I can only imagine the freebies handed out to the editors and contributors of Luxury Spa Finder magazine. The question remains, though, as to whether taking the freebies creates an objective magazine, which relaunched last year as a niche luxury glossy going up against high-end travel and beauty books. The spring-summer issue features the latest news about the ultimate in self-indulgence and back-to-the-land wellness. Discoveries are a aplenty in the pages. For instance, therapists at the Golden Door Spa in Boulder, Colo. exfoliate their patrons with Hopi blue corn meal that contains ionized mineral turquoise. During the process, those …

Unlike most of the 37,500 other participants, my journey through last year's New York City Marathon included a stretch of "quiet time" with the roadside paramedics. After a few minutes of decidedly non-erotic poking and probing, I was able to break free of their grasp, smuggling a dazed German dude out of the first-aid tent so that we could hobble the final 1.5 miles and regain a shred of the dignity we'd left spattered all over Central Park. Masochistic streak proudly intact, I'm hoping to revisit the experience this year.