Running is often a very solitary endeavour, so I like to read about other runners' experiences to get a sense of how they approach the sport. One book I read recently and really enjoyed is What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by well-known Japanese writer Haruki Murakami. It's not strictly a book about running, but rather a memoir of the author's life and how running has become—and remained—an essential part of it.

What I really enjoyed was the discussion of how running is a sport for anyone, no matter your athletic ability. Yes, in races, you compete against other runners, but what most of us really care about is our own personal bests—competing against your own times and your own abilities. "I'm no great runner, by any means," Murakami writes. "I'm at an ordinary—or perhaps more like mediocre—level. But that's not the point. The point is whether or not I improved over yesterday."

Have you read this book? What did you think?

View all of Kat's running posts on the Half-marathon diaries home page.

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