Joyrunner

by Eleanor Ross

Joyrunner

£14.99

Looking out from the top of Edinburgh’s iconic Arthur’s Seat, writer and runner Eleanor Ross ponders the question: Is running a form of personal control in a chaotic world? Could it, as some suggest, be an expression of a generational existential crisis? Is there more to it than lacing up your trainers and leaving the house?

Over the course of 12 months, she attempts to find out. From struggling to run a 5km, Eleanor soon takes on some of the sport’s classic trail routes before planning an epic 1,400km adventure from Land’s End to John O' Groats. What drives her is not the need to attain elite athleticism but blind optimism and a love of pushing boundaries, the ideal that running could be a way to rediscover the fun of the outdoors.

What if instead of a Personal Best the aim was friendship and community, with the added bonus of fresh air, fitter bodies and mountain passes? Joyrunner is a call to action. It asks how we, as adults, can have fun again, and shows how running can help us find joy in the present moment.

In eight months, Eleanor Ross went from someone who really did not run to someone who prioritised long-distance running in her life. With an MA in Magazine Journalism from City University, Eleanor spent a decade writing about the environment, business and travel for newspapers and magazines including the Guardian, BBC, Stylist, Newsweek and the Sunday Times. She splits her time living between Edinburgh and London.