Long review, short book

 The Way of the Runner
by Adharananad Finn

I found this book as conflicted as the "Japanese character," whatever that is. He quotes from a Japanese coach:
"Your culture respects winners"..."In Japan, not only winning, but being a good team member is important. How you harmonise with the team."

The Toyo coach goes on to explain that even their manga (Japanese graphic novels) cultivates and encourages this attitude. I know this to be true, yet manga itself seems an intensely individual art.  I don't recall seeing manga authored by a team--it always seems to be an individual.  Yet I'm sure there must be a team involved...this is puzzling.

The book is not a dry lecture or even a series of interviews, although it has a little of both.  It's a single man's story and his quest to join an ekiden team, improve his running performance, and understand the Japanese running phenomenon.  I found that truly amazing. Can you believe corporations actually hire people to be on their running teams?  And while they expect them to show up at work occasionally and do busy work, their real job responsibility is to train and to run ekiden.

I'd never heard of ekiden, and although he uses the word on the first page and many times throughout, I don't remember him every explaining it.  That may be my failing, because I've still not mastered the "kilometers to miles" conversion in my head and so any mention of kilometers is usually passed over by my dimwitted brain.  Maybe I should start recording my own running in kilometers, just to get comfortable with it.  My longest day is 6 miles which is about 9-1/2K.  Got it?  Why can't the U.S. sync up with the rest of the world so I don't have to continually make these stupid conversions?

Okay, here it is: ekiden -- a long distance relay race.  Somewhere between four and ten or more runners complete a track varying in distance from 12 to 40K each.  In the National Corporate Men's Ekiden Championships, 7 runners about 8.8 miles each for a 100K total. 

As to the book, if you're really into running and learning about Japanese culture, this is a great book for you...I guess.  l kept losing interest.  In reading about running, my interest is more about the Tao of running and less about the miles, agony and glory of the finish line.  And the more I read about Japanese culture, the less I admire.  I know that's a silly judgement to make, but I can't help it.  The culture highlights hard work, perseverance, and team work, but those leave people open to overuse injury, burnout, bullying and exclusion--if you're not in the team.  There's much to admire, but it's not perfect.  Whose culture is?