Not all victories come with medals. Negative Splits: A Middle-Aged, Newbie Runners Journey to the First Marathon chronicles the authors emergence from a 20-year period of self-imposed athletic exile to first-time combatant with the 26.2-Mile Monster. Employing an engaging you-are-there style, David M. White takes readers through the 10 months leading to the 2010 ING NYC Marathon and a finish which challenges the conventional notion of triumph.