Now that the ING New York City Marathon has wrapped up, here are some titles to inspire you to take on next year’s marathon, or to participate vicariously through them. Some runners like to listen to long audiobooks to while away the hours spent training. Of course, you can always read them and just consider it sports nutrition for your mind.

Heart of Iron: My Journey from Transplant Patient to Ironman Triathlete by Kyle Garlett.
Biography of a Kansas City man’s battle with multiple cancers, eventual heart transplant and participation in the Ironman triathalons in Maui and Kona. His voice is warm and witty with his sportscaster’s voice resonante throughout. He makes multiple pop culture references, including one to The Shawshank Redemption, a movie that, like many runners, got its "second wind" despite a slow start in the box office.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running: A Memoir by Haruki Murakami.
Reading Murakami’s new IQ84 is a marathon of a different sort, i.e. it's very long, while this biography is a quick read and is quietly introspective in the way that running often makes one.

Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall.
This book has inspired many New Yorkers, and others, to take up barefoot running, or at least to try the barefoot running shoes, in an effort to be more like the Tarahumara people.

For those who are always seeking a challenge, there are the exploits of Dean Karnazes, perhaps the best known ultramarathoner, chronicled in his many books.

For an account of the 2007 NYC Marathon, there's A Race Like No Other by Liz Robbins.

There are also lots of great races for kids, in NYC and elsewhere, and resources available at the Library to help anyone get started, whatever their goals may be.

See also: Endurance Racing: First Leg, the Bunion Derby, and Endurance racing: Second Leg, Ultra-Marathons