RUNNERS-SIMPLY THE BEST

The month of April has been a lot of fun for me.

In four appearances I have had the opportunity to interact with thousands of runners, men and women, of all ages and abilities.

By speaking with and to these fine folks, it has reaffirmed my opinion that runners are among the finest people anywhere.

In early April I traveled to Lancaster to the Movie Madness Half Marathon. US Road Running conducts this event, which features a Hollywood theme. The weather was blustery, but the runners loved the race.

The next week I ventured a mile down the road to meet with runners prior to the Yuengling Light Lager 5K in Pottsville, the home of America's Oldest Brewery, Yuengling. Over 3,000 runners participated in the third annual event.

The following Saturday I had the privilege of speaking at the Harrisburg Area Road Runners annual banquet. Running clubs are valuable to runners all over this nation, and HARRC has been in existence for over 40 years. Join a running club near you. You'll be happy you did.

Finally, last weekend, I spoke at the pre-race pasta party for the Gettysburg North-South Marathon. I met folks from as far away as Texas, and a gentleman who has run over 300 marathons.

April has made me appreciate running and runners even more.

At the events, of course, I was honored when people bought my books, and was humbled when some told me they had enjoyed Running Shorts, and now wanted to read Personal Best.

My first book, Running Shorts: A Collection of Stories and Advice for Anyone Who Has Ever Laced Up a Pair of Running Shoes, published in 2011, is a compilation of my experiences as competitive runner for 39 years, but many of these tales reflect experiences YOU have had during your years as a runner. As one of the Amazon reviewers stated, "It will make you laugh and it will make you cry." amazon.com/author/joemuldowney

Traveling the country, promoting my first book, prompted me to write, Personal Best, my second book, published in September 2014.

Runners told me what they wanted in a running book, and I tried to respond by writing a book that is instructive to runners of all ages and abilities.

Personal Best took a tragic turn in April 2013, soon after I crossed the finish line at the Boston Marathon. I devoted my first chapter, entitled "Was That Thunder," to the events, and my experiences of that day. I guarantee you, it is worth the read, and it is my fervent hope that I was able to capture the emotions of that fateful day in a manner in which every runner can relate.

If you would like read an electronic version of Personal Best, it is available for only $2.99 at Amazon, Lulu, iBooks, Nook, and Kobo.

You can visit my website: www,muldowneyrunning.com, and I will personally sign and send a book to you. You can go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or to Lulu, www.lulu.com, to purchase running books that will positively influence your future running efforts.

And, it doesn't end there!

Read the books and stay in touch. email me here, look me up on Facebook at: Joe Muldowney Running, or on Twitter at: rdrunnr00. Tell me about your running, ask me questions, discuss training or injury issues.

I love this sport, and I love runners. Meeting so many of them this month has been inspiring to me.

Let's get to the finish line together and make each day our personal best.