Albert Camus' The Stranger is a lot like running

One of our required readings in high school was The Stranger, by French existentialist Albert Camus. Now, I don't recall all of the details of the book, but from what I remember, the gist is this: A guy goes to the beach, gets really hot and, as a result of his existential nature to follow how he feels at the time, kills someone. Because he was hot and angry.

I couldn't help but think of this story as I ran face first into the punishing 8 a.m. sun on my run today. It was early, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and I was melting. And it was right then that I thought, "Huh, this Camus guy might be on to something here..."

Not that the sun would cause me to kill someone. That part is crazy. But the part about not being able to ignore the physical discomfort that something is causing you, that part I understand.

There are many times this obsession with discomfort will occur during a run. It could be in the heat, like it was this morning. It could be a nagging shin split, or perhaps that one of your shoes is just a little tighter than the other and it is making you feel lopsided. Whatever it is, the mental part of running, for me at least, can dominate the physical part with ease. If I didn't have a brain, I think running would be a lot easier.

And that is how I came to this conclusion: Albert Camus' The Stranger is a lot like running.

Just don't kill anyone while you're out there. I don't think the existentialist defense will fly in court.