Runners don’t just run. Unless they get paid to. Yet even then they often have day jobs to keep their finances afloat between competitions. Of course, most runners run for the passion of it. Haruki Murakami certainly did.

I didn’t know who Haruki Murakami was until a friend lent me his book, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. She is a runner herself and thought I would enjoy it for obvious reasons. As soon as I read the back of it, I knew I would. Not only does the Japanese author talk about running, he connects it to his day job. If you didn’t guess it already, Haruki Murakami is a novelist.

But he wasn’t always one.

Throughout the book, Murakami pieces together short entries of his time training for major marathons. His experiences are linked to not only his everyday life, but the way he approaches the act of writing and his unique personality in general.

Having dreamt of being a novelist for much of my life, I was astounded to find out that the young bar owner basically woke up one day with the desire to write a book. A book that he would finish four months later.

I’ve been working on my first novel for over five years. In fact, I might as well say six, at this point.

You don’t have to be a runner to appreciate his lessons on what it takes to be a writer. Because, let’s face it, writing a novel is no glamorous task. It takes a lot of will power and determination as much as it does imagination and talent. But you do have to love running to be able to follow his sometimes tedious accounts on training for specific races.

Overall, the life advice outweighed some of the more drawn-out bits for me, so I do recommend it to those who are looking for unique and easy read. Just be warned that not everyone will appreciate this particular topic!