The Author Spotlight Series shines a light on writers creating heartfelt and original work across genres, giving them an opportunity to talk about their books and why they do what they do.
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“Johanna Garton began running on the dirt roads surrounding her family’s farmhouse in Wisconsin at age seven. She continued through college, where she competed for Syracuse University as a walk-on. Garton has pursued her love of endurance sports, running more than twenty marathons including five finishes at the Boston Marathon and in 2022 she trekked to Everest Base Camp. In addition to her newest book All in Stride: A Journey in Running, Courage, and the Search for the American Dream, Garton has authored Awakening East, the story of the adoption of her two children from China and her family’s decision to move to China to live for one year to immerse the family in the culture, and Edge of the Map, which shares the story of American high altitude mountaineer Christine Boskoff, and is currently being developed into a feature film. Garton started her career as an immigration lawyer, then worked in nonprofit management and taught college. She is a sportswriter and a high school cross country coach. She lives in Denver with her husband and two children.”
When did you know you wanted to be a writer?
My mother was a journalist, so writing and reporting were always at the forefront in my childhood. I remember doing a lot of interviewing of people with a clunky old, 1980’s-circa tape recorder and then using the recordings to create stories I’d write and share with anyone who’d read them.
Do you remember the first thing you ever wrote?
It was definitely one of the aforementioned stories. This one was a descriptive piece that I wrote about ice. I grew up in Wisconsin and my parents really pushed outside-in-nature-time, so I spent a lot of time in the winters walking on a frozen lake near our home. The science of ice and how it formed every winter was for some reason super intriguing to me. My cousin and I took little legal pads and wrote down notes about what it looked like and came home to craft nature essays about winter on the ice in Wisconsin. That was the start, and my writing eventually morphed into much more teenager-y romance narratives with plenty of drama!
How did you develop your skills?
I’ve never been afraid of criticism, and I think that’s been the key in my growth as a writer. I was constantly seeking editing from teachers or friends and that’s continued to present day. I couldn’t write or publish anything without first running it past a few people. That doesn’t mean I accept every bit of advice on my work, but it does allow me the space to explore other vantage points.
Who are some of your biggest literary influences? Do you have a favourite book/author?
I’m a real non-fiction girl, and unsurprisingly that’s the genre I gravitate to as a writer, as well. It takes real skill to weave investigative journalism into storytelling that sounds like fiction, so any writers who do that well are at the top of my list. My favorites recently are Alison Mariella Desir and her book Running While Black. Also love anything by Jon Krakauer and Joan Didion.
How would you describe your work?
I’m a sportswriter, so I’d say that’s how I describe myself at a dinner party, but in terms of my work, I’d say my passion is finding compelling stories with many places to fall down rabbit holes. Once I find that story, I love weaving pieces of the story together in braided narrative format so that my readers feel they’re invested in getting to the next chapter.
What’s your writing process like?
A ton of research! Dozens of interviews. Many sleepless nights putting together an outline in my head. Lots of highlight pens and wall-sized sticky notes at the very end of writing to make sure everything is coming together.
Tell us about your most recent book.
My most recent book is All in Stride: A Journey in Running, Courage, and the Search for the American Dream. It’s the story of American professional distance runners, Elvin Kibet and Shadrack Kipchirchir. The narrative takes readers from their upbringing in rural Kenyan villages through their journeys to the United States, their romance as college athletes and ultimately their service as U.S. soldiers and professional runners. The story examines issues of race/identity/gender/culture, explores the world of high-performance sports, and looks at the ever-changing landscape of what it means to be American. I also spend some time looking at the life of Olympian Sammy Schultz, who competed in the sport of modern pentathlon for the same program that Shadrack and Elvin did, the U.S. Army’s World Class Athlete Program. Sammy’s connection to the story looks at challenges that can be particular to women in high performance sports, including poor coaching, overtraining, the intense pressure to make the Olympic team and disordered eating.
So, in a nutshell, I’d call it an intersection of running, immigration, military life, and love.
What are you working on now/next?
I’m hoping that my next few years might involve working on the film adaptation of my last book, Edge of the Map. I’ve been in discussion for several years with a production team and it’s a slow process but we’re hoping now is when things can really start moving.
Where can we find you online?
The best place is probably Instagram, and you can find me there at @johannagartonbooks