The Oatmeal has 
managed to summarise this beautifully for people such as myself in the book, ‘The Terrible and Wonderful Reasons Why I Run Long Distances.’ It’s a delightful cartoon documentary of one man fighting all those demons that so many of us fight every time we don those running shoes and trot off down the street. There are the Krakens that we slay. There are all those whispering Bleurch things that tell us what a jolly good idea it would be to slob out in a comfy chair and consume vast quantities of salty snacks. However he also tells of that wonderful joy that the runner feels when he or she just runs and runs and all the voices in his head go quiet and there is just the joy of running.
