The Running Book - by John Connell (Paperback)

About the Book

"It is summer, the hay and silage have not yet been made on John Connell's farm, so he has time to indulge his other great passion: running. John sets off on a marathon run of 42.2 kilometers through his native Longford, the scene of his award-winning memoir. As he runs across woodlands, fields and tiny roads, he tells the story of his life and contemplates Ireland's history, old and new. He also remembers other great runs he has done, in Australia and Canada, and tells the stories of some of his running heroes, such as Haile Gebrselassie. Part memoir, part essay, The Running Book explores what it is to be alive and what movement can do for a person. It is deeply intimate and wide-ranging, local and global: Connell is as likely to write about colonialism and the effect of British imperialism in Ireland and its former colonies as he is about life on his family farm in Ballinalee, County Longford. Told in 42 chapters, each another kilometer in the 42.2k race, the whole book is 42,000 words long and it captures what it is to undertake a marathon moment by moment, in body and mind. Above all, The Running Book is a book about the nature of happiness and how for one man it came through the feet." --

Book Synopsis

A book about the joys and pleasures of running, the highs and lows of life, the history and landscape of Ireland, and so much more.

Review Quotes

"The Farmer's Son echoes Aldo Leopold's articulation of the land ethic, Michael Pollan's writing on the food chain, and Ivan Doig's plain-language music. Admirers of these writers will celebrate the entrance of Connell's strong and distinct voice." --Booklist on The Farmer's Son

"A gorgeous evocation of farm life's recurring cycle of births, deaths, seasons, weather, chores and life lessons, all spun into a lovely web of stories illuminated by crystalline prose. What comes through on every page is Mr. Connell's heart and humility--and his profound appreciation for the animals who depend on him for their well-being, and vice versa." -The Wall Street Journal on The Farmer's Son

"British colonialism is a topic that demands coverage and I am glad that Mr Connell is approaching it from this new lens". -- Shashi Tharoor, author of Inglorious Empire

"In this slim volume, Connell offers a lovely testimonial to all the seeing to be done by eyes and hearts that hold themselves open. And he shows us that, wherever we run, the world remains with us, to be grasped in all its grief and majesty". -- Zia Haider Rahman, author of In The Light of What We Know

"Sensational! John Connell has done it again" -- Dean Karnazes, author, Ultramarathon Man

Some books are for runners, some are for history lovers. This charming volume is for both. It has made me vow to keep my eyes more widely open the next time I put my running shoes on - whether the ground beneath my feet is new or familiar. -- Adam Hochschild, author of King Leopold's Ghost

About the Author

John Connell's work has been published in Granta's New Irish Writing issue. His memoir The Farmer's Son: Calving Season on a Family Farm was a number one bestseller in Ireland and won the 2018 An Post Irish Book Award/Ireland AM Popular Non-Fiction Book of the Year. He lives on his family farm, Birchview, in County Longford, Ireland.