The Northern Newsletter

Title: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner 

Author: Alan Sillitoe 

Publisher: W.H.Allen Ltd

Genre: Social realism and fiction

Published in 1959, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner is a social realism short story featured in a compilation with the same title. This story established Sillitoe as a member of the ‘Angry Young Men’ due to the story’s protagonist – Smith – being labelled as a ‘belligerent and opinionated’ young man, especially towards the class division of the time. However, the novella defies this by pushing the boundaries of its classification. Its message catapults the story and its relevance into our society as we face similar scenarios.

The beginning of the narrative details the life of a poor working class teenager from Nottingham who lacks any regard for his future, endeavouring into the sport of petty crime. Similar to the rest of those deemed outsiders, Smith experiences social alienation as he is left to survive on his own in a constantly punishing system. Evidently, this causes him to be caught by the police for thieving and is therefore sentenced to be imprisoned in Ruxton Towers, a young offenders institution. During this portion of his life, he discovers his passion for long distance running which develops into a clear motif in the play for a sense of belonging and an escape from the confinements within society, even stating ‘running is the road to self-discovery’. The authorities then notice his physical prowess and decide to take pity on Smith offering him a light workload for his sentencing, but only if he agrees to win a cross-country competition against a highly prestigious public school. Optimism and adrenaline fuels the crowd, Smith speeds ahead of the other competitors yet deliberately begins to slow down eventually stopping a mere few meters away from the finish line. Despite the taste of victory being within his grasp, Smith casts his winnings away in favour of a defiant demonstration of his hatred against the Ruxton Towers administrators. Even with his realisation that he will be dealt heavy amounts of criticism and even worse manual labour, Smith posses no regrets as he believes he has achieved what he deemed worthy of his duty to society. 

There are clear themes within this novella, from the mistreatment of the working class to being prejudged and deemed weak. The narrative explores the weight of their contributions exceeding those of the rich but still being viewed as fruitless and futile. Clearly illustrated when Smiths sentencing is softened only if he conforms to the authorities agreement, exploiting our protagonist even further. The most significant motif within the short story is the runner himself, the metaphor is able to prominently imply a need for isolation from society’s noise. Arguably allowing Sillitoe to include a political undertone, since when he runs away he is able to mentally reflect personally on himself with clarity, communicating to his audience. This helps the reader to develop with Smith as we both learn of the class division in Britain and how it affects the poor, gradually snowballing our realisation into drawing similarities from now and then. 

I would certainly recommend this book to those who believe in a need for social reformatory, and especially those who are passionate ‘angry young men’ who are desperate to voice their opinions as mute witnesses.