The longest I have ever run in my life is ten minutes. Anything beyond that, I felt a sharp pain in my left calf and had to stop. For that reason, reading a book about a runner and his passion for marathons would not, at first glance, seem like something that would immediately capture my interest.
I met Nicholas Thompson and his family in the summer of 2024 during their visit to Cadiz, Spain, while two of his sons were training in an international soccer program at Cádiz Club de Fútbol. Even then, he spoke to me about his passion for running, and you could instantly see that this passion was inseparable from who he is. Running and Nicholas were one.
The Running Ground, as his author, has so many layers that it cannot be defined by a single category. Nicholas Thompson is a successful executive—former Editor in Chief of Wired, a global reference in AI communication, and currently CEO of The Atlantic. He is also husband of Danielle and father of Ellis, Zachary and James, a tireless runner who has been seeking new challenges since childhood, and the son of Scott Thompson, who is both the origin of his passion for running and the reason this book exists.
Blending memoir with reflection, he uses the marathon runner as a metaphor to explore values such as discipline, connection with others, self-knowledge, and the expansion of personal limits. Throughout the book, Nicholas shares stories of people he has met along his path—individuals who represent resilience and growth through running. He also shares his own story: after surviving thyroid cancer, running became the force that pushed him not only to return to who he was before the illness, but, as he explains, to go beyond that version of himself.
Running becomes a source of connection—with his children, his wife, and, most importantly, his father. Through this relationship, Nicholas reveals his father’s influence from childhood until his death, the different stages and emotions he moved through over the years, and how the journey ultimately leads to forgiveness and love.
This is a book for everyone: for parents, for runners and athletes, for executives, for anyone interested in personal growth, and for those who are passionate about any artistic or athletic discipline that requires consistency and long-term commitment.
With disarming honesty, Nicholas lays out his achievements and his weaknesses, his fears and his bold choices. And just as he shares the stories of people who inspired him, by the end of the book the reader feels inspired as well—by the values of marathon and ultramarathon runners, by love and care for family, and by the humility that running teaches, beautifully illustrated in the chapter dedicated to Michael Westphal.
The Running Ground moves you, motivates you, and inspires you. And even if it is hard to define, as I said at the beginning, when you finish it you feel you have learned something new on many levels—just as the author transfers the lessons of marathon running to his professional life, and back again. As Nicholas writes on the cover, this is a book about “a father, a son, and the simplest of sports.”