Book Review: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running – Haruki Murakami

I recently became a fan of Haruki Murakami’s writing after a friend suggested some of his books to me. And after I found out he wrote a memoir about running, I had to read it!

In this simple book, Murakami describes his marathon and triathlon training and the impact it had on his writing and lifestyle. Furthermore, he highlights key moments in his life which helped define himself as a person and author.

Although I am not an aspiring novelist or writer of any sort, I found this work very inspirational and relatable to my own lifestyle. It talks about more than running and writing, but also of the struggles that come from a busy lifestyle, and dealing with various conflicts that arise. He talks about how he handled with these events and how they shaped his own life, built character, and defined new aspirations.

I especially enjoyed reading about the mental cycles he went through while training and racing whether it be from running solo from Marathon to Athens, running his first ultramarathon, or running in the New York City Marathon. The mantras that he repeated, the excruciating pain experienced, and the relief and accomplishment felt upon completion are all concisely described. Any runner or athlete will be able to relate to it.

From reading this memoir, I have more respect for Murakami for his lifestyle and strong commitment to running and writing.

Thanks Haruki for sharing your experiences, struggles, failures, redemptions, and successes with us.