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 slew of critically acclaimed books, he
reflects upon the influence the sport has had on
his life and on his writing. Equal parts
travelogue, training log, and reminiscence, this
revealing memoir covers his four-month
preparation for the 2005 New York City Marathon
and settings 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
marvellous lens of sport emerges a cornucopia 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.