The Art of Running: Learning to Run Like a Greek

Join Andrea Marcolongo, renowned classicist and one of today’s most original thinkers on antiquity, for an inspiring journey as she learns to run—and to live—like a Greek.

Why do we run? To what end, all the effort and pain? Wherefore this love of muscle, speed, and sweat? The Greeks were the first to ask these questions, the first to suspend war, work, politics, to enjoy public celebrations of athletic prowess. They invented sport and they were also the first to understand how physical activity connected to our mental well-being.

After a lifetime spent with her head and heart in the books trying to think like a Greek, at a professional and personal crossroads, Andrea Marcolongo set out to learn how to run like a Greek. In doing so, she deepened her understanding of the ancient civilization she has spent decades studying and discovered more about herself than she could ever have dreamed.

In this spirited, generous, and engaging book, Marcolongo shares her erudition and her own journey to understanding that a healthy body is, in more ways than one might guess, a healthy mind.

Andrea Marcolongo is an Italian journalist, writer, Classics scholar, and former speech writer for Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. The Ingenious Language (Europa, 2019) was a bestseller in Italy and in many of the other dozen countries in which it has been published. She is also the author of Starting from Scratch: The Life-Changing Lessons of Aeneas (Europa, 2022). She lives in Paris, France.

Will Schutt is the author of Westerly, winner of the 2012 Yale Series of Younger Poets award. His translations for Europa Editions include The Ingenious Language by Andrea Marcolongo, The Breaking of a Wave by Fabio Genovesi, and Elena Ferrante’s Key Words by Tiziana de Rogatis. He lives in Italy.