Spaghetti Every Friday: The Story of Running 50 Marathons in 50 Weeks, by Bob Fletcher. 2002, 2nd Ed., $12.95, paper. 194 pp. The Witte Co.

Spaghetti Every Friday? I don't know. I think Bob Fletcher is trying to pull a fast one on us. On his way to running 50 marathons in 50 weeks, he sure seemed to eat a lot of Mexican and Chinese food.

"Wait a minute," you say? "Forget the food. (Fletcher's website reminds us this is 'not a cookbook.') Fifty marathons in 50 weeks?" Yep, at age 50, too! That's the real story.

In 1981-1982, Fletcher undertook his "marathon marathon" beginning in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Fifty weeks and "45,702 miles in a van plus 3,230 in a hearse" (yes, a hearse; you'll find out) later, he finished at the Old Fort Davis Marathon in his native Texas.

Along the way, he made stops in Boston and, in week five, Detroit for the Free Press Marathon. Fletcher's descriptions of races and sties will evoke memories for many itinerant runners. For me, it was Ellicottville and Buffalo, NY, and Ft. Erie, Ontario, and an overnight stop in a state park where I do a lot of trail running.

It was not all fun and games - hardly. Many times Fletcher questioned what he was doing. In the end, he noted, "the emotional appeal of running a new race in a new location with new runners was what kept me going," sometimes barely.

There was foul weather and good, but mostly the former. Just when we think every marathon comes complete with high temperatures and humidity, along come changes, a long string of them. We are left wondering now, how many "cold, rainy days can there be?" For a while, they seemed to follow Fletcher.

Of course, logistics were a problem: how to find 50 marathons in 50 weeks! They had to be proximate to each other. What if one of the marathons selected decided to cancel? One did, but ...

Lodging and travel costs were concerns. Hence the van - and hearse. There was a lot of camping, plus many runners and old friends opened their homes to Bob and his faithful traveling companion, wife Lou Ann. Just when we begin to feel sympathy for Fletcher, he declares, "Sometimes I think celebrating was harder than running." Poor boy.

He didn't walk these marathons. He ran them, often with specific goals. It's remarkable how many of his times hovered near the three-hour mark. Much more often than not, he placed in his age group.

Since the book follows efforts made 20-some years ago, we are provided with glimpses of running and racing history. Fletcher tells of races that awarded, not medals or plaques, but furniture and appliances. And we are reminded often that the running community was friendly and helpful then, too.

Fletcher also has singular ideas about running and racing. For instance, "We need to change the age of becoming a master to 45."

Spaghetti Every Friday is fun and easy to read. You can finish it in a night or two, often laughing or groaning out loud. The current edition is a reprint from January 2002. You can find ordering information online at www.spaghettieveryfriday.com.

Fletcher proves to be quite a wit as well as runner. He continues to run, into his 70s, although 50-in-50 is history. "When the tingling stops, so will I," he says.

Ron Marinucci can be reached by e-mail at RMarin6424@aol.com. MR