Yesterday it was Vanity Fair on Sarah Palin, and today it’s Runner’s World—in a much more flattering profile, and one in which the Alaska governor was actually interviewed. The August issue of the magazine features Palin in its “Stories From Real Runners” department. In the interview, Palin was asked what running has taught her about politics:

Same thing it’s taught me about life: You have to have determination and set goals, and you don’t complain when something’s hurting because no one wants to hear it. You get bummed and burned out sometimes in running and in politics, but if you’re in for the long haul and you’re in it because you know that it is a good thing, then you get out there and you do it anyway. You know, [former RW columnist] George Sheehan really could articulate what running means in terms of applicability to life. During the campaign, when people asked me about my favorite authors, I said C.S. Lewis, John Steinbeck, and Dr. George Sheehan, and people would look at me, these reporters, like, “Who in the world is that?” But his books and columns so inspired me 10, 15, 20 years ago, and still do. I remember what he wrote about applying the lessons of running to relationships and families and businesses and, in my case, running a state. He was a brilliant man.

When asked who would win a (running) race between her and President Obama, Palin said:

I betcha I’d have more endurance. My one claim to fame in my own little internal running circle is a sub-four marathon. It wasn’t necessarily a good running time, but it proves I have the endurance within me to at least gut it out and that is something. If you ever talk to my old coaches, they’d tell you, too. What I lacked in physical strength or skill I made up for in determination and endurance. So if it were a long race that required a lot of endurance, I’d win.

Palin also said she enjoys listening to music while running: “I kick off my runs with the old Van Halen and AC/DC, then I get into my country music, then I always wrap it up with a couple of mellow Amy Grant songs.”

You can read the interview in its entirety here.