Still, he is aware that, among writers at least, running at this level makes him a rare bird. Generally, he says, ‘I run in a void’. Contrary to many people’s assumptions, it is not time he uses for thinking. But he admits there is an emotional aspect to it: he is not above running away frustration, hurt and anger.

He gives several detailed descriptions of races, not omitting various painful and even humiliating experiences. These can be great fun. During one race, for instance, ‘a tiny old lady around 70 or so passed me and shouted out, “Hang in there!” Man alive.’

But I found myself warming to the book most during passages that felt like obiter dicta: brief descriptions of luminous days by Boston’s Charles River watching pretty Harvard girls in training; and of the writer’s other life, his travels, his current projects, and so on.

Believing himself a physical, rather than a cerebral, person, Murakami is particularly good on the link between physicality and understanding. Writing novels, he says, requires a balance between imaginative power and the physical abilities that sustain it. This physical aspect of creative writing ‘requires far more energy … over a long period, than most people ever imagine’.

As far as appropriated titles go, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running does not strike me as the most felicitous. But for those who don’t know, the reference — gratuitous, as far as I can tell — is to Raymond Carver’s short story, ‘What We Talk About When We Talk About Love’. (Murakami is an avowed fan of Carver and has translated his stories into Japanese.)

Towards the end, Murakami reflects on the winding-down of his running capabilities, which is nicely handled, although once or twice he slips into the kind of demented competitive sports drivel you’d think he’d be above (‘There are three reasons I failed. Not enough training. Not enough training. And not enough training. That’s it in a word.’) Never mind. This is, for the most part, a concise and enlivening little volume.

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