Since I couldn’t run for a while due to a minor injury I’d thought to read a book about running - or, well, that’s what I thought. Anyone who’s only the tiniest bit into watching snooker games will recognise the author of this book: Ronnie O’Sullivan. He’s one of the favourites in snooker for decades now, and a bit of a rebel in the stiff business-like environment of snooker events. He’s had his controversial moments in his career, and I bet it won’t ever change. Besides potting balls, Ronnie is also good with running, and sees it as a huge addition to his personal live. Since I like running and snooker I thought I should give this book a try.
My background with Ronnie
In February 2016 I drove off to Cardiff in Wales with a friend to watch the final match of the Welsh Open. We were hoping Ronnie would reach the finals, because we only had tickets for this match. We were lucky, we were going to see Ronnie O’Sullivan vs. Neil Robertson. Both are having a fast-paced aggressive, but very own style of playing, which makes it an interesting game to watch. The final of the Welsh Open is a best of 17 frames match, which means there is an afternoon and evening program scheduled for only one match, fantastic! The result of the game was 9 vs. 5 frames for O’Sullivan, so our hero had won.
Ronnie O’Sullivan celebrating after beating Robertson
If you are a snooker fan, I can recommend attending an event like the Welsh Open. The atmosphere is great and relaxed in the audience, while you can feel the tension when the match progresses. Anyway, back to running…
Biography
Running is not the first biography written by O'Sullivan himself. 10 years before this book was released, in 2003, he wrote Ronnie where he describes his childhood, how he got into snooker, the relation with his dad and the struggles he had with becoming famous and addictions he tried to manage. In summary, he had - or is having - quite a dramatic life.
Actually, this book is not different. Again, it's a description of his childhood, the personal problems he had with drugs, alcohol and depression, family relations. However, this time running is involved in dribs and drabs throughout the story. Sometimes it is described as a solution for problems, some other times it is described as another addiction.
The book gives you a great insight in this snooker hero. He is very honest about his troubles and psychological challenges, which makes this read interesting. As a bonus, he sums up some controversial (and often misunderstood) moments during his careers where he explains his point of view of those situations. Very entertaining, but has nothing to do with running, obviously.
Running Ronnie
Who should read this?
- Are you interested in the personal life of Ronnie O’Sullivan? yes
- Are you interested in snooker in general? yes
- Are you interested in running, but none of the above? probably not
This book is fun if you're a snooker fan, or better, if you're a O'Sullivan fan. It describes perfectly why he sometimes can be so moody during games, or why he can be rebellious during tournaments. If you only want to learn new stuff about running itself, other than running is my cure, i love running or running makes me a better sportsman, you should definitely skip it. It's a pity he's not giving some tips, or experiences or anything which is running-related, because he is very fast (for a snooker player 😉): he finishes sub 37 minutes with 10 kilometer runs.
Funny thing to mention is O'Sullivan also wrote two fiction books: Framed and Double Kiss. Yes, both pun intended. I'll definitely give them a try sometimes!
My rating
★★★☆☆ 3/5 stars