Bokelskere.no

Usually when i approach the end of a marathon, all I want to do is get it over with, and finish the race as soon as possible. That's all i can think of. But as i drew near the end of this ultramarathon, I wasn't really thinking about this. The end of the race is just a temporary marker without much significance. It's the same with our lives. Just because there's an end doesn't mean existence has meaning. An en point is simply set up as a temporary marker, or perhaps as an indirect metaphor for the fleeting nature of existence. It's very philosophical - not that at this point I'm thinking how philosophical it is. I just vaguely experience this idea, not with words, but as a physical sensation.

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional

People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they'll go to any length to live longer. But i don't think that's the reason most people run. Most runners run not because the want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest. If you're going to while away the years, it's far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and i believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that's the essence of running, and a metaphor for life - and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree.

Most of what I know about writing fiction I learned by running every day

Det viktigste vi lærer på skolen, er det faktum at det viktigste i livet ikke kan læres andre steder enn utenfor den.

- there will be pain but suffering is optional -