The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe

Alan Sillitoe (1928- 2010) was an English novelist, poet, short story writer, children's book writer, playwright and social critic. He was born in Nottingham. He was one of the Angry Young Men of the 1950s and a famous working-class novelist. He shattered the sentimental portrayal of working-class life through his major works ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’, ‘The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner’, ‘Key to the Door’, ‘The Ragman's Daughter’, ‘The Flame of Life’, ‘A Start in Life’ and many others. But his fame rests on two of his major works, ‘Saturday Night and Sunday Morning’ (novel) and ‘The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner’, (novella) the title story of a collection of short fiction.

Sillitoe is at his best in the portrayal of working-class life that struggles for identity and above all the theme of rebellion and isolation that dominate his work. The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner has proved to be one of the most successful explorations of the theme of rebellion.

          The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner is a short story by Alan Sillitoe, published in 1959 as part of a short story collection of the same name. The central character Colin Smith is a poor, 17-year-old Nottingham teenager. He lived in a miserable home in a working-class area and has nothing much to aspire for. He is put in a borstal [a type of prison for young criminals or reform school] for a petty crime of stealing a hundred and fifty pounds from a baker’s shop. 

          In the borstal, the boy turns his attention to long-distance running as a method of both emotional and physical escape from his present situation. He was noticed by the governor/warden and has been chosen to represent the Borstal in a competition for the All-England Championship. The governor wants him to win the race. He is permitted to train himself outside the fences for a long-distance competition.

          Much of the story recounts his private thoughts on those runs, culminating in the struggle between being awarded a light workload if he wins versus not wanting to obey the borstal administration. We are introduced to Smith as he runs in the early morning chill even before sunrise. Running becomes a metaphor for thinking. Smith starts seeing everything clearly as he runs through.

          We see a clear streak of defiance against the authorities throughout the story. When the day of the marathon arrives, Smith quickly sizes up who the opponent school's best runner is and who he must beat. With the proud Governor looking at Smith, the gun is fired. Smith soon overtakes Ranleigh's star runner and has a comfortable lead with a sure win.

          But at the same moment, a series of jarring images run through his mind - scenes from his life at home and his mother’s neglect and infidelity, his father's dead body, stern lectures from detectives, police, the governor, the hopelessness of the near future, and the hypocrisy of the authority. All these make him change his mind. These flashbacks reveal the complex motivation for Smith's decision and justify his rebellious behaviour to lose the race. After speeding ahead of the other runners, he deliberately stops a few meters short of the finishing line, though well ahead and easily able to win. He stops there without doing anything, much to the disappointment of the upper-class people who had made bets on his victory. The deliberate decision to lose the "big race" reflects Smith's antagonism toward the governor and other establishment symbols.

          This is how Smith protests the injustices done to him. By losing the race deliberately, Smith demonstrates his free spirit and independence. The response of the borstal authorities to Smith’s action is heavy-handed (without considering his feelings) and there is a lot of manual labour awaiting him. However, he has no regrets. He knew what he was doing when he did it.

          Long-distance running gives Smith the ability to freely escape from society without the pressures of a team. Smith uses running as a way to mentally reflect, allowing himself to give clarity to confusing thoughts and share them with the reader. Through running, Smith begins to understand and become aware of the class divisions in Britain.

          Rebellion and isolation dominate this story. As Smith wrestles with his life’s meaning and direction, he comes to understand and defend his defiance [refusing to obey] of authority. He isolates himself through running. This enables him to think freely and clearly. It can be said that the entire story is about if one can retain one’s own individuality. Smith’s most significant discovery is this interpretation of an “honest life” because as he stops running, he stops listening to any kind of authority.

          Literature about running has changed throughout history. The short story "The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner" by Alan Sillitoe gave this genre a political perspective that changed the vision of a literary "runner". Sillitoe's character Smith uses running as a way to mentally reflect. The action of running allows Smith to give clarity to his political insights and the ability to share them with his readers.  Running is used as a metaphor to suggest a method of running away from society which also allows the narrator to reflect on the society, he is living in.

          Sillitoe uses running in his story as a means of isolation. Smith’s long-distance running is a solitary action. Therefore, it allows him to begin to understand and become aware of the class divisions in Britain.

          Running is also used as a metaphor by Sillitoe to give Smith the ability to escape from the reality of his class level in society. The use of this sport gives Smith the ability to escape from his life as a member of the working-class poor. Sillitoe has used running to give his character a chance to reflect upon his social status and also to escape from the reality that the poor in Britain are faced with.  Long-distance running gives the character the ability to freely escape from society without the pressures of a team, which may be found in other athletic stories.