It’s not often you get to write about running and books at the same time. The few running books I have are quite technical books, dealing more with the actual process of running and providing a reference point for my questions. They’re not so much in them about what it is to actually be a runner. Consequently, they’re more functional, reference material, and there’s not much to be said for writing about them, much as I don’t really feel the need to write about dictionaries!
Saturday’s Guardian has an extract in the magazine from Haruki Murakami’s forthcoming book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” therefore jumped out at me. It’s an excellent piece - well worth a read by any other runners - and as a result I’ve got the book in my shopping basket already. There are some superb extracts about the joys of running: the thoughts you have, observations you find yourself making, routines and mantras you go through, and the challenges you face. One section jumped out at me, particularly in light of my comments yesterday about running being every bit a mental challenge as a physical one:
One runner told of a mantra his older brother, also a runner, had taught him which he’s pondered ever since. Here it is: “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” Say you’re running and you start to think, Man this hurts, I can’t take it any more. The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand any more is up to the runner himself. This pretty much sums up the most important aspect of marathon running.
Click here for the full article.
Frances is coincidentally currently reading Norweigian Wood, by the same author, which I gave her for Christmas. I’ve heard great things about that book, and hoping to read it when she’s finished. I just hope she doesn’t finish it just before this book comes out!
