The Long Running Life of Helena Zigon

A True Story in 21 Kilometers

Jasmina Kozina Praprotnik

• Publisher: Northern Illinois University Press
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781609092313
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Biographies
• Index: Social Sciences

Anthropologist Jasmina Praprotnik met Helena Zigon while running. Over the course of an icy Slovenian winter, the two marathon runners got together frequently, and Zigon told Praprotnik about her life. Here, Praprotnik tells Zigon's captivating story in Zigon's own voice. Each chapter is marked by a kilometer of the half-marathon Zigon ran along the Adriatic Sea on her eighty-sixth birthday, shortly after losing her husband of sixty years, Stane. Zigon's life spanned most of the twentieth century. She witnessed the Second World War, the rise and fall of Yugoslavia, and the founding of the new state of Slovenia. Abandoned by her parents and having grown up poor and mistreated by her stepmother, Zigon demonstrates the stoic resilience of a long-suffering Slavic woman. Though beset with challenges, she found a source of strength in the act of running. From a young girl running errands to an old woman running in the face of new grief, running has been a bright thread braided throughout her life. It has served her as a balm and a joy—one that she is grateful to still be able to savor. This inspirational memoir will appeal to general readers, especially those interested in history and running.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• At the Starting Line
• Kilometer One | Each Step Counts
• Kilometer Two | But Where Are You, Girls?
• Kilometer Three | The Slope of Love
• Kilometer Four | In Search of a Safe Home
• Kilometer Five | The Letter
• Kilometer Six | Helena, Is That You?
• Kilometer Seven | Will You Embrace Her When You Meet?
• Kilometer Eight | How Strange Life Turns Out!
• Kilometer Nine | The Path to Jail
• Kilometer Ten | Moving Out
• Kilometer Eleven | May I Ask for the Next Dance, Comrade?
• Kilometer Twelve | Three Girls on a Bicycle
• Kilometer Thirteen | My Mother-In-Law’s Gift
• Kilometer Fourteen | Helena, Think about Something Nice!
• Kilometer Fifteen | To Ride! To Be Free!
• Kilometer Sixteen | Supper under the White Lady
• Kilometer Seventeen | With Such Pleasure and Determination
• Kilometer Eighteen | To Have Time for Yourself
• Kilometer Nineteen | A Little More
• Kilometer Twenty | I Can’t Do It Anymore
• Kilometer Twenty-One | Where Is My Last Harbor?
• The Finish Line
• About How This Book was Born
• Thanks