Running is hard work, yes. But it should also be fun and exhilarating. At its best, it recaptures the joy we experienced before running was recast as punishment or penance, when we would sprint out of the shadows in a darkened cul-de-sac to kick a can, chase someone on the playground, or race our dog along the beach.

While that joy can be easy to find (remember finishing your first 5k?), it can be monumentally difficult to sustain. Humor helps.

The intent of Running is Flying--a collection of over 60 aphorisms, thoughts and meditations on the running life by Paul E. Richardson--is to provide encouragement, levity, and perspective to a sport that has a tendency to take itself a bit too seriously.

Wonderfully illustrated by British artist Paul Cox, Running Is Flying makes a great gift for the runner in your life, even if that runner happens to be yourself.