As someone who had a horribly short-lived running career (one summer) that was not motivated by any good or even well-meaning ideas about fitness, I read this book & kept thinking, "Should I try running again?" Probably not, but I never dreamed that I would even consider running again, so something about this book is obviously incredibly affective.

This book was adapted into a manga and then into an anime all under the same name, and for some reason when I picked up the book I thought in my head, "Oh, isn't there a sports anime with this same name? That's funny." And didn't think about it again until halfway through the book.

It does read in a beautifully cinematic and dynamic way that lends itself to a visual adaptation, and the translation is truly top notch. I've heard people who don't generally like reading works in translation from the Japanese describe it as "dry" or "wooden," and for plenty of works I can see where they're coming from, but this book has so much emotion and humor and passion that I would recommend it to even the most skeptic of people. I'm incredibly grateful that it has been translated, and I genuinely think the English translation could lead to a resurgence in popularity for the story, or a second wind if you want to be funny.

My favorite aspect was how few of the Kansei team were devoted, lifelong runners. The fact that they were average college students, some of whom had their whole lives planned out and some who had no idea what they want or who they are. Besides Kakeru and Haiji, none are considered "runners," but in the end each of them runs his own race for the sake of the team, and none of them have any regrets about it. There is no feeling among the members who didn't fall in love with running and transform into "runners" that they wasted a year of their lives just to run a race they had no chance of winning. It's valuable even just to take that chance.

The ekiden itself is a large portion of the book, and it's impressive how thrilling it was from start to finish, despite the fact that they were literally just running for two days straight. The way we only see inside each of the members' heads while they're running their course of the race felt really fulfilling to read; the characters were so well characterized that I didn't feel like I was in a strangers head, and the new insight into their inner self was consistent and believable.

Just a really good book!! I don't know why it took me so long to read, but I basically read 1-2 chapters at a time until the race began and then I didn't want to put it down, lol. I highly recommend & I will be watching the anime to see how it handles the material, but I suspect I'll like the book more.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and HarperVia for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. Run with the Wind will be available on October 15, 2024.