“Runners exalt the marathon as a public test of private will, when months or years of solitary training, early mornings, lost weekends, rain and pain mature into triumph or surrender. That's one reason the race-day crowds matter, the friends who come to cheer and stomp and flap their signs and push the runners on.”

American essayist, speaker, and presidential historian

Nancy Reid Gibbs is an American essayist, speaker, and presidential historian. She is known for writing and speaking on American public life, with a particular focus on the presidency. Her work combines essay writing with public commentary and historical analysis. As a presidential historian, she studies the office and its place in American history, and her writing often reflects that interest in politics and leadership.