On a frigid Saturday night in the university town of Sherbrooke, Quebec, in February 1996, I was pondering—yet again—one of the great enigmas of endurance: John Landy. The stocky Australian is one of ...

COMMON SENSE, as Lebasteur has remarked, prevents us from denying the existence of a limit of elasticity in metals. It is true that the smallest load oh a test-piece will cause a slight permanent set.

I’m approaching the finish line when, just 30 seconds before crossing, I hear the race staff saying on the handheld radio: “The third is coming.” Only in the last 50 metres do I realise that I’m on ...