James Knight was nine years old when he competed in his first fun run, the Gunnedah Gallop, in country New South Wales. Back then, 1977, he could never have known those eight kilometres would help lay the foundations for his lifelong love of distance running. As a boy, he spent countless hours legging it around his family's property on a course designed by his older brother, Lewis, who marked the route by tying torn pieces of an old bed sheet to trees and fenceposts.
James first ran a marathon in 2000. It was the Sydney Olympic Test Event. The following year, just two months after the 9-11 attacks in the United States, he participated in the New York Marathon. He has run fourteen marathons, including the Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Gold Coast. He also completed the gruelling 2010 North Face 100, now known as Ultra-Trail Australia, in the Blue Mountains.
James equates his marathon efforts to writing books. Both are 'long and slow.' He has written thirteen non-fiction adult books and three, including one fiction, for children. A former sports journalist spanning television, radio, newspapers and online, he has also been a TV commentator at the Melbourne and Gold Coast marathons. James lives in Canberra with his wife, Clare, son Iggy, and dog, Roger.