Get On, Clip In, Fall Off

The Pros and Cons and Then-Agains of Running

Pro: Chicks dig guys in Lycra.
Con: Chicks don't dig me in Lycra.
Then Again: I can't really say I blame them.

Pro: You can do it in all weathers.
Con: This makes it a lot harder to find excuses not to run.
Then Again: There's something strangely satisfying about being able to go out and not really care about getting soaked.

Pro: Reading running magazines on the train makes you look healthy.
Con: Running magazines aren't really that interesting - how many group tests of shoes under 70 quid can you do?
Then Again: All the race information stuff, which is why most people buy running magazines, is on the Web anyway.

Pro: Running can be good for asthma.
Con: Running shorts are usually short on useful pockets for carrying things like inhalers.
Then Again: If they had more pockets they'd just get filled up with useless crap and weigh me down.

Pro: The experts say you can get your partner to give you a soothing sports massage after you've been for a hard run.
Con: You need to get a partner first.
Then Again: "Sports massage" sounds like a euphemism for some particularly sordid practice anyway.

Pro: Impress your peer group! Run marathons!
Con: The London Marathon is now mostly only open to people dressed as rhinos and cartoon characters unless you've already run a sub-three hour marathon.
Then Again: 42 kilometres is an awfully long way, and if you want to get around London there's the tube.

Pro: The satisfaction of finishing a good long run.
Con: Finding out what other people consider to be "a good long run".
Then Again: It's still a hell of a lot further than most people can run without keeling over in cardiac arrest.

Pro: Special technical fabrics actually do make you more comfortable.
Con: If you're not careful you can end up looking like a walking advert for, say, the well-known company with the swoosh.
Then Again: The logos are much smaller on their actual sportswear than on the stuff they sell to people who just want to be seen wearing things with logos on.

Con: Morons may occasionally heckle you.
Pro: You can call their bluff by challenging them to race you over 5k.
Then Again: They might beat you.

Pro: Beating your personal best time or longest distance run.
Con: The subsequent muscle pain.
Then Again: The muscle pain goes away eventually.

Con: The risk of addiction and consequent overtraining.
Pro: As addictions go, it's a lot healthier than heroin.
Then Again: A day's supply of heroin probably costs less than a technical T-shirt.

Pro: It's an excuse for men to wear Lycra tights with nothing on underneath in public.
Con: It's an excuse for men to wear Lycra tights with nothing on underneath in public.
Then Again: Thank God for long baggy T-shirts.