I'm a Runner: Nicholas Kristof

The New York Times columnist discusses his life as a runner.

November 28, 2012

I heard you wrote a piece for RW way back when?
Yes. This must have been, I'm guessing, my senior year in high school or possibly in my gap year after high school. So around 1976-'78. It was about a runner, a high school girl in Beaverton, Oregon, who was a superstar high school runner. I wrote it as a 900-word feature and I have a feeling that the editors, in their wisdom, turned it into a two- or three-paragraph little item. I don't remember if I got a byline or anything on it.

I wanted to start with one of your New York Times columns, titled "Addicted to Exercise," where you describe yourself as a "pathological runner" and that you might even be addicted to running. Can you characterize that addiction?
If I haven't run for a day or two, I get kind of itchy and fidgety. I suffer withdrawal pangs. And really, the only remedy is either to keep exceptionally busy or go out for a good run. Working out on a treadmill or a stationary bike just does not cut it.

How often do you get out there and how many miles at a pop?
I'd say I typically run six days a week. I typically would do, two-thirds or three-quarters of the time, a five-mile run. Last year, I started adding speedwork. What I do in that case is run to the high school track, which is only about a mile or so away, and do a couple fast 440s, with breaks in between, a couple fast 220s, and maybe a fast 100 or two, and then jog back home.

Do you live in the city?
No, we actually live in the Westchester suburbs.

Obviously, you have a busy and travel-heavy schedule, how do you manage to carve out the time? Six days a week is impressive for someone with a tight schedule.
One advantage of my schedule is that it is not remotely clock-punching, so I have some flexibility. I will sometimes run early in the morning when I get up, and at other times, at end of the day, including at night. I don't mind bad weather. I'm happy to run in the rain. I grew up in Oregon so I'm part duck anyway. If it gets below about 20 or 22 degrees, then I'll skip a run. It feels like it doesn't do my lungs any good. When I travel, I often don't run. It depends where I am. If I'm in Paris, I'll run. But if I'm in Sudan surrounded my minefields, then I'll probably pass it up.

Any places around the world that stick in your mind as wonderful runs?
Some of my favorite runs have been in places where I lived. In Oregon, on the farm I grew up on, there used to be a wonderful run through the woods right behind the farm. I could go for miles and never see anybody. I did once run into a possibly rabid coyote. But that was one of the few creatures I encountered on those runs. When I was studying at Oxford, I loved running through these little country villages around Oxford. The developing world tends not to have fantastic, beautiful runs, and typically when I'm traveling, it's in the developing world. In China, I always used to go for runs. But then I finally decided I was doing myself more harm than good because of the pollution in the air.

I was going to ask about China. I used to live in the former Soviet Union in the 1980s. You didn't see much running in the USSR then, and even when I went back a few years ago to run the Moscow marathon, which had been going for 30 years, none of my Russian friends had even heard of it, even though they'd lived in the city their entire lives. I'm wondering if the running culture, or lack thereof, is the same in China?
A lot of places where I run, people look at me like I'm completely nuts or they look behind me to see who I'm running from. In China--my wife and I lived there five years from 1988 to 1993--the state security had me under quite intense surveillance much of the time [as a foreign reporter], so often I'd have several chase teams from state security behind me. It was amusing. They were disdainful of moving on foot, so they were either in vehicles or on motorcycles. In that case, they were very easy to spot because they would be about 50 yards behind me, moving very slowly.

Do you ever get column ideas, crack writing problems, or divine other inspiration while on the run?
I tend to think a lot when I'm running and sort through ideas. It's not intentional that I'm trying to conjure story ideas when I'm running. It just sort of happens, and very often I'll get back home and immediately grab pencil and paper and jot down the ideas that come to me before I forget them.

Any examples?
The column you mentioned about addictions, I think that was one that came to me while running. I had the book The Compass of Pleasure, by David J. Linden, but wasn't quite sure how to turn it into a column, and then while on the run, it rattled around and reached its more or less final form.

Have you ever run with an interview subject or conducted an interview while on the run?
I don't think so. I've talked to former President George W. Bush about running, and various people about running. But I think it would also be a little hard trying to take notes while running.

Did you get any good running advice from President Bush?
Not really. And then he defected from running because of his knees and became a bicyclist. And I must say, I find bicycling much less of a workout and much less interesting.

Are you a solo runner?
Yes, I tend to be a solo runner.

You recently tweeted out an essay about backpacking in the wilderness as a healing agent. A very moving piece. Do you feel running has that same healing property or potential?
Yeah, I do. I think it's somewhat different. In the case of backpacking, I think the therapy comes less from the exercise and more from the wilderness and the solitude. In the case of running, it really comes from the exercise and the exhaustion. One of the reasons I've been taking to speedwork in the last year or so is that I find that if I've done a couple fast 440s, then it really gives me a nice mental boost throughout the day. It probably reminds me of high school and makes me feel younger for that reason.

Speaking of high school, you referenced your high school cross-country running in your column, can you tell me about those early days and what drew you to the sport?
I went to very small country high school in Yamhill, Oregon, and my freshman history teacher was also the cross-country coach, and he was desperate for people to make sure the school had a cross-country team. So he strongly encouraged me to try out. I hadn't done running before that. I tried out for the team in ninth grade, and made it because I don't think we had any runners; I think we only had five people try out. But then I really liked it and got reasonably good. We started out doing 2.5 miles and then switched to the 5-K and my best time in the 5-K was 16:58. My peak was my junior year. I was the tenth best junior or below in the state and went to the state meet for three years. But I never was in contention to win a medal or something.

Were you a competitive runner in college?
No, but I ran pretty much every day in college. I had a great six-mile route along the Charles River [in Cambridge, Massachusetts].

Ah, that's where I run every day. I live in Central Square in Cambridge.
Oh, yeah? That's great. Typically, I'd run late at night, about midnight, along the Charles River and loved it. Weekend runs were a little longer, into Boston, by the statehouse. I did one marathon in high school, and in college, I did Boston and New York City.

Do you remember your times?
My best was New York, where I crossed the finish at 2:59, but it took five minutes to get to the starting line because I was not officially registered. I just started at the back of the pack and ran.

A bandit run?

Do you remember your Boston time?
Boston time was 3:22.

Have you run any marathons since?
Haven't run any marathons since. I'd like to--I keep thinking about it. If I avoid injuries long enough that I can really train solidly, then I would like to run one again. If my body stays healthy, I'd love to run New York in the fall. But it will be a little depressing how much my time will have slowed.

Have you run other races between those marathons and now?
I ran a lot of road races in college--in Cambridge and Boston, 5-Ks and 10-Ks. The New York Times goes occasionally to meets. A few years ago, I ran in a few road races in Central Park.

Do you remember your times or PRs in those distances?
In the 5-K, my PR may very well have been the 16:58 from high school. I remember there was one 10-K, a huge race with 700 people or so. I think I came in 17th. That was my grandest appearance in a 10-K.

Do you have a dog or ever run with a dog?
No, I don't. When I'm home visiting my mother on the farm, I'll sometimes run with one of her dogs.

Have you tried Vibrams or barefoot running?
I tried the Vibram FiveFingers and they definitely make me run more on my forefoot. At one point, the ball of my foot was hurting, so I switched to the Nike Frees, which are sort a compromise. I like them. They certainly make me run more on my heels and less on my forefoot.

Do you have a running hero?
Well, [Steve] Prefontaine. When I was growing up in Oregon, he just really dominated and he had been this extraordinary high school runner himself. We were all trying to get down to 10 minutes in the two mile, and he had broken nine minutes in the two mile. When I was in high school, I remember getting to school one day and there was a note on the bulletin board that he had died that night in a one-car accident [May 1975]. But he was very much my running hero.

What is your biggest pet peeve with other runners?
I don't have particular peeves about other runners. I resent it when I'm running on a road and cars often think that they should stay in their lane and whiz by and miss me by two inches rather than skirt around more broadly. So I'm very indignant with cars when they do that. I don't really have qualms about other runners.

How did Hurricane Sandy affect your running?
I went out for a run just as Sandy was arriving, as trees were swaying but not yet falling. Fabulous! Then I’ve run a few times since, clambering over fallen trees and leaping downed electrical wires. We’ve lost power and heat but still have hot water, so I could shower afterward. As for the marathon runners, I understand the frustration of people who have been training for so long and flown to New York, and more power to those who went for a 26-mile spin a few times around Central Park. But ultimately I thought cancelling the marathon was the right call, because there was so much popular anger among New Yorkers at the idea of the marathon going ahead. Some people even were throwing eggs at those making preparations for the marathon course, and there would have been much more ugliness if the race had gone ahead. It’s heartbreaking to cancel, but the storm resulted in lots and lots of heartbreak.

OK, switching gears. I now have a bunch of quick-answer and fill-in-the-blank type questions.

I love running because...
It breaks up the stress of the day.

When I run, I think about...
Everything that has been nagging me for the last couple of days.

More likely to pass.

The hardest part about running is...

To me, carbo-loading is...
Unnecessary until my next marathon.

My most essential running equipment is...
My Nike Frees.

The difference between running and reporting is...
Running is often more thoughtful.

My favorite running song is...
I'm really embarrassed to confess: I often listen to NPR when I run.

My running ambition is to...
Run a few more marathons.

Which body part hurts most after a run?
Depends upon the moment. I've had knee problems and plantar fasciitis problems. I'd say maybe my knees.

The perfect running weather is...
Sunny and cool after it has just rained.

You know you've had a great run when...
You feel exhausted but exuberant.

The best running advice I ever received was...
Never run through an injury in the hopes that it will just go away.

I'm curious about one last thing. For me, running became something that allowed me to take action, that somehow instilled in me a sense of courage and ability to act. You are someone who very much takes action in your reporting and advocacy. I'm curious whether running informs or reinforces your ability to muster the courage to be a voice against injustice?
I think that running helps me step away from details and sort out larger ethical issues and what I should do about that. It gives me perspective about what's important and what I can do about it. In that sense, I think it helps galvanize me to try to make a difference.

It offers clarity.
It offers clarity about priorities. So often, my day is all about details. This lets me step back and soar above it all and see what is truly important.

Oh, and I just thought of another example of something that came to me while running: my win-a-trip contest. I was searching for a way to make the issues that I write about more relevant to readers. On one run, the idea of having a contest to take a student to come with me on a reporting trip in the developing world came to me and I rushed home and wrote it down before I could forget it, and I've have been doing that since 2006.