Recommendations of the Editorial team
Haruki Murakami’s 2007 memoir “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” inspired millions of people to lace up their running shoes and go the distance – including Harry Styles.
Published on Tuesday Styles on the cover of Runner’s World magazine, as he prepares to release his fourth solo album, “Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally.” He chatted with the legendary Japanese writer, one of his favorite authors, about the new album, fame and the discipline and art of marathon running.
Styles ran his first two marathons last year – in Tokyo in March (finish time: three hours and 24 minutes) and in Berlin in September (two hours and 59 minutes, an impressive performance). “One of the things I really loved about your book about running was that it freed me from the idea that music had to be an unhealthy profession and that I had to be this tortured soul,” he told Murakami. “Your point is that health allows you to be an artist for a long time, that you can be a structured, healthy person and still create great work. I am very grateful to you for that.”
Croissant before the marathon
Styles revealed his running routine: Instead of water, he drinks electrolytes beforehand to avoid going to the bathroom, then hydrates himself during the marathon. And in a very relatable quote, he explains that before every long run he “eats the biggest croissant I can find.” He also spoke about what it’s like to be recognized in public while running: “I think with people who see me, it’s more like, ‘Was that…?’ as an ‘Oh, look, it’s him!'” he said. “And by then you’ll be long gone.”
He also opened up about the isolation he felt from his fame and how he sometimes shielded himself too much. “Over the years, I’ve had to say no to everything I’ve been invited to – whether it’s a friend’s birthday, a trip somewhere wonderful, an opening,” he said. “I started to question whether I was saying no because I was really busy, or because it was more comfortable than saying yes. When you close yourself off to protect yourself from people who might bring negativity into your life, you also miss out on positive experiences.”
Styles changed that after he turned thirty in 2024 and decided to travel – especially to Berlin, where he immersed himself in the club scene. “I wanted to recreate what I had on the dance floor – that loss in instrumentation and musicality,” he said. “It was so immersive, like, ‘That’s how I want to feel on stage. I don’t want it to feel like a sermon that I’m giving. I wanted it to feel like, Oh, we’re in this music together. Like I’m in it with you.’
Murakami’s influence on Styles
He also told Murakami how the author’s books have shaped him and his worldview – particularly the way Murakami finds beauty in simple, everyday moments. “One of my favorite things you ever wrote was: Don’t feel sorry for yourself, only assholes do that,” he said. “Something else I like in your work is the poetry of simple things – the way you describe sitting down and eating breakfast or drinking a beer. That has definitely influenced the little moments I take when I sit down and appreciate the everyday things in front of me. It changes the way you see the world.”
The two artists also talked about where their minds go when they run. Murakami, who reveals his new novel will be released this summer, admits his mind goes “kind of blank” when he runs, while Styles says it allows him to process his life and his art more clearly.
“What I’ve found – in the rest of my life, but especially in running – is the idea of trusting myself to do exactly what I set out to do,” he says. “To tell myself: I know that you can do something difficult, that you can get up and train when you don’t want to train, and that you are capable of pushing through difficult things. Having that kind of self-integrity – no one can run a marathon for you. While a lot of people help me make music, get the music out, put on a show and make myself look good doing it! But running is a conversation with myself.”
