“People think I'm crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness. Dostoyevsky had it right: 'Suffering is the sole origin of consciousness.' Never are my senses more engaged than when the pain sets in. There is a magic in misery. Just ask any runner.”
― Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
― Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner
“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 they 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.”
― What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
― What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
“Friendship ... is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .”
― The Four Loves
― The Four Loves
“There are two ways to get enough. One is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”
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“It is better to be unhappy and know the worst, than to be happy in a fool's paradise.”
― The Idiot
― The Idiot
Mark’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Mark’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Mark
Lists liked by Mark

















