Running is an addictive activity. You feel so good, you never want to let it slide. Yet running, like many other pursuits, can be carried too far - from habit to obsession. When running is no longer a joy and a release from the pressures of the world, but a manic pursuit, then family, friends and your job are likely to suffer. The best advice I can give to avoid this sad state of affairs is to first, be aware of the early warning signs: recurring injuries, depression, loss of motivation, irritability, fixation - and make necessary course corrections. Secondly, try to keep things balanced and in harmony, and let running enhance, not rule your life.

You were born to run. Maybe not that fast, maybe not that far, maybe not as efficiently as others. But to get up and move, to fire up that entire energy-producing, oxygen-delivering, bone-strengthening process we call running.

Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early one's training begins, it is probably the last lesson we learn thoroughly.

Sporting success rests, in part, with having the mental fortitude necessary to overcome our fears, pain and discomfort. But how does one develop that strength? Is it innate, or can it be learned? I believe it is the latter. We can all train our brains to be as strong as our bodies. It sounds simple, but it's so easy to forget. If we let our head drop, our heart drops with it. Keep your head up, and your body is capable of amazing feats.

There is something about the ritual of the race - putting on the number, lining up, being timed - that brings out the best in us.

No matter what, though, I keep up my running. Running every day is a kind of lifeline for me, so I'm not going to lay off or quit just because I'm busy. If I used being busy as an excuse not to run, I'd never run again. I have only a few reasons to keep on running, and a truckload of them to quit. All I can do is keep those few reasons nicely polished.

Q: How long can I keep my 26.2 bumper sticker if I haven't run a marathon in a while?

A: Three months or 3,000 miles. Wait...that's an oil change. Stickers are so hard to remove. Just run another marathon.

Never take your running friends for granted. Every once in a while thank them for being there and sharing all those runs and races with you. The best time to do this would be during a run. If you're new to running find a running club and develop that special friendship of sweat, pain, joy and miles.

While the primary goal for first-time marathon runners is just to reach the finish line, most second-timers (and beyond) aim for something more—to beat their first marathon time. But what should you target? One way to determine a realistic new marathon time goal is to base it on your performance in a 5-K, 10-K, or half-marathon tune-up race; plug your time into a prediction calculator to see what your marathon time could be. This is no guarantee, but it could be one helpful guideline to use in the goal-setting process.

Explore your limits and get to know yourself. You'll never feel more real than after the hardest workout, the longest run, the toughest week, or the best race of your life. Constantly make your own standards tougher.

When the body gets tired, when the winds pick up and hit you head on, when getting out the door for today's first mile seems harder than finishing yesterday's last mile, when the rain comes down in sheets, or sleet pelts you from the side and makes the skin of your legs sting, when you've given it everything you have and your body screams there's nothing left to give...you've got to ask yourself one question: How bad do you want it?

It's wrong to believe that you need a certain physical body type to run. All body types can run. The people who succeed are not the ones who have the longest legs or the leanest torsos. The champions are the one who understand how to harness the power of the brain. Determination. Discipline. Organization. Time management. Friendship-making. These skills are what it takes to succeed in running. You have to want it, you have to plan for it, you have to fit it into a busy day, you have to be mentally tough, you have to use others to help you. The hard part isn't getting your body in shape. The hard part is getting your mind in shape.

 'No pain, no gain' does not mean that pain systematically equals gain. It's easy to go hard. It's hard to go smart.

There's more than what meets the eye. This race: it's a soul journey. It's about digging deep. It's about pushing past your limits. It's about doing something you never thought possible - something you never imagined you would try. It's about examining yourself in the raw, and coming to grips with who you see. It's about winning: proving to yourself, and to the world, that you can do great things. It's about life, and living to the fullest.

The most difficult part, when you decide to make running a part of your life style, is the basic initial commitment. Everybody says, 'I don't have the time.' It's up to you to say, 'I do have the time.' It ultimately becomes second nature. It becomes a habit, a routine part of your daily life.

A perfect run has nothing to do with distance. It's when your stride feels comfortable. You're on your toes trying to push it. Suddenly you realize you can open it up a bit more. You know you're at one with yourself and the environment. You're a little more alive than before you started.

Most runners get injured because they run the same pace on the same surface on the same shoe, day in and day out. By alternating the shoes you're running in, the slight modification will give you relief from a high-stress area. If you like one particular brand and style, you can just rotate a slightly worn shoe with a new pair.

I often hear someone say 'I'm not a real runner.' We are all runners, some just run faster than others. I never met a fake runner.

Running is as much about settling into a lifelong groove as it is about constantly changing course.

It takes faith and the courage to risk failure in order to realize one's destiny. Having had my share of failures throughout my career I know that it is well worth the risk.