Anyone who ever goes the distance knows that running can be a lonely experience, even in this day of MP3 players, GPS devices and crowded streets. There is as the story title suggests, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner and while Joseph Tame needed not run to free himself from prison walls (as is the case in the short story), but instead broke free from the grind of pounding the pavement with a little help from a whole lot of supporters.
This weekend Tame finished the Tokyo Marathon in 6 hours and 28 minutes, but he did so with 3,000 people who “ran” the course with him. Tame streamed his entire 26 mile run via four iPhones. One was pointed at his face, a second one at the pavement ahead, a third one for the GPS location and finally a fourth one that allowed him to stay in touch with supporters. Tame sent out Tweets as he ran, and those tweets were displayed on an iPad he strapped to his back. Not bad for the 33-year-old British citizen who currently lives in Tokyo. Congrats to Tame for not only going the distance, but in doing so decked out in a whole lot of gear.