Ernesto told me he was a champion runner in his youth and that he still competed in several races a year. But when I asked him how he trained, he didn’t understand the question. When I described how Americans like me keep fit and prepare for races by running several times a week, he seemed incredulous. As I asked more questions, he made it pretty clear he thought the concept of needless running was preposterous. “Why,” he asked me with evident disbelief, “would anyone run when they didn’t have to?”
