Why We Run

I've just finished the book, "Why We Run, A Story of an Obsessive" by Robin Harvie, which was given to my by a friend and (much better) runner for my birthday... very appropriate this year. I had half expected to find it an autobiographical book describing how yet another runner managed to run a marathon in 5 weeks having previously lived the life of a couch potato. I was wrong.

Instead I got a fascinating book, part autobiography, part story, part history, and part philosophical debate about "why we run". What starts out as a story about how Harvie decides to run the Spartathon, a 152 mile ultra from Athens to Sparta in under 36 hours, turns into much more as he weaves into this the story of his childhood, teenage and adult years, histories of the Marathon, Olympics and Spartathon, and a look at some of the modern ages great runners and explorers, Bannister, Zatopek, Hilary and Scott.

As reviewers have said, it does go all over the place, and sometimes it is difficult to find the links in the narrative, but it is a literary book, demanding a  little effort: the link is running, going to the edges of our limits, and what drives people to take up challenges which demand obsessive commitment.

And he is obsessive: the training demanded to prepare for the Spartathon is impressive, running 120 miles during the week and then 2 marathons at weekends, running ultras and marathons in preparation: but it is telling that his wife at one point says to him she had a life to get on with, and she didn't "want to do that alone". I think it is the mark of the man that he ends the story on failure, or at least not finishing the Spartathon, a brutal run testing not only physical preparation but mental strength. He was humble enough to admit that his will and body was broken by the race. Although he clearly regretted not finishing, he did complete 85 miles in 17 hours. Perhaps he should have taken the advice of one of his mentors, Rory Coleman: don't just look forward to the challenge, but also look back at the achievement.

But this is not the point. Essentially, the book is about the title. Why do people run? For Harvie, running is, "seeking out the challenge of the distance and the terrain, throwing all my effort and daring into conquering it." Running is about challenging his own capabilities, testing his mental and physical ability against the terrain and time. In preparation for the Spartathon, this became his obsession: he lived to run. 

I don't think I'll ever get to that stage. I don't think I want to be that obsessive, to run that far. But if I think about why I run, there is no one reason. I could say, "for charity", or because I want to keep fit, lose weight: all of which are true. Do I enjoy it? Sometimes. Sometimes it is just hard graft. But yes, sometimes it is great to be running in sunshine, or in countryside, or just feeling the freedom of being out and about. And I miss it when I'm not running. But for me a big part is the challenge: whether trying to improve my times, or running further. I don't find running easy, never have, but I do feel a great feeling of satisfaction at completing a race or training run. I always feel better..... afterwards!

So, a good book, worth a read. And not just for those who run ultras, its for all runners. So, why do you run?