In 1982, Murakami Haruki sold his jazz bar, opting to become a writer, and started running to keep fit. A year later, he already ran the Athens-Marathon distance, and today, with countless triathlons, competitions, and dozens of novels behind him, he feels that sports have at least as much influence on his work as a writer as on his fitness. From the diary, which consists of notes, reports, reflections and recollections, we can learn how the world-famous Japanese writer prepared for the 2005 New York City Marathon for four months, how he got from Jingu Gaien Park in Tokyo to the Charles River in Boston, where he was unable to compete in the with young girls. On the pretext of regular sports, there is no shortage of topics: he recalls how he became a writer, takes stock of his greatest successes and disappointments, his passion for collecting records, the joys that physical performance can be improved even after fifty, and then the realization that human strength is definitely on the wane. The simultaneously witty, humorous, serious and wise memoir holds real surprises not only for readers who are fans of the author's novels, but also for professional long-distance running champions.