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, not to mention triathlons and a dozen critically acclaimed
books, he reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and - even more
important - on his writing.

Equal parts training log, travelogue, and reminiscence, this revealing memoir covers his
four-month preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon and takes us to places ranging
from Tokyo's Jingu Gaien gardens, where he once shared the course with an Olympian, to the
Charles River in Boston among young women who outpace him. Through this marvelous lens of
sport emerges a panorama of memories and insights: the eureka moment when he decided to
become a writer, his greatest triumphs and disappointments, his passion for vintage LPs,
and the experience, after fifty, of seeing his race times improve and then fall back.

By turns funny and sobering, playful and philosophical, What I Talk About When I Talk
About Running is rich and revelatory, both for fans of this masterful yet guardedly
private writer and for the exploding population of athletes who find similar satisfaction
in distance running.

Download File Size:1.38 MB

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