39 - A book with a character who runs a marathon

[L Y N N]

A book with a character who runs a marathon

Oh! Oh! Oh! I now have a copy of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall which I was never really interested in reading until I read and adored Running with Sherman to fulfill this year's Popsugar prompt #17 A book about a run club.

I'm sure there are books where characters run a marathon that are not about runnning! In fact, I'm relatively certain I have read one recently, but cannot remember which one! Help build the listopia!

A list that might help:
Distance Running

Listopia: A book with a character who runs a marathon

[Dubhease]

I read Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run last year for the run club prompt. It's inspiring and practical. He started running marathons while weighing 300 pounds.

[Dubhease]

Every time the do a poll in Canada for greatest Canadians, Terry Fox places in the top 3. He was an amputee who started running a marathon a day to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. Every September there are still Terry Fox runs that raise a lot for cancer research.

There are a ton of biographies of Terry from kids books to books by Canadian writers to books by people who knew him.

[Laura Ruth]

Marathon Man is a thriller by William Goldman, the author of The Princess Bride.

There's also The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner.

[Katherine]

Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness by Sarah Tomlinson is a book about a marathoner who ran in college and the Olympics who ended up having undiagnosed bipolar disorder. The book focuses on her spiral and eventual diagnosis and healing. So yes a marathon but a lot more. If you are one who is sensitive I would recommend checking trigger warnings prior to reading though.

[Linda]

Bryan Cranston's memoir A Life in Parts is well-written and interesting. And he has run a marathon.

[Sasha]

I used to dabble in triathlon, and although my health doesn't allow it any more, I'm still quite interested in endurance sports and their history. I'm probably going to read Today We Die a Little!: The Inimitable Emil Zátopek, the Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time. He revolutionised training for endurance running and was involved in the Prague Spring, so he's interesting on multiple levels.

If you extend the definition of marathon beyond the classic 26 miles to include ultra marathons, there's also Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America's Stolen Land, which is about a Native American/First Nations initiative called Peace and Dignity Journeys.

[Joanna G]

I'd recommend Run with the Wind, which I read for the run club prompt this year. It's fiction about a relay marathon.

[Toni]

I'm reading 'What I Talk About When I Talk About Running
Book' by Haruki Murakami for the 2025 prompt of a running club. it's non fiction but he runs several marathons and even an ultra marathon in the book

[Acidic Quagga]

I've been trying to restart my running routine after having fallen off for a couple years. Some books I've found helpful:


Shut Up and Run: How to Get Up, Lace Up, and Sweat with Swagger by Robin Arzón is one of my favourite running books ever. This one has a lot of running schedules/workouts, and advocates running as a lifestyle, not just a workout. It also has advice for running with diabetes, which I haven't seen anywhere else.


Runner's World Running on Air: The Revolutionary Way to Run Better by Breathing Smarter by Budd Coates is the book that taught me the importance of controlled breathing and cadence while moving. This can apply to walking, and absolutely applies to running. I learned to use a simple 4-3 running cadence so that I'm not always starting my exhales on the same foot, keeping things in balance. It has made a huge difference to my running.

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I read To Be a Runner: How Racing Up Mountains, Running with the Bulls, or Just Taking on a 5-K Makes You a Better Person and the World a Better Place by Martin Dugard this year and I got a lot of inspiration from it. It doesn't present you with technical skills or routines, but is a memoir of the things that makes the author love running so much.


I'll be reading Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall to help keep up my motivation, especially through the winter months. I AM A RUNNER AND I WILL RUN!


And of course Born to Run 2: The Ultimate Training Guide, also by Christopher McDougall. Gotta keep up the momentum! This one is supposed to also have running routines and workouts included.


If you're looking for a bit of whimsy, storytelling, or need something chasing you to keep up the speed, there's always Zombies, Run! by Six to Start. It's based off the running serial podcast, Zombies, Run!, which has its own app, found on most app stores. The storytelling is all voice acted, and they'll throw zombies at you to make you run faster! The book is full of fun, post apocalyptic advice, including workout routines and training for the end of the world! Keep running and don't get bit!


I actually have Down and Dirty: The Essential Training Guide for Obstacle Races and Mud Runs by Matt B. Davis slated for 2025 as something on my bucket list, but we'll see if I get to it before 2026. Anyway, it's a long term goal that I probably won't get to fulfill for another couple of years. That being said, it's full of useful advice!

[Rose]

Just listened to a podcast with this author that fits marathon, postpartum and I would say sexless marriage too as her husband was deployed for a year.... Don't Call It a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness

[Laura Ruth]

Can't remember if the characters in Where They Last Saw Her ran far enough in the "red skirts" scene to call it a marathon?

[Erin]

Oh time to finally read Eddie Izzard’s memoir! I bet the audiobook is great!

[Theresa]

Where They Last Saw Her by Marcie R. Rendon - definitely fits. MCs training for Boston marathon and havve run half marathon.

[LeahS]

I think this is one that might crop up in other reading. But if not, I am reverting to children's books and reading Hideaway Hotel: Marathon Magic

[Brandon]

If you take the word "run" to mean "organizes", then it could also be a character who puts together a movie or TV marathon for their friends, community, or network.

[Denise]

I'm not really interested in this prompt, but I wanted to second the recommendation for What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I read it because I'm a fan of his novels.