They take running shoes with them on business trips, hoping to squeeze in a jog between meetings; they argue the virtues of their Adidases and their Pumas; they boast of surmounting new thresholds of pain and experiencing the mysticism of the second wind. They are the evangelists of fitness, a religion that has captivated the nation. We examine the phenomenon in our Living section this week.

To get an inside--and wry--view of the fitness fad, we called on Contributor John Skow, a longtime practitioner of mens sana in corpore sano. A former staff writer, Skow left New York City 15 years ago for the salubrious airs of the country. On his 45-acre New Hampshire farm, he chops the wood that heats his house and repairs stone fences. A runner, Skow also enjoys tennis, canoeing, skiing and hiking. In 1971 he climbed the 24,500-ft. Mt. Noshaq in Afghanistan.

Coming back to New York for this assignment, Skow found that the leisurely lunches he remembered had been replaced by running lunches. After finishing his story, Skow joined some TIME staffers who spend their midday jogging in nearby Central Park. Maps Researcher Nancy Griffin charts the course. Reporter-Researcher Georgia Harbison, who interviewed joggers for this piece, is also part of the noon platoon. What makes Harbison run? Says she: "It's part masochism, part hedonism and part narcissism. Running hurts; but after you run, you feel good and so you look good."

The group includes a couple of marathoners. A member of the team that won the New York City Women's Marathon last year, Reporter-Researcher Ellie McGrath trains by jogging 17 miles along the Hudson River several times a week. And then there is Reporter-Researcher Paul Witteman, who took up marathon running after he was beaten in a ten-mile race by an eight-year-old girl. Says Witteman of his first experience in the Boston Marathon six weeks ago: "After 15 miles I really wanted to quit. Then I felt a hand on my back, and a 75-year-old dentist came up behind me and said, 'You have to keep running.' I did."

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