Book Preview: 365.2: Going The Distance, A Runner's Journey

by Paul Semendinger

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My latest book, 365.2: Going The Distance is available for Pre-Order. The book comes out on March 12.

Here's an overview followed by a sample passage from the text.

Overview:

Have you ever set a goal for yourself that seemed so hard to reach that even when the goal was in sight that you wanted to quit?

That's what Paul Semendinger did when he set out to run every day for a year. Run every day. That doesn't seem all that difficult. People run all the time for fun, for exercise, to get healthy or stay in shape. Paul thinks this is a reasonable goal, simple to achieve, even though on two other attempts he never made it past the end of February. This time will be different. But as Paul sets off on his quest to meet this goal, he learns how truly daunting this challenge will be. Injury, pain, and doubt dog him almost every mile of his journey. Major life changes and family emergencies become obstacles that have to be overcome. Through it all, Paul does his best to meet every challenge that he faces with determination, perseverance, and faith. Faith in God and faith in himself. And in the end, Paul discovers that a person can reach middle age and even among the doubts that come with wondering if your best years are behind you to still find ways to succeed.

Passage From the Text:

An Important Note:

This Is Not A Book About Running.

This is the story of a runner (me) as I live through my year of running on a daily basis. Running each day for an entire year was my white whale, one of the things I had to do in my life.

I wrote this book to inspire runners to set their own goals and to work to achieve them. But running is a metaphor. We all have goals, hopes, ambitions, and dreams. Not everyone runs. Not everyone wants to run. Still, we all have dreams. It’s my hope that this book helps others to live out their dreams.

This could have just as easily been a book about my attempt to play the piano every day or to read the Bible over the course of a calendar year. This could be the story of a person seeking to read many books or paint his first portrait. Or anything…

People set all sorts of goals. And goals are great. But it’s one thing to set a goal and another to find the ways to achieve it. I hope, as I found the ways to achieve this goal, that it can motivate you (the reader) to find ways to achieve yours.

We also don’t set goals on a daily basis, but instead we set them over time. There really is no true starting point, nor should there ever be an end to our lifelong quests to achieve.

The Rule of 10,000 basically says that in order to be great at something, a person must spend 10,000 hours at that task. Once a person reaches that mark, he or she could be considered a virtuoso. I’ve been running for decades, and have covered more than 25,000 miles to date. I figure that’s about 5,000 hours of running (probably a bit less). As a runner, I’m about halfway to being a virtuoso.

But, again, it’s not about the end. Once I reach 10,000 hours of running, I’ll work to reach 10,000 more. Once I accomplish one goal, I set out to do more. It’s a lifetime quest to be better in everything I do. And I have a long way to go.

I stumble a lot. I fail a lot. I figure I’ve spent more than 10,000 hours failing at things. I’m sure I’m a virtuoso at failing.

But, if that’s so, I’m also a virtuoso at getting back up and starting again.

That’s what I hope the reader gets from this book – the idea that if I can run every day for a year, then you can also certainly do something amazing. You might set out to run every day for two years. Or five. It doesn’t matter. At all. I hope everyone surpasses my accomplishment and achieves all they set out to do.

It’s all about always moving forward. One day at a time.