What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
This is a nice short book and a good one to start on if you don’t fancy anything too heavy! It was the first running related book I picked up when it jumped out at me after a search on Amazon (not sure what I was searching for now!) because I had read some fiction of his (the Elephant Vanishes and Norwegian Wood are a couple of his most famous books) and so I was curious. The first thing that struck me was that passages of it were like reading my own thoughts written down for me! Someone else thinks like that when they’re running!? There are quite frankly too many examples of this in the early chapters to give any examples, and anyway, everyone will have their own ‘latching points’ in the text so I’ll leave you to make your own if you read it but for me, it was the first time I started to be aware enough of these to assess the changes in mind set that running had brought about for me.
Another feature of the text that I identified with was his discussion of ‘tesselating’ different commitments and interests (including running) into a busy life, especially a transition phase when moving from bar management to becoming a writer. As someone who also juggles multiple commitments and interests, it gave me an additional reason to believe that fitting high mileage into a busy week was not only possible but actively therapeutic! This high mileage and the details Murakami goes into about not just his training but his marathon (and one ultra-marathon!) races also had an impact on me, mostly as at the time I read it, I was just coming up to my first half marathon, having only completed one (10k) race in my life. I was feeling if not totally overwhelmed then certainly respectful of the distance and reading about someone who was regularly (yet carefully) running at least twice as far certainly helped me put things into perspective and mentally ‘shout down’ the miles!
The book has an easy and informal style, good for a relaxed read and is very story based, not at all dry or full of running tips, facts or figures; it does not aim to be a text book. I also found the chapters to be well ‘chunked’ meaning each reads like a little story in its’ own right so it is easy to dip in and out of whilst not losing track, almost like a series of short stories that make up one longer one.
If you like travel journalism you’ll also enjoy this I think as he does talk quite a bit about his experiences running in different parts of the world. I especially enjoyed reading about the bits in Japan as I had not long visited (and run there!) myself, but he also visits the New York City Marathon and does the run from Athens to Marathon (amongst others!)
I don’t think it would be too much of a spoiler to share my favourite quote from the book too, which is a pretty good off-the-peg mantra for when runs get tough! He quotes an anonymous runner who sates that ‘pain is inevitable, suffering is optional’ and that’s a thought that’s got me through many a tough mile since, as well as being quite applicable to a range of other situations in life!
This is a nice short book and a good one to start on if you don’t fancy anything too heavy! It was the first running related book I picked up when it jumped out at me after a search on Amazon (not sure what I was searching for now!) because I had read some fiction of his (the Elephant Vanishes and Norwegian Wood are a couple of his most famous books) and so I was curious. The first thing that struck me was that passages of it were like reading my own thoughts written down for me! Someone else thinks like that when they’re running!? There are quite frankly too many examples of this in the early chapters to give any examples, and anyway, everyone will have their own ‘latching points’ in the text so I’ll leave you to make your own if you read it but for me, it was the first time I started to be aware enough of these to assess the changes in mind set that running had brought about for me.
Another feature of the text that I identified with was his discussion of ‘tesselating’ different commitments and interests (including running) into a busy life, especially a transition phase when moving from bar management to becoming a writer. As someone who also juggles multiple commitments and interests, it gave me an additional reason to believe that fitting high mileage into a busy week was not only possible but actively therapeutic! This high mileage and the details Murakami goes into about not just his training but his marathon (and one ultra-marathon!) races also had an impact on me, mostly as at the time I read it, I was just coming up to my first half marathon, having only completed one (10k) race in my life. I was feeling if not totally overwhelmed then certainly respectful of the distance and reading about someone who was regularly (yet carefully) running at least twice as far certainly helped me put things into perspective and mentally ‘shout down’ the miles!
The book has an easy and informal style, good for a relaxed read and is very story based, not at all dry or full of running tips, facts or figures; it does not aim to be a text book. I also found the chapters to be well ‘chunked’ meaning each reads like a little story in its’ own right so it is easy to dip in and out of whilst not losing track, almost like a series of short stories that make up one longer one.
If you like travel journalism you’ll also enjoy this I think as he does talk quite a bit about his experiences running in different parts of the world. I especially enjoyed reading about the bits in Japan as I had not long visited (and run there!) myself, but he also visits the New York City Marathon and does the run from Athens to Marathon (amongst others!)
I don’t think it would be too much of a spoiler to share my favourite quote from the book too, which is a pretty good off-the-peg mantra for when runs get tough! He quotes an anonymous runner who sates that ‘pain is inevitable, suffering is optional’ and that’s a thought that’s got me through many a tough mile since, as well as being quite applicable to a range of other situations in life!
