Running on screens and in books. Some recommendations.

Hi Everyone,

Trying to balance the more serious ‘exercise is good for your heart’ style blog posts with posts a little lighter. Anyway - after this Monday’s intermittent running session, Mel, Jenny, and I got a coffee and shared some of our recent / favourite running movie and book recommendations. These might provide motivation, something to relate to, or simply something fun or interesting. Here they are:

On Netflix:

Brittany Runs a Marathon (1h 43mins, 2019). Recommended by Jenny.

But an overweight woman is asked by her doctor to lose weight, so she starts running every day. I haven’t seen this myself yet – but the internet describes plenty of relatable elements – scheduling runs into a workday, working from an ‘around the block’ run up to a hilly park loop, internal pride from externally meaningless achievements. Has an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a lead actress from Saturday Night Live.

Lorena, Light-Footed Woman (28 mins, 2018). Recommended by Jenny and Chris.

This simple story about a Mexican woman who runs ultramarathon trail events in sandals and a traditional dress is visually stunning. I would love to be able to do these kinds of runs. The movie doesn’t need to be anything more than it already is.

Books:

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (2009). Recommended by Mel.

This book preceded the film about Lorena mentioned above and explores stories about Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians and other ultrarunners to explore the spirit of running. I haven’t read it myself (yet) but it has a 4.3 rating on good reads.

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami (2007). Recommended by Chris.

I read this years before I even considered running myself. Murakami is incredibly controlled and meditative with his writing and approach to running. The part that I remember the most is when he describes his wife’s relative talent but disinterest in running, he wrote something like ‘Life is unfair. But in it’s unfairness there is a chance to craft your own form of fairness’, which I think is a nice little nod to training, having a sense of control, and the value of personal achievement.

The Running Book by John Connel (2021). Recommended by Chris.

An Irish author describes his experiences running through the country and around his home. It isn’t nearly as contained as Murakami’s effort. But, for me, its relative uncontainedness makes it read like a more authentic running book, i.e., a messy experience with the occasional runners high. It also helped me get back into running after breaking the habit for a while when we first got our puppy dog :)