What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Book

Hugely enjoyable...you don't have to have run a marathon to be captivated' Sunday Telegraph. 'There can never have been a book quite like this memoir of running and writing before. In its self-contained way it is nothing less than an inspiration' Evening Standard. In 1982 having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing Murakami began running to keep fit. A year later he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon and now after dozens of such races he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and on his writing. Equal parts travelogue training log and reminiscence this revealing memoir covers his four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and settings ranging from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens where he once shared the course with an Olympian to the Charles River in Boston. Funny and sobering playful and philosophical What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is a must read for fans of this masterful yet private writer as well as for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction in distance running.

In 1982, having sold his jazz bar to devote himself to writing, the author began running to keep fit. A year later, he'd completed a solo course from Athens to Marathon, and now, after dozens of such races, he reflects upon the influence the sport...