Download And Enjoy The Way Of The Runner: A Journey Into The Fabled World Of Japanese Running Brought To You By Adharanand Finn Shared As Audiobook

may come as a surprise to many people, but Japan is the most runningobsessed country on earth, Amile relay race, or "ekiden" is the country's biggest annual sporting event, Thousands of professional runners compete for corporate teams in some of the most competitive races in the world, The legendary "marathon monks" run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment,


Yet so much of Japan's running culture remains a mystery to the outside world, on par with many of the unique aspects of contemporary Japan.
Adharanand Finn, the awardwinning author of Running with the Kenyans, spent six months immersed in this one of a kind running culture to discover what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan.



As an amateur runner about to turn, he also hoped to find out whether a Japanese approach to training might help him run faster.
What he learnsabout competition, team work, form, chasing personal bests, and about himselfwill fascinate and surprise anyone keen to explore why we run and how we might do it better.
It is difficult to pin down, but I found this less rewarding and also less engrossing than 'Running with the Kenyans'.
There is much about the Japanese lifestyle and also the traditional ekiden relay race, but somehow the individuals he met seem to be represented slightly onedimensionally.
Longdistance running is big business in Japan and they have plenty of young/university athletes, but can't seem to translate it to the world stage and take on the Ethiopians and Kenyans at the marathon, and after experiencing the culture Finn doesn't really have an answer.
I really enjoyed sitelinkRunning with the Kenyans and sitelinkRise of the Ultra Runners,

Didn't like this one quite as much, But salute to Finn for finding an excellent blag all these books let him move to a foreign country w/ his family, write about running, get paid for it, talk shop with world class athletes, and work on hisk time Unfortunately this was nowhere near as interesting as his previous book 'Running with the Kenyans' which is mostly to do with the fact that the book seemed like a long magazine article extended into a book.
The only reason he seems to find for the Japanese being good at running is the intense pressurised training they are subjected to in ekiden relays.
However this very often leads to burnout and their racing careers are often over by their mid twenties, There are some interesting mentions of Galen Rupp and Alberto Salazar especially given recent events, Whereas 'Running with the Kenyans' had an interesting narrative that the reader could sprint through 'The Way of the Runner' was more of an endurance marathon.
Really enjoyed getting to learn more about running in Japan, Now I want to run an ekiden, For more of my reviews, check out my blog: sitelink boundtobeme. org

I began reading this book because I have recently rediscovered my love for running, But as I read the words and really thought about what the author was saying, goosebumps spread across my arms, Just thinking about the dedication, love, and commitment to running, . It amazes me. But instead of the author keeping with the excitement, the book at times kind of drags out, Although I enjoyed what I read, I found myself putting the book down a lot, Don't get me wrong, it was an enjoyable read, It just wasn't the type of book you read in one sitting,

This book takes an in depth look at Japan's running methods and beliefs, The author plans to travel to Japan and take a critical look at the Ekiden season, I really enjoyed reading about the Japan culture and how runners are somewhat idealized, For example: Japan is unique in that it offers long distance runners a salary to join a team, In Japan, road runners are a big deal, Not only are they faster than my mind can even comprehend, they are an idealistic symbol to the community and certain races bring in comparable rating to the Super Bowl.


As the story continues, my once amazed outlook on these runners turns to pity and sadness, The conditions Japan runners face isn't ideal and the expectation is unrealistic, often leading to the racers burning out, At every point in a Japan runners development/career, they are expected to give maximum effort, . . All the time, every time, Their coaches expect the highest performance and often their motivation is all the runners have because along the way they have lost their own motivation/enjoyment for running.


This really broke my heart because running is amazing and supposed to be fun, I understand the competitiveness and the aspect that training isn't always fun, But I have a hard time seeing what the point is, The author often asks 'why do me run' The author suggests the answer is understanding yourself, And I think I agree with him, Yes, I run for stress relief, escape, enjoyment, . But I run for me and I have learned so much more about who I am since I started,

This book has a bunch of history and fun statistics, The book is well written but longer than I think it needed to be, I am interested in picking up his other book Running with the Kenyan's and probably will be a book I would prefer via hard copy instead of electronic.
If you are a runner, I think you would enjoy this book, "The Way of the Runner" reveals a lot of secrets behind the Japanese obsession with running, the mysterious aura of ekidens, and the nation itself.
Adharanand Finn's crafty depiction of the environment of the races in Japan especially Hakone ekiden pushes you to open YouTube for the visual proof.
It was fascinating to follow the author's daily struggles in the foreign country with a rather closed traditional mindset and learn more about the secrets of better performance, do's and dont's.
While reading the reflection on the purpose of running I couldn't agree more, mentally nodding at every conclusion, Thanks to Adharanand Finn for this beautiful journey to the Land of the Rising Sun, Quite disappointing, the whole book could have been a very good article, However the writer opted to the book format, which necessitated very long and irrelevant 'detours' that were in the end not offering anything to the final story.
The world of Japanese running is exciting, but this book simply does not cut it, I read this in audio format while I was running, thinking it would be an inspirational read, Sounds like one, right And to an extent it is, but it doesn't have a lot of the real ingredients you need: there's no central character struggling to excel themselves.
There's no McDougallesque nonsense about secret, forgotten techniques that, once discovered, will let the reader tap into ancient wells of superhuman endurance.
In a lot of ways, it's more of a cultural study of the japanese running scene: the grassroots running teams, the corporations who employ professional runners in the same way colleges in the west give scholarships to gifted young athletes.

The good aspects of this are there to see: health benefits and community spirit is boosted by shared commitment to relay races.
But there's a dark side too: emphasising team spirit can stifle excellence, More sinister still, coaches are found to bully, browbeat and hit their students, and when this is discovered, it isn't always seen as a problem, either by the authorities or by the students themselves.

But although I wouldn't want to be a japanese athlete, there's always something you can learn from studying another point of view, and the author throws himself into finding out what is going on in the clubs and squads, and gamely tries to apply it in his own racing style back at home.
It's very unusual that you come across a book about running that discusses team spirit as opposed to the individual's race against their own PB.
So I didn't regret choosing it as a running read at all,/

I think Finn has become my favourite runningwriter, While he goes in a bit heavy on the pseudo science for my tastes, he loves

running and he loves being around runners.
Reading his books just makes me want to get outside and run, This book helped me get through a particularly difficult challenge, and I think I will save "Running with the Kenyans" to get me motivated for Spring training.


Besides being a great running book, it's also a great travel book, I've read a lot about Japan, but the personal experiences and sliceoflife style were very fitting, Japan is different. Japanese Runners are different. Finn previously spent time in Kenya learning from and training with their iconic runners and a theme throughought this book is Japanese and Kenyan runners are different.
I kind of wanted to slap him and say “no shit, We got it. Move on”, but I also really enjoyed this book,

When landing on a hundredth book, there was no better option than one about two loves given to me by a wonderful Bookcrossing friend.
I was living in either Australia or japan when we first “met”, although I wasnt a runner then, This book made me wish I had been,

Finn is brave, uprooting his family of three young kids so he can travel overland from the UK to Japan and spend sixth months following the ekiden season.
I was awed to realize the first team he met with was based and trained right near my first Osaka apartment.
With an old friend Max as his translator, Finn made some inroads with a Kansai running group as he tried to lean about the New Years and fabled Hakone ekiden.


Id hoped for a little more insight into Japanese training and people in the manner of Becky Wades book, but this wasnt that.
There was a lot of the author trying to chase his school or post Kenya PRs, I wouldnt have minded more people, less him, but overall a good read, A book about running for runners by a runner, I loved it. I'm not entirely sure people who don't run will find this even remotely enjoyable, so I'll stick to recommending it to fellow runners only.
stars. Fun look at the methodical, pain loving, competitive Japanese Runners, Sim, é um livro sobre corrida, e provavelmente só quem corre se vai interessar por desfolhar as mais depáginas, Mas é também, ou se calhar sobretudo, o relato de um estranho numa terra estranha, e das inúmeras experiências de lost in translation com que se vai deparando.
E nesse sentido, fica mais no registo de livro de memórias de viagem em que a dissonância com o cenário funciona como motor do que no de reportagem sobre a realidade da corrida de fundo no Japão.
Pessoalmente, gosto de objetos híbridos, mas aqui pareceume que o registo pessoal, centrado nas peripécias do autor e da sua família, tem muito mais apelo e daria vontade de ler mais do que os relatos de corrida que daria vontade de ler menos.
Ainda assim, uma leitura muito recomendável, .