Anand Anantharaman runs his first race on turning 55. An angioplasty thereafter steels his resolve to run 'the world-over.' Before 60, he runs all seven continents and the North Pole to hit the elite Marathon Grand Slam Club which has 43 members worldwide Foreword by Barefoot Ted FUNDAMENTALLY, our life is an adventure, our world a place to explore, discover and share. And indeed our body is the tool of self-discovery and experimentation through which we perform our own very personal adventure, the vehicle through which we journey along our own odyssey, our own epic. Anand's book is the record of one such journey. From the very first time I met Anand, I knew I was meeting someone who was on an epic journey of self-discovery. I am a very blessed person. I get to meet and interact with so many people who have been inspired by the book "Born to Run" and the zany character I represent in the book "Barefoot Ted." It has been my privilege to get to know personally so many fascinating and fully alive people. From my perspective, Anand's book maps out the process of his very unique and inspiring journey, his journey from a man faced with the very real limitations of mortality and the physical body to a man re-discovering the awesome untapped potential of that same body. From this perspective, instead of a dire limitation, physical embodiment becomes a unique opportunity, an opportunity we should all be encouraged to recognize, and Anand's book will encourage you. His book will encourage you to reawaken your own adventurous spirit and to start or enhance the process of your own awakening, in this body, at this time. And as you will learn in the pages of his book, courage and perseverance are two attributes that will take you a long way in the path of personal bliss. Anand's writing style is matter-of-fact and to the point. He tells it like it is. Points out the triumphs as well as the pitfalls. You will be reminded of the awesome challenges faced by a marathoner of moderate speed and stamina in traversing the icy expanses of the Antarctic, the desert soils of Australia and the forest trails of Africa. From hydrating with body fluids on a lonely trek in the Hong Kong mountains, to popping himself out of a crevasse in the North Pole marathon, to landing without papers and passport in a Siberian police station, Anand's narration is very racy; racier I would say, than his runs! The human body is the embodied vehicle, the tool through which we can use to self-experiment our way into greater health and happiness. Barefoot Ted Founder & President LUNA Sandals in Seattle "MARATHONS: Reborn to Run" is as much replete with exciting travel anecdotes, as exotic marathon narratives. * Slipping into a crevasse while running on the North Pole. * Roller-coasting on the Great Wall of China. * Belly-cooking corn soup without fire and water in Hong Kong 's MacLehose Trail. * Confronting Gravy's zebras on a lonely mountain path during Safaricom Marathon in Kenya. * The milky way at the Sounds of Silence dinner after Australian Outback Marathon. * Kissing rat-eating flowers in Borneo. * Dodging sea-lions in Galapagos Marathon. * Retracing the route run by Pheidippides in Athens 2500 years ago. * Organizing the world's first ever Barefoot Half Marathon. * Mugged and stateless in Siberia after Siberia Marathon. * Running 'trapped inside a steam oven' in icy Antarctica.