What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - post IV

The book ends with a reminder of the human fragility of ambition as he misses out on the time he was hoping for in the marathon. He muses on the increasingly high barrier that is being raised all the time as a result of old age and concludes that he will run until he can do so no more.

That then raises the question of what motivates him and ultimately the goal he is aiming for is something that only he can decide. It is clear that he is a tough critic on himself and his own targets are very high. But as he gets overtaken on the race course he starts to revaluate those goals.

At the end he underlines how long distance running has helped shape his life and his mind helping him as a novelist. The link between his craft as a writer and his running is strong and he argues until the end that the discipline needed for one reinforces the other.

But he also end reminding us of the joy that running provides, something that is lost when he focuses on times and performance issues. If you can live your life to goals and make yourself try to reach them no matter how bad you feel then the rewards can be there.

That makes this a very good book to pick up while the resolutions of the New Year are still fresh in the mind.

A review will follow soon…