What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (2008) As a fan of Haruki Murakami, I was trying to decide which of his many, many books to read next—and I saw this memoir from awhile back, so I thought I’d check it out in the meantime, and I found it kind of irresistible. Well, I figured he would talk about running, and as someone who used to run (it was a huge part of my life), I figured I might relate. Plus, I thought about taking it up again, as the pandemic closed the gyms, if my knees could hold out. I was hoping, as well, that he would talk somewhat about writing, because there is nothing I like more than writers talking about writing. So, I was pleased that he went through his history, how he started writing, his early success, etc. Fun to hear that stuff, and also about his approach to it, generally. But mostly the book is about running, and there is a lot about training for, and running, marathons. Even when I ran a lot, I never ran a marathon—and I know it got to be trendy, and a lot of people have—but it still sounds like a special accomplishment. But he also ran this ultramarathon, which sounds a little insane—extreme—but it’s interesting to hear him describe the whole experience. I always had a lot of philosophical thoughts on running, and it’s nice that some of my feelings about it line up with his.