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Murakami during one of his runs

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Context: Haruki Murakami started running at the age of 33, and ran ~6 miles a day, ~36 miles a week for several years. He completed 24 marathons (1 marathon/year), 1 Ultramarathon and Triathlons, when this book was published, which is inspiring considering this was his side-hustle. This book was written by him reflecting his thoughts during this journey.

Like most things that happen to find a way into our lives through random directions, I got to know about Haruki Murakami’s memoir from Lil Weng’s blog1. She answered the question ‘Why do you keep up blogging?’, by quoting a line from this book:

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

I really loved that!

I’ve heard of Murakami’s name several times before. But, what actually compelled me to take up reading this book now was my propensity for running — I love to run long-distances and generally, engage in endurance sports. I was naturally curious about what can be written for ~200 pages, without a self-help tone, on the mundane activity of swinging one’s arms and legs periodically, for a set time (availed a bit of poetic liberty here).

Reading this book, the first thing that struck me was Murakami’s elegant writing style. I should confess that I have an innate proclivity to read books with complex structures, solely because it gives me the satisfaction of reading a high-quality content. But, Murakami completely shattered this perspective altogether - the flow of his words was refreshing to follow. I believe this is especially essential for a work themed on subjective experiences rather than facts or fiction. An example is how he goes on tangents about repairing his apartment’s leaky heater or the beautiful autumn in New York — you don’t really get anything out of this piece of information per se, but you’re led to enjoy it all the same.

The core theme of this memoir are his contemplations while consistently running every day. That’s it. I (subjectively) feel that he was exceptional - anyone who’s ever run long-distances will know that one cannot run ‘a marathon a year’ without hard work and continuous efforts (he had run 24 marathons when this book was published). Why did he even do all this? Well, the answer one ideally expects here will be ‘for the pleasure of it’. I agree, that’s important. But he doesn’t shy away in confessing that running greatly benefitted him as a novelist too. One of his chapters is actualy titled ‘Most of what I know about fiction, I learned it by running every day’, where he attributes running for his creative thoughts, essential for a writer. I can vouch for it - I get most solutions to hard-pressing issues in my life while I’m walking/running (if you’re interested, it’s been scientifically perused too).

In my opinion, a good book makes you relate to what’s written, either directly or indirectly. Throughout this book, I was able to closely relate to his experiences, despite having witnessed none of it personally. I might be a bit prejudiced here - after all, he’s talking about an activity I love to do. I might not have been so curious if it was about, say, Golf (no offense!). But, I’m sure Murakami will captivate your interests, even if you hadn’t run a single day in your life, sheerly through his graceful writing. Infact, you might actually get inspired and take up running yourself.

This book is gray. Murakami is impartial in equally listing his frustrations and struggles - about how he detested every second of his Ultramarathon after a certain point, about questioning himself when he ran from Athens to Marathon under the blazing hot sun, and how he came so close to giving up running when he crossed 50 years and was not in his peak physical state anymore. But, reading these, I actually ended up feeling more willing to run. I believe that’s simply the magic of his writing.

Reading about his experiences doesn’t feel like a motivational discourse but rather, an inspiring tale of a novelist who wrote what he thought out loud about running. Without facts/analyses or a self-help/motivational approach, running is definitely a vague theme to discuss. But, Murakami made me turn the pages in describing how a monotonous activity for most felt the most endearing to him.

Murakami’s ending lines will be the best epilogue for this review:

Some of my favourite quotes from this book:

I have only a few reasons to keep on running, and a truckload of them to quit

The main thing was not the speed or distance so much as running every day, without taking a break

If I break one of my rules once, I’m bound to break many more

Most runners run not because they want to live longer, but because they want to live life to the fullest

Sometimes, taking the time to do something is actually the shortcut

The desire in me to be alone hasn’t changed. Which is why the hour or so I spend running, maintaining my own silent, private time, is important to help me keep my mental well-being

I’m struck by how, except when you’re young, you really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance

The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school

The body is an extremely practical system. You have to let it experience intermittent pain (pushing a little hard in running) over time, and then the body will get the point

P.S: This is my first book review. I welcome all comments/criticisms. Be harsh, but you know, constructive.

1 I visit her blog, time to time, just to appreciate her simple, clear, and crisp way of explaining things. Do visit it, especially if you’re interested in Deep Learning & AI.