> The successful distance runner is thus a paradox: a person blessed with godlike endurance and a baffling insensitivity to pain, who nonetheless, in a fundamen

> The successful distance runner is thus a paradox: a person blessed with godlike endurance and a baffling insensitivity to pain, who nonetheless, in a fundamental way, is just like us I don't think it is a paradox. It is simply an example of how our minds and bodies can adapt and get better at a skill through months / years of training. It is amazing the the vast improvement that can occur over time.