working on before she died, the mere mention of the M-word made her look as if she might vomit.
“What’s that? Why the face?” I pushed her. “Mom, if I write about my running, it’s technically a memoir.” I justified. A son pushing his mother for approval.
“Oh, I know P. But ‘memoir’ sounds so self-centered. How you write seems different than that, like you’re trying to explain something bigger than you,” she reasoned.
“Well, that’s what I try to do. That’s what I’m going to try to do,” I promised her. She was sitting passenger side as we drove through frozen January streets the week after her chemotherapy had begun. We had nowhere to be, so I took a long way, aiming to stretch out our moment together.
That’s what I am trying to do. I aim to craft a full-length love letter to the movement that I adore. To tell the story of a marathon journey I feel so fortunate to have endured, with the richness, depth, and tension it required.
Why am I telling you now?
Because sharing with you all has been core to this journey from the start.
Opening up the experience by inviting others’ hopes, fears, excitement, and investments pushed my marathoning to its highest point. I also hope for that while crafting this tail.
Thank you so much for following along thus far. Your encouragement, kindness, and questions have fueled me along the way. Those years of marathoning wouldn’t have been the same solo. In fact, it might not have been much at all.
Also — if you’ve recently written a book, acquired an agent, or maneuvered the path to publishing, I’d love to hear your perspective. This is my first attempt, so suggestions are welcome — bromka@gmail.com
Thank you!
Peter
@neonliterary!
Great read, Peter! I totally GET the hang up around the word “memoir” such that sometimes I use “narrative nonfiction” instead. That seems more palatable to some peeps. Always in your corner and happy to chat as you work through the writing process!