#11 What I Want to Talk About When I Talk About Running
Editor: Hye Soo Seol @hyssl.kr
Since moving to Singapore, I’ve found myself picking up habits I never had before—one of them being running.
Back when I lived in Seoul, I used to run occasionally along the streams near my home - Bomun-cheon or Cheonggye-cheon. But just as I was getting into it, winter would arrive or swarms of gnats would take over in the summer. Okay, those are just excuses.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I always wanted to make running part of my routine. That quiet longing was shaped by Haruki Murakami’s essay What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. I first came across Murakami through Novelist as a Vocation, and even through text alone, he piqued my curiosity. There’s a kind of dedication and discipline in how he approaches both life and work—dull in its consistency, but quietly admirable—and it resonated deeply with what I now realize is my own aesthetic ideal.
Unlike dopamine-drenched platforms like Instagram or YouTube, encountering someone like him purely through words felt refreshing. It drew me more to his essays than his novels, and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running quickly became a favorite. The way he runs 10km almost every day, and lets such a simple act expand into a rich world of thoughts—that was something I deeply admired.
I’m nowhere near ready to call myself a runner yet, but I’ve been trying to keep at it. And I’m lucky to be in an environment where running doesn’t feel out of place. When I leave the office at the end of the day, it honestly feels like everyone is out running—especially around Marina Bay Sands. In fact, A 2022 survey showed that jogging/running was the most popular form of exercise in Singapore, with 50% of teens and 42% of young adults listing it as their top choice. Fortunately, I ended up living near East Coast Park. It takes me just five minutes from my door to reach a coastal trail that practically begs to be run. How could I not run?
ECP (east coast park) has naturally become my one and only running route. Because it gets hot quickly here, I usually run in the morning between 7 and 8 a.m., or after sunset between 8 and 9 p.m. Running in the morning makes me feel proud—like I’m waking my body’s cells up from bed, one stride at a time. I usually go on weekends, and the scene is picture-perfect: people reading in camping chairs, all kinds of dogs out for walks—it feels like the backdrop of 101 Dalmatians. Kids in matching jerseys chase after soccer balls with chubby legs, while parents trail behind filming everything like live sportscasters. In the evenings, it's quieter. If I leave my music off, I can run to the sound of waves as background music. These days, when I think of happiness, I often think of this. Sweaty and glowing, I cool down with an iced Americano from Starbucks, grateful I went for a run.
I’ve wondered: why did Murakami choose running over all other sports?
Maybe because running requires nothing but a pair of shoes. You can start and stop when you want. It’s not bound by strict time or space. There’s no opponent—only the chance to run toward a slightly better version of yourself than yesterday.
When I first moved here, I often felt something was missing. On days that left me feeling uneasy or underwhelmed, running gave me comfort. At first, I could barely make it through 1km—it was more like speed walking in denial. Then came small goals: run just a bit farther than last time, or finish the same distance a little faster. The key was to give myself goals that were just barely within reach. Sometimes, I’d pick an experienced runner ahead of me to pace myself. Other times, a high-adrenaline playlist would be enough to carry me through. Gradually, I reached a point where I could breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth, in rhythm with my strides—where I realized, I can be calm even while running.
Every running log I’ve kept is a record of me breaking through myself.
It started as a fantasy, but I think it was exactly what I needed—to stretch both body and mind. Of course, if I tried to write an essay based on what I think about while running, more than half of it would just be: “Hah… ugh… whew…” But still, I have hope. If I keep running with breath in sync, maybe I’ll stretch my inner monologue just as much as my stride.
Bonus: I'll conclude this article by introducing two brands where you can purchase running-related products that I have been eyeing for purchase, with the mindset that "if I'm going to run, I might as well run with style".
@optimistic runners
This Berlin-based running apparel brand. When I first discovered it through Instagram a few months ago, I felt it was a local brand. However, just last weekend, they hosted a running event in Seoul with MTL Cafe, and it seems they've quickly gained viral recognition among Koreans. They also hold regular running events and publish interviews with Berlin runners in a webzine format, solidifying their identity. It's fascinating to see them continue to solidify their brand.
@anteberlin
This Berlin-based brand, whose first Instagram post was in November 2022, is believed to be relatively new. They don't have many products for sale, and there aren't many reviews, so it's unclear whether they're functional enough for running. However, just reading their introduction has me wanting to own at least one t-shirt. They say they started out for two reasons: a desire to create products that satisfies both fashion and function, and a desire to create a platform where people with diverse talents, such as photographers and poets, can collaborate.