<P> `` 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 work focuses on Smith , a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a working class area , who has bleak prospects in life and few interests beyond petty crime . The boy turns to long - distance running as a method of both an emotional and a physical escape from his situation . The story was adapted for a 1962 film of the same title , with Sillitoe writing the screenplay and Tony Richardson directing . The part of Smith ( now called Colin ) was played by Tom Courtenay . </P>
<P> `` 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 work focuses on Smith , a poor Nottingham teenager from a dismal home in a working class area , who has bleak prospects in life and few interests beyond petty crime . The boy turns to long - distance running as a method of both an emotional and a physical escape from his situation . The story was adapted for a 1962 film of the same title , with Sillitoe writing the screenplay and Tony Richardson directing . The part of Smith ( now called Colin ) was played by Tom Courtenay . </P>
who wrote the loneliness of the long distance runner
who wrote the loneliness of the long distance runner
Alan Sillitoe
Alan Sillitoe