The premise this time is that Japan produces an inordinate number of excellent runners, running superb times in their early twenties before their careers tail off. In a country that is marathon obsessed, they produced hundreds of runners capable of performing to a very high level, but hardly any that perform to the very elite level, the world’s best. Finn travels to Japan, with his ever enterprising young family in tow, to delve into the closed world of Japan’s ekiden running culture – long-distance road relays run at various levels in Japan.
There are high school teams, University teams and corporate sponsored professional teams, and they all operate in their own idiosyncratic ways. As Finn attempts to enter this world he finds one stumbling block after another making it something of a challenge to get deep down into the ekiden culture that produces such stellar performances and such a young burnout.
But he wangles his way in as far as he is allowed, and in amongst many anecdotes that will resonate with anyone who, like me, has spent time in the unique culture of Japan he discovers that the spirit of togetherness and team harmony lies at the heart of the ekiden and the strong performances it provokes. His attempts to get a place on an ekiden team provide the backbone of the tale being told as Finn seeks to understand the running culture and method behind the Japanese talent production line which takes its best runners so far but just short of the very best when running alone. When running on a team the level goes up a notch or two, and Finn’s numerous runs around the concrete scenery of urban Japan are an intriguing attempt to discover why.
Along the way he meets student hopefuls and former Olympic greats. He meets speedy students and slightly slower business men, and multi-marathoning monks. He takes part in many events and training sessions in search of his answers and takes us along with him every step of the way. The tale of the monks who run 1000 marathons in 1000 days is the kind of story that conjures up stereotypical images of the orient, of peaceful serenity and the search for enlightenment. What Finn discovers there is quite interesting if not what I’d expected.
But it is the ekiden adventures that are the most compelling. The attitude of coaches and the machine-like dedication of the runners are revealing and provide a significant contrast to Finn’s experiences in Kenya. In Japan the fun seems to have been taken away replaced with intensity and, to some extent, pain. It’s a fascinating insight into an unusual world.
If there is a criticism, and it is a very minor one, it is of the use of Japanese phrases which to anyone familiar with the phonetic Japanese language will appear rather mangled and mispronounced, but that isn’t a criticism that anyone who hadn’t lived in Japan or studied Japanese would notice. There is also the travelogue style which always leads to a bit of the “what I did at the weekend” story-telling so beloved of travel writers, and yet it serves a very useful purpose in this book. It allows the reader to get to know Japan, and Finn’s numerous interesting acquaintances in the manner that he did. Along with him we discover the difficulties of attempting to integrate into what is still a very closed society. We run alongside Finn on the concrete loops that double as training tracks with his young neighbour, with his Kyoto running club and with the elite level University team he integrates into.
It is an excellent book and a true insight into an anomaly of world running. Finn’s keen eye and lilting turn of phrase make for a fascinating and easy read. I sped through the book in the manner of one of Finn’s elite ekiden runners, wanting to know more, and wanting to experience it all with him.
- Aidan Williams - http://thesportsbookreview.com
Publisher - Faber & Faber
Date of Publication - 2nd April 2015