(from the introduction) Facts came first - in the lists of race results that I made from the start in 1958 and then for all runs in my log that began the following year. At first I recorded only the bare facts: where I ran, how far and fast, and with or against whom. The running commentary came later. The log has long since evolved into a writing journal. Now it's mostly commentary.But the facts still come first. Before writing a sentence, I record the day's run (or these day, run-walk, walk-run or pure walk). This is the truest record of where this running life has taken me.