Longreads

1. Lissette told me she was never very sexual with her husband. “In fact when we were first together we only had sex maybe twice a day.” I’ll let the absurdity of the statement stand for itself. You…

I say “he” because my subject is the specific kind of boy who takes up running, and he is very different from the girl who is his counterpart. This boy, whom I know well, is just not good at any other sport. He may have tried baseball, but could not throw; he may have tried soccer, but could not kick. He is not coordinated or strong or big. So he runs. No American eight-year-old thinks it would be cool to be a distance runner someday. If he becomes one, it is not the realization of a dream, but the acceptance of reality.