He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, often described by scholars as the magical equivalent to the number zero , and spends just about all of his time running away from various bands of people who want to kill him for various reasons. The fact that he's still alive and running is explained in that although he was born with a wizard's spirit, he has the body of a long-distance sprinter. Rincewind is also reputed for being able to solve minor problems by turning them into major disasters.