My top 10 highlights from the book:

1.  The fact that I’m me and no one else is one of my greatest assets.

2.  Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

3.  The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.

4.  What’s crucial is whether you attain the standards you’ve set for yourself. Failure to reach that bar is not something you can easily explain away.

5.  My only strength has always been the fact that I work hard and can take a lot physically. I’m more a workhorse than a racehorse.

6.  I’m the kind of person who has to totally commit to whatever I do.

7.   Once, I interviewed an Olympic runner.  I asked him, “Does a runner at your level ever feel like you’d rather not run today, like you don’t want to run and would rather just sleep in?” He stared at me and then, in a voice that made it abundantly clear how stupid he thought the question was, replied, “Of course. All the time!”

8.  If I used being busy as an excuse not to run, I’d never run again.

9.  Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that’s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life.

10.  You really need to prioritize in life, figuring out in what order you should divide up your time and energy. If you don’t get that sort of system set by a certain age, you’ll lack focus and your life will be out of balance. I placed the highest priority on the sort of life that lets me focus on writing.

Listen to #357 Haruki Murakami on Apple, Spotify, or the web.