We love a good run in the morning to boost our mood and work off the occasional indulgence from Jacques Torres. And we have nothing but admiration for the thousands of dedicated athletes who gather on Staten Island every year for the start of that grueling 26.2-mile race known as the New York City Marathon.

If you missed the throng of competitors that descended upon Gotham this past weekend (or if you’ve never had the pleasure of crossing the finish line in Central Park), you can now experience the drama of participating in A Race Like No Other (Harper, 2008), a mile-by-mile account of the 2007 race by New York Times sportswriter Liz Robbins. Robbins captures the essence of the world’s largest marathon with inspiring stories of runners from around the globe, including a former champion from South Africa, a young cancer survivor, a recovering alcoholic, and Britain’s Paula Radcliffe, who won the race for the third time yesterday.

“Distance running is a pastime uniquely suited to introspection,” Robbins observes. What’s on your mind when you’re sweating it out?

Tags: Gotham, Harper, Jacques Torres, Liz Robbins, Marathon, New York City, New York Times, Paula Radcliffe, Robbins, South Africa, Sports, Staten Island, The New York Times Co, United Kingdom, young cancer