Other editions of book The Run

Perched on the banks of Stony Brook in the Cape Cod town of Brewster, Hay observes the stunning phenomenon of the annual run of the alewife, a herring that spawns in fresh water, enters the ocean as a fingerling, and returns to its natal pond. From the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Carolina’s, hordes of alewives make the dramatic journey every Spring. For Hay, the run is filled with danger and beauty: “In terrible simplicity, the alewives were swimming toward the island gauntlet they would have to run, having a title, by their common, wild, and ancient advent, to all great kindled things.”

This beautiful chronicle of the annual migration of the alewives (members of the herring family) provides fascinating insights into animal behavior - and life itself. John Hay follows the alewives' journey for one entire spawning season. Faced with the spectacle of billions of fish responding to an ancient and mysterious drive, he begins asking questions: Why do alewives undertake the hazardous journey from salt to fresh water to spawn? How do the young who stay behind find their way to the ocean without direction? And, most amazing of all, how do the alewives find the same "parent stream" where they spawned? (from the dust jacket)