What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Author: Haruki Murakami

Country: Japan

Genre: Memoir/Sport

Pages: 173

“No matter how mundane some action might appear, keep at it long enough and it becomes a contemplative, even meditative act.”

And so the author sets out to share his thoughts on running, what it has meant and means to him. I was apprehensive initially when I looked at the genre “Sport”, but what the book offers isn’t really specific to runners.

It’s unstructured and is in parts a running journal where Murakami keeps track of his training log and reminisces about the places he runs in. His entries revolve around training for the New York City Marathon and later for a Triathlon in Murakami city. The book spans a little over a year but often shuttles in and out of memory lanes. It’s set in real time except for an article that the author wrote of his run in the course from Athens to Marathon and a journal entry of his ultra marathon.

Reading this book was very much like reading a set of blog posts. It was like going over thoughts that would be categorized into Personal, Introspection, Writing and so on – and so made for a relaxing read.

Quotes:

Pain is inevitable; suffering is optional.

If something is worth doing, it’s worth giving it your best – or in some cases beyond your best.