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Ian Mortimer

  












Why Running Matters
Lessons in Life, Pain and Exhilaration - from 5K to the Marathon

'A fabulous book... Brilliantly well written and insightful' - Paul Sinton-Hewitt, founder of parkrun.

You might run for fitness. You might run for speed. But ultimately, running is about much more than the physical act itself. It is about the challenges we face in life, and how we measure up to them. It is about companionship, endurance, ambition, hope, conviction, determination, self-respect and inspiration. It is about how we choose to live our lives, and what it means to share our values with other people.

In this year-long memoir, which might be described as a historian's take on Haruki Murakami's What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Ian considers the meaning of running as he approaches his fiftieth birthday. From injuries and frustrated ambitions to exhilaration and empathy, it is a personal and yet universal account of what running means to people, and how it helps everyone focus on what really matters.

If you want Ian to sign your copy of the book bring it along to a parkrun. Ian will be wearing a running vest that has the distinctive yellow cover on the chest, so you can't miss him! If you contact him directly by twitter - https://twitter.com/IanJamesFM - he'll let you know where he's next running, and will look out for you.