The Runner: Four Years Living and Running in the Wilderness

by Markus Torgeby

Markus Torgeby was just 20 years old when he headed off into the remote Swedish forest to live as a recluse and dedicate himself to his one true passion, running… He lived in a tent in the wilderness, braving the harsh Swedish winters - for four years. This is his story. A bestseller in Sweden, the book is a powerful exploration of running and personal wellbeing.

During his teenage years Markus Torgeby turned out to be a very talented long-distance runner. It didn't take long before he was discovered by an enthusiastic coach who set very high goals. However, while Markus performed brilliantly in training, during competitions he often failed inexplicably.

These pressures, along with the burden of having to care for a MS-suffering mother took their toll, and when an injury put an end to Markus's running career, he lost his foothold in life. In order not to completely go under, he chose to do something that most of us only dream of: to escape the modern world.

Aged 20, Markus Torgeby decides to move to one of the most isolated and cold regions of northern Sweden. He's going to live right in the middle of the forest, alone. There he lived as a recluse for four years. The only thing he kept was his running - his 'drug', the one thing he can't be without. His time alone would prove to be more than an escape and was in fact a search for a direction in life.

The Runner is a unique and powerful book which can be read both as a portrait of an extraordinary man as well as a fascinating exploration of running and personal wellbeing. The book will certainly strike a chord with the running audience, but it has the potential to find a wider readership than that.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, Sports, Adventure, Travel, Sweden

201 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Markus Torgeby was a promising, elite runner until an injury ended his career and triggered a life crisis. Four years of self-selected loneliness in a hut in the Jamtland forest returned a calm to his body and new sense of direction. Today, Markus lectures on "what is really important" and builds houses and outdoor beds.

Reviews

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. It promises a true life story of a man from Sweden who finds solace and peace in running, especially in the Swedish wilderness. It begins in childhood with the author starting out on his blossoming running career. The book deals with his struggles at home due to his mother being diagnosed with MS, and continues towards his loss and grief at finally losing her, and how he finds peace in his sport.

I expected more from this book based on the description. Instead of respect for his mother and her struggles, he is brutally honest in how her treated her, which was at time verbally brutal! It is repetitive in its descriptions of race meets and the authors body struggles during practise and races, and to be honest I lost patience with the attitude of the writer. At 25% through I skim read to three quarters through, and there was more of the same and no lovely descriptions of the wilderness of this beautiful country. I’m sure it probably came towards the end but I’m afraid I abandoned it at this point in disappointment and anger at his lack of respect for his family at times.

I’m so sorry it wasn’t for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Per Ljung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helt ok, men kanske lite tunn i det stora hela. Stora höjdpunkten var Torgebys resa till Afrika och hur han jobbade på sin löpning där. Efter det kändes det något repetitivt från första halvan. Hade hoppats den skulle fungera bra som motivation för löpningen, men skulle inte påstå den hjälpte mig där direkt.

[Mari Finstad Bergum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Så heftig, rett i sjela, selv om jeg hater tunge bein og melkesyre🫶

[Jason Keane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice read. Markus Torgeby teaches the importance of stripping life back, feeling restlessness, making your basic needs your key focus on a daily basis. It’s an inspiring read and is comforting to think of a potentially different way of life that is available to anybody if you feel so inclined

[Michael Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why would you just leave a plastic synthetic sleeping bag in the middle of the forest???? Take your rubbish home with you.

[Ron S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Something like a modern day Walden, written by an athletic, Scandinavian, mentally distressed Thoreau. The running is incidental: this is about confronting demons and finding one's way in the world. Written in simple, declarative language that would make this well suited for reluctant readers.

[Izwan Zakaria]

A fast read memoir about a 20 year old Swedish runner who decided to live in a forest for four years. During this period, Markus explains in detail his life experience living in cold (below -15 C) as he shares the reader his challenges affecting his family, friends and his own understanding of the world. Great read.

[Merkurius · Rating 4 out of 5]

100 % procent sugen på att flytta ut i en hydda i Norrland, leva på gröt och springa två gånger om dagen <3 Drömliv.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It only took me a day to read this (very short!) and even though I am no runner (I've tried!) I thought there was a lot to think about in this man's story. Its not just about the running; the book is definitely about life and the lessons to be learned especially if you are a bit "different" as the author obviously is/was.

[Esther Djupsund · Rating 1 out of 5]

Om jag ska vara ärlig: oskön snubbe som cosplayar into the wild och är ganska pick me.

[Anne Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastisk bok om att följa sitt hjärta, om att leva i och med naturen och om att lyssna på sin egen intuition. Alla som lever ett stressigt liv borde läsa denna bok. Rekommenderas varmt, oavsett om man är löpare eller ej. En bok jag vill läsa igen och igen för att påminnas om det som är viktigt i livet.

[Bjørn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like rating memoirs, because it feels like looking at someone's life and decide "nah, your life bored me," so I'll immediately say – this is a fascinating life described badly.

The blurb is misleading. Markus spent quite some time travelling, including time in Tanzania, being accompanied by friends or documentary makers. Obviously I'm not saying "and he had the duty to be alone in the forest!!! FAKE NEWS!!!" – but that's not the book the blurb promised I'd be reading. (From the blurb I expected something along the lines of The Wall by Marlen Haushofer.)

I wonder how much of the stiffness of the text can be blamed on the translator? A lot of passages that sound like they should be emotionally charged… just aren't. When Markus says "I felt lots of peace," it feels like he says it. This book is the opposite of Nico Walker's Cherry, but I often had the same feeling – Markus seems to be weirdly detached from things he writes about. I wish I could read the original and compare them.

The final section, 'Ten Years After,' was the best for me. A quote that's going to stay with me for a while – "I think this is the first time in human history that we must actively learn how to shed some of what we have." If not for my spine injuries, I would probably try to do what he has done – but with fewer documentary makers.

[Mind the Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lunds Universitet gav en gång en kurs kallad 'cult fiction'. Då enades vi om att ett verk är kult om det inspirerar oss till handling, något livsförändrande. Så blev det efter att Markus som rastlös och lite olycklig 17-åring fått Thoreaus Walden i sin hand.

Funderar på förlagets beslut(?) att avstå från att föreslå ett mer korrekt språk och annan redigering. För mig får det en oavsiktligt komisk effekt. Samtidigt blir boken mer tillgänglig för yngre läsare och jag ska se till att tala väl om den inför de 17-åringar jag känner som behöver den. So we beat on.

[Carina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intressant och fin läsning. Man får en insikt om hur bekväma vi har blivit i vardagen och helt tappat kontakten med naturen, genom att ha alla hjälpmedel och lyx omkring oss. Markus som författaren heter beskriver sin tid i skogen och sin kärlek till löpning på ett tydligt, okomplicerat sätt. Jag älskar löpning och kommer mer till insikt om efter att jag läst boken, att släppa krav på prestationer och fokusera på steget, naturen och stunden ute i stället.

[Reynard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bella biografia in cui l'autore mette a nudo le sue debolezze e come le ha superate. Un libro motivazionale per provare a seguire la propria strada, non quella che altri hanno tracciato per noi. Il mio voto: 4 stelle.

[Linda Dahlhöjd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mycket bra bok. Speciell. En bok man minns långt efteråt tror jag...

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirja, jonka lukemisen jälkeen on pakko päästä metsäpoluille juoksemaan. Suuria oivalluksia elämästä.

[Antsy Plantsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book makes me want to simplify my life.

[Gabi Lupu · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's raw, wild and so real!

[Erik Joten]

Fin bok om svensk løping.

[Iliyana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing, honest, and raw. Torgeby's memoir is simple, yet touching, he doesn't try to be over-poetic and I enjoyed that. The only thing is, at times I did not like Markus and the way he treated the people around him, which put me off the book a bit.

“I put all my restlessness and anxiety into running and I run until my legs scream and my lungs hurt. In my running there are no thoughts, only deep breaths and my legs and a rhythm that calms me down.”

[Grommit · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a former competitive runner in my younger years, and a recreational runner since then, I really wanted to enjoy this book.
Runners, like most athletes, like to daydream about winning major competitions. We also dream about running for long stretches, on warm, sunny days, through forests and along beaches.
Young, tan, strong, injury-free, fast.
But, alas, this is not such a book.
Rather, it tells the real-life story of Markus Torgeby who was struggling with his contemporary world: school, athletics, family. All legitimate, as most folks can tell you. But the telling of this story is somehow fragmented. Perhaps a reflection of his mindset...he just could not figure out what was eating at him. The always-working father and MS-afflicted Mom certainly contributed to this dilemna.
So, he heads off to the forest (albeit within range of civilization) and sets up his life. Bear in mind, this is not the warm hills of Oregon. Oh no, this is the often-freezing, snowy forest of northern Sweden. Markus sets up in a teepee shaped tent, and lives mostly off the land.
And he runs. Often twice a day. But his musings about all of this are quite scattered. What is his purpose? Why running?
And then, off to Tanzania to train for 6 months with world-class athletes, once again in a bare-bones environment. Still no answers to the running. And now we add questions about why he determines he needs to lose weight by eating next to nothing. Anorexic?
In the end, Markus concludes that he just needed to shed most things we associate with contemporary life.
But I sure wish he would express a little more joy at running, through the forest, across a sandy beach, young, healthy, fast.

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. It promises a true life story of a man from Sweden who finds solace and peace in running, especially in the Swedish wilderness. It begins in childhood with the author starting out on his blossoming running career. The book deals with his struggles at home due to his mother being diagnosed with MS, and continues towards his loss and grief at finally losing her, and how he finds peace in his sport.

I expected more from this book based on the description. Instead of respect for his mother and her struggles, he is brutally honest in how her treated her, which was at time verbally brutal! It is repetitive in its descriptions of race meets and the authors body struggles during practise and races, and to be honest I lost patience with the attitude of the writer. At 25% through I skim read to three quarters through, and there was more of the same and no lovely descriptions of the wilderness of this beautiful country. I’m sure it probably came towards the end but I’m afraid I abandoned it at this point in disappointment and anger at his lack of respect for his family at times.

I’m so sorry it wasn’t for me. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Elainedav · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an autobiographical account written by a man who likes to run and spent his teenage years and early twenties doing just that. But it's also about his home life, including the difficulty of growing up watching your mother's health deteriorate and not being able to do anything about it. Markus is very open about the mental stuggles he faced and how running and isolation helped to ease or clear his mind. To live alone in the woods in Sweden, for four years, is an unusual and fascinating prospect and to train with an African running team in the hills and mountains of Tanzania and Kenya, equally so.

This is a short book which is packed full of things to make you stop and think. You don't need to be a runner or even be interested in running to read this. It is insightful in so many ways and a very enjoyable read! Thankyou to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Brooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quote...”If I have to keep exposing myself to ever greater challenges in order to achieve the same emotions, then I must be doing something wrong”. Autobiographical tale of a young Swedish distance runner who trains great but has trouble in completions. With a mother sick with MS, a feeling of failure in running, and no desire to fit into society, he sets up a tent in the woods near his former university. He lives for four years there including three winters. A modern Walden story, with a call to give up the material life and find your soul through nature and running.

[Rach Jameson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a few years ago and enjoyed it so much that I decided to listen the the audiobook. If I’m honest, this is one of those rarities where I’d say that written version is better - I felt I was able to get lost in it more when reading it myself. Still, I really enjoyed it and it achieved what I’d hoped - to make me worry less about the fact that I ‘should’ exercise and to focus more on the fact that I can.

One thing I did enjoy with the audio version was listening to the narrator pronounce all the Swedish names properly. I have definitely been saying them incorrectly in my head!

[Bec O'Neill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a Christmas gift from my mother - who doesn't really read books. I can absolutely see her thought process here 'oh it's about a runner. It looks like an _inspirational_ read...for my daughter...who is a runner'. I was able to finish it, if only out of respect for my mother - but my god this could do with a good edit - it's truly all over the place. If you're an introvert who dreams of packing it all in to go live in a log cabin whilst retaining your fitness levels then this might be for you.

[Sherry Seymour · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book - not the audiobook. I just couldn't find just the book on here.

This was a good book. There were times when I didn't like Markus due to the way he treated his Mom. That said, it seemed to come from angst. I've never been in his position, so I cannot judge him there. His love for his Mother is still clear through some of his tender actions.

I admire his tenacity and love of nature. He sounds like a fascinating person.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the book, not the audiobook!

[Ludvig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Den här talade fan till mig.