Running The World

3 August 2022

There are plenty of crazy ideas among people, and not just running ones. Running the World is no exception. Many dream, others aren’t afraid and take that step forward. Nick dreamed of being the first person in the world to run a marathon in every country. He did it. He started in Canada and finished in Greece. 196 countries, 674 days and 8,271 km.

Where to start? Perhaps by saying that this book ranks among the best I’ve read about running. And you can check that there have been quite a few running books at the link. What makes this book so unique? It takes you running literally all over the world. Every country is a story. Every country usually brings new people Nick met more or less by chance. People who made it possible for him to fulfil his dream. The goal was clear from the start: run a marathon in every country in the world. Yet the journey itself became the goal, and you should set off on it too, at least through the book.

Running the World: the journey around the world begins

The fateful moment for Nick was meeting Kevin at the Marathon des Sables. This guy had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. His sentence, “You have to live life, not just wait for a diagnosis”, was a strong inspiration for Nick to go after his dream. Things got moving and, with a lot of help from his family, Nick set off into the world. The journey begins in Toronto and ends symbolically in Athens, where he runs his last marathon from the town of Marathon.

Nick really did run around the whole world. From every country the author brings a micro-story. So the book contains 196 mini-chapters from individual countries. Nick ran alone, with friends, but very often with complete strangers. And also with very well-known people. Nine presidents and 41 British ambassadors joined him along the way. In total he met over 5,000 fellow runners, many of whom became lifelong friends. Some of them were absolutely crucial to the success of the whole mission.

What’s also interesting about the book is the whole background of this insane logistical operation. Nick took a total of 455 flights through 499 airports around the world, travelled by train 18 times, by bus 50 times, by taxi 290 times, by metro 29 times and hitchhiked 11 times. The carbon footprint was crazy too, and the author tried to offset it 100%. On top of that, he ran all the marathons for charity and the fight against prostate cancer. Helped by 700 media interviews, he raised over £200,000. Clearly he couldn’t have done it alone. His family, who handled the logistics remotely, were a huge support. Flights, visas (he needed 9 passports), hotels, organising each day…

So the easiest part really was the running itself. But even that had its extremes. Nick ran in temperatures of −25°C and also +59°C, wore through 22 pairs of shoes, drank 1,200 litres of water along the way and burned 690,000 calories. Health problems didn’t spare him either. He ran 34 marathons with food poisoning, 3 with a kidney infection, he was hit by a car once and bitten by a dog once. Wild dogs were perhaps the biggest problem, especially on the Pacific islands. I read the book in Albania, so I got to enjoy the problem of free-roaming dogs to the full; more in my article Tips for running in Albania (in Czech).

Many might envy Nick. He got to luxurious places. But he also went to Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and similar countries. He saw the real poverty of the world, which truly shook him. These were places where things got really tough even for him. Yet even there he met people who want to live joyfully, not fight for other people’s nonsense. I was rooting for the guy. It was clear the record wouldn’t escape him, but he wanted that symbolic Greek finale. He made it, and I’m really glad he did so almost exactly a month before Covid-19 started sweeping the world…

Nick is still a running Englishman you can follow, for example, on Instagram. So what’s his message in the book? If you’re a man over 40, don’t hesitate and get screened for prostate cancer. And if you’re not in that category, you surely know someone who is. Try to persuade them. Nick managed to, and saved the lives of several people.

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An amazing book, an amazing story and proof that running connects people all over the world. Nick bears witness that the vast majority of people are willing to lend a helping hand, even in countries where you wouldn’t expect it. We carry prejudices that travel can break down. You need to set out. If not physically, then at least through a book.

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At the end of the book there’s a list of some of the statistics quoted above. You’ll find a list of the things Nick carried, the hotels he slept in and the people who helped him. It would be interesting to see the overall budget of this monstrous travel operation too.

Original review in Czech