I picked this up at the library on a whim; I'd been intrigued flipping through it at the bookstore.
It's the first book of Murakami's I've read; I have a copy of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and I'm looking forward to reading that. But I came to this book with no knowledge of Murakami's themes or style.
I liked it, but I found it a little repetitive. I didn't sense much development - which in a way is appropriate to the topic, since he's discussing a repetitive task, and what it's like slogging through the repetition, the differences and the sameness of each daily run and each marathon.
There were some moments I really enjoyed - I especially liked reading about the time he ran the original route between Athens and Marathon (backwards, so he wouldn't have to end the run in Athens).
I'm glad I read it, but more than anything, it left me more interested in what his fiction is like.