The Running Pilgrim: Tales from a 1,400 Mile Journey Around Ireland

From the acclaimed author of The Rise of the Ultra Runners comes an astonishing and moving meditation on running, mindfulness, and belonging.

Aged 50, Adharanand Finn failed to qualify for the longest race of his life. Finding himself at a crossroads, he couldn't help but ask himself: what was he doing all this running for? Instead of pushing himself further and further, he needed to consider a different approach—perhaps a 'race' wasn't what he needed, but something more intentional, in search of meaning, understanding, and adventure.

In The Running Pilgrim, Adharanand travels to his ancestral homeland of Ireland, setting out to run 1,400 miles around its perimeter, hoping to reconnect with the birthplace of his parents and the country where he spent summers in his youth. Journeying from Dublin, Cork, and Tralee to Galway, Sligo, and Malin Head, through national parks, historic spiritual landmarks, and countryside and suburbia, he encounters people and landscapes which upend his understanding of Ireland—and himself.

An inspiring story of self-discovery and physical endurance, The Running Pilgrim is a paean to the transformative power of running; to the pain of the times where you feel as though you can’t take another step, and the exhilaration of those rare moments when you believe you could run to the horizon, and over and beyond it.