A. I think about my running form, I look at the scenery, and I listen to audio books, podcasts, and music. On marathon days, I have a specific routine of saving the final chapters of a suspense novel (such as an Agatha Christie murder mystery or a David Baldacci thriller) for the last half. Wanting to know “if the butler did it” has a way of helping to take my focus off the final miles, especially the hard miles after Mile 18, in a race.