Abena Eyeson inspires readers to pursue their dreams in Running My Own Race
About Author
Abena Eyeson celebrates boyhood, community and following your dreams in her debut novel, Running My Own Race.
Abena was born in Ghana but has lived in the UK since the age of 12. She has won accolades for the FAB Prize, Jericho Prize and TLC Pen Factor. She writes picture books, educational non-fiction and has self-published YA.
Abena lives just outside London with her husband and three children. It was her children that inspired her to put Black characters at the heart of her stories. Running My Own Race is her first middle grade novel.
Interview
July 2025
Abena Eyeson inspires readers to pursue their dreams in Running My Own Race
Kofi loves running, but it isn't until he earns a place at a private school that his dreams seem within reach. However, as new challenges in the school and at home mount, Kofi questions if his dream of becoming a professional runner can ever come true.
ReadingZone spoke with debut author Abena Eyeson about what inspired her novel Running My Own Race, and the celebration of boyhood and diversity at its heart. Read an extract from Running My Own Race
Review: "I loved Running My Own Race! I was drawn in from the very first page and found it hard to put down."
Q&A with Abena Eyeson: Exploring Representation, Resilience and Boyhood in Running My Own Race
"There are still not enough books for children with Black British main characters and definitely not enough
depicting Black British boys in a positive way."
1. Thank you for joining us on ReadingZone. Running My Own Race is your debut book for children - can you tell us a little about yourself, and what brought you into writing for children?
I am a British-Ghanaian writer, living just outside of London with my husband and kids. I was born in Ghana but have lived in the UK since I was a child, so it has been many years.
I like hanging out with family and friends. I love laughter and conversation. I enjoy movies, books, music - and good food too! I dislike meanness and people being unkind. Also I am allergic to eggs. This can be a pain because when I'm out and about, I have to be super careful about what I buy to eat. It's surprising how many things have egg added to them.
I have three children. My children inspired me to start writing for kids. I write the stories I wish they had had when they were younger. Running my Own Race is my debut middle grade novel.
2. What happens in your new book, Running My Own Race?
Running My Own Race is a story about family, friendship, gaining courage and going for your dreams. The main character, 11-year-old Kofi, loves running and secretly dreams of becoming a professional athlete - a dream that feels unreachable until he gets a scholarship to a private school where his talent for running is recognised. Suddenly what seemed impossible feels possible. Then he discovers that going for your dreams isn't easy. Facing challenges from many directions, will Kofi stay the course and keep going for what he wants?
3. Was there a specific incident that helped inspire the story? Why did you want to write this novel, and why did you write it in the first person?
I got the idea for the book in 2020 unexpectedly. The phrase 'Kofi loves running' popped into my head, accompanied by a jolt of excitement. As I typed it quickly down on my laptop, I made a typo and it became 'Kofi lives running'. I could suddenly see his family, his community and the challenges he had to overcome. I knew I wanted to write his story.
I wrote the novel in first person because it allowed me to really get into the head of Kofi, the main character, and pull the reader close to him.
4. What kinds of challenges does Kofi face during the course of the novel as a result of passion for running?
The challenges he faces in the story are partly related to running because he has a rival at his new school who will do anything to sabotage Kofi, including bullying him. Also Kofi's mum wants him to concentrate on his academic work, not running. His challenges, however, go beyond running. Kofi has always avoided confrontation and is a bit of a people pleaser, especially with his mum.
In the story, he has to become courageous and speak up in order to keep going for his dream. Then, there is dealing with the pressure of other people's expectations of him and navigating his changing relationship with his best friend, Charlie, as well as coping with a new school that is very different from what he is used to. These are all challenges that Kofi has to overcome.
There are still not enough books for children with Black British main characters and definitely not enough depicting Black British boys in a positive way. I have a son and it is important to me that boys like him - going about their everyday lives the best they can, trying to overcome the problems they face - make it onto the page.
6. Kofi also provides a powerful example of positive boyhood - but why did you want this character to be a boy?
Kofi came to me as a boy. I've been asked in the past why I didn't make him a girl. My answer is that if I had changed him into a girl, it would have been a different story. Also like I mentioned earlier, I was intentional about portraying a black boy positively in this story as black boys often don't get portrayed in that way.
7. How did you approach exploring the socio-economic barriers that Kofi faces in developing his talent for running?
In the book, Kofi doesn't share with anyone that he dreams of becoming an athlete until it pops out at the scholarship interview with the headmaster of the private school. That's because even though Kofi dreams about becoming an athlete, he has never allowed himself to think it could really happen. Dreaming about running had effectively become like a comfort blanket as opposed to something that he was actively pursuing. It is only when he is at the private school that takes sports seriously and has the resources to invest in developing the sporting prowess of its talented students that running professionally shifts from being just a comfort blanket to being something that could happen.
The idea being explored here is whether having high aspirations for yourself is linked to the environment you are in. My research showed that students in private schools had much greater access to fantastic sports facilities and training than those in state schools.
8. Kofi's story is hugely engaging and powerful. What would you like your readers to take from his experiences and challenges?
I hope this book will encourage children to believe in their dreams and have the courage to pursue them in spite of the obstacles in their way. The freedom to be your authentic self is something that all children should have, and I hope Kofi's story will help Black British children know that their dreams are just as important and worth fighting for. I want my book to also encourage empathy, affirmation and a sense of commonality.
9. Kofi has a dream to be a runner - What was your dream as a child, and have you achieved it, or have your dreams changed?
When I was a child, I used to dream of being an actress. I was a quiet child but I enjoyed being on stage. I actually felt at my most confident on stage. Though I did lots of school plays as well as speech and drama exams, I was talked into pursuing something sensible at university and as my career. I ended up having a career in HR, but my creativity never went away. It was just dormant because years later, it has burst out in my writing, allowing me to step into the shoes of the characters I create and put their stories down on paper.
10. Are you writing more books for children and young people? What kinds of things do you enjoy doing to escape your laptop - and to seek out inspiration for new stories!
I am writing my next middle grade novel to be published by Nosy Crow. I love spending time with family and friends to escape my laptop. I also read a lot as well as watching TV and films. I also go out for walks. I am a people watcher - I find myself observing and noticing things. So far, ideas tend to come to me for my stories. I never know when I will get inspiration.
Creative Challenge:
Kofi has a dream to run. What is your dream? Write about one step you take towards achieving it, or a moment when you have achieved that dream, and how it makes you feel.
School Visits:
I am doing my first events this summer, which is very exciting. The school visits will involve me talking about the book, reading from the book and doing a Q and A with the children. I will discuss going for your dreams with the children, offer simple writing tips and insights into my journey as a writer. If a school wants to arrange a school visit with me, at the moment, the best way is to approach Nosy Crow.
Running My Own Race
