From Ireland

After a 22 hour marathon from Eugene to San Francisco to London to Shannon. We’re eight hours ahead of PST.

The Wisdom of Running a 2,189-Mile Marathon

Josh Phillips is the creative director for the Oregon track and field team, a job unique in a track and field program. Story.

Ireland is quite different than I’d imagined. The climate and green landscaping resembles Oregon. It’s old. Vacant fields bordered with stone. We visited a Roman Catholic church in Ennis built in 1832. Still in business with daily Mass. Daniel O’Connell, responsible for the emancipation the Irish Catholics, came from Ennis, and it has a grand statute of him. …Talking to an Irish musician, we noted Don’s wives (first cousins) are believed descendants of Irish patriot Charles Stuart Parnell, Don’s last name, and that Don is 44% Irish. He commended the Parnell connection but noted the McLeans were probably dirt poor Scots farmers who migrated to Ireland. …The population is older and thinner in number and pant size. …We haven’t heard any Irish spoken, but the schools are required to teach youngsters to read and speak Gaelic, to what extent I don’t know. Road signs and licence plates are in English and Gaelic. …Way less Japanese cars in Ireland. Ever heard of Skoda? It’s a Czech car, with some Volkswagon connection, that you see on the roads. Not sold in North America. A taxi driver raved about his. …My “full breakfast” today included egg, bacon, sausage, baked beans, bread, coffee, and black & white pudding. The latter was a surprise. Scrapple, I think. …Perchance you haven’t experienced scrapple? …The coffee is good here. The coffee in the hotel room is instant, but even that was good. …At the restaurant last night, we had two choices for wine: red or white. But a hundred choices in beer and whiskey. I had a Guinness pint.

Tom Wolfe, RIP …Over the past 53 years, I read and enjoyed all of his books.

Alex Hutchinson: Do Olympic Medalists Live Longer Than Chess Masters?

More on Tom Wolfe. He loved to stir it up.

Sprint training for endurance athletes

Semi-Rad links

Jen Miller/NYT: Runningwith Allergies and other links.

Ken Goe: Nobody likes Galen Rupp?