Magazine article: book review "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" (Haruki Murakami)

1. 14 October 2009 WINGFOOT
What I Talk About
When I Talk About
Running
By Haruki Murakami
Knopf, 2008
180 pages
In 2004, something hap-
pened to Haruki Murakami
that happens eventually to
every runner who toes the line
at a competitive event: a bad
race. In his case, it was a mara-
thon held in his native Japan,
a race in which the cramping
that set in at mile 18 turned
the eight miles following into
a slow, painful and humbling
experience. Looking ahead to
his next race, he decided to go
back to square one with train-
ing, a plan that reawakened an
idea he’d had to put down the memories and impres-
sions of running that had motivated him for more than
20 years. The result is “What I Talk About When I Talk
About Running,” a memoir that bridges biography and
poetic meditation.
Writing is standard for Murakami, a bestselling nov-
elist and Japanese translator of modern American fic-
tion. Written as he trained for the 2005 ING New York
City Marathon, the book combines his impressions and
thoughts on his training, his state of mind at the time
and accounts of prior events. He recounts his first shot
at the marathon distance, a solo navigation in reverse of
thelegendarycourseofPhidippidesinGreece(apassage
containing one of the most succinct and dryly funny ac-
counts of “hitting the wall” in print), takes us through
the physical and mental pro-
cesses encountered during the
62-mile Lake Saroma ultra-
marathon in Hokkaido, Japan,
and describes the frustration
and comedy of errors of mas-
tering biking and swimming as
he takes up the triathlon.
This is not an overtly dra-
matic work; nothing “hap-
pens.” A self-described medio-
cre runner, Murakami doesn’t
break records or mount the
medal podium. Like most run-
ners,heundertakessomething,
completes it and goes on, bal-
ancing his avocation with the
ebb and flow of motivation, the
demands of a professional life
and the limitations of aging.
Like life itself, the story is told
in a series of moments. Mu-
rakamihasauniquelyJapanesemasteryofthebeautiful
imagery in small details—the swing of a girl’s ponytail,
the color of leaves, the taste of a cold beer. And always
there is music: he spins the songs that move him—’60s
guitar anthems, ’80s Britpop and jazz—into the book’s
virtual soundtrack.
With its dry, self-deprecating humor and informal
style, “What I Talk About” is much like a chance con-
versation with a friendly, yet remote stranger. When
he talks about running and its effect on his life, it’s ee-
rily familiar. For all of us, “What’s really important is
reaching the goal I set for myself, under my own power.
I give it everything I have, endure what needs enduring
and hope that in the end I’ll reach a place I’m content
with. Or maybe just catch a glimpse of it.”
“What’sreallyimportantisreachingthegoal
Isetformyself,undermyownpower.Igiveit
everythingIhave,endurewhatneedsenduring
andhopethatintheendI’llreachaplaceI’m
contentwith.Ormaybejustcatchaglimpseofit.”
BookReview
By Michelle Bourg