Flanagan’s Run

By: Tom McNab

Narrated by: Rupert Degas

During the Depression, the ebullient American entrepreneur Charles Flanagan assembles 2,000 runners from all corners of the earth to run from Los Angeles to New York for prize-money of $150,000. Flanagan’s Trans-America runners face 3,000 miles, across the Mojave desert and the frozen Rockies, running a daily average of 50 miles for three months. The American sports establishment, however, is desperate to crush what it sees as a professional challenge to the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. Every day is therefore a struggle for survival, for Flanagan himself as well as the runners. Flanagan’s Run is an epic tale, and a testimony to the strength of the human spirit.

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Outstanding story and narrator!!!

This is a must if you run! The narrator makes the story! Great performance for a great and uplifting story!

A long time coming!

Years ago I worked at William Morrow and was given the manuscript Flanagan's Run to count the letters. Back in the 1980's we did not have computers and so the pages were set by hand. This was one of the few manuscripts I read as I counted. What a delightful cast of characters. Writers today should seriously take a look at what good stories are based on. No excessive violence or dark themes, just a cracklin' good story.

My only complaint is that the narrator did not completely reach my expectations of what Doc Cole sounds like. Which would have been impossible. Other than that, it was a joy to listen to nearly forty years after working on it.

What a story!

Great story, the narrator was awesome! Very inspirational. I would rev omen it to everyone.

Very Entertaining

This is a well written well researched book that is very entertaining. The many characters are well developed and the narration is very well done. I only wish Tom McNab had more books on Audible.

Amazing Story

What does Rupert Degas bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He is AMAZING! I mean, the accents are spot on, and he even sings. HE SINGS..He is THE most talented performer I have listened to yet.

Any additional comments?

This is a unique story and I HIGHLY Recommend this book

So Much to Like Here.

Before I listened to this book, I read reviews that said it was a good book for runners. I dismissed that because it wasn't a manual, it was a novel, and I'd like to read about runners more than, say, football players.

So glad I did. I never lost interest, never thought that if I were reading it off the page, I'd be skipping this part. The reader is a genius at making the many voices fit the characters and be recognizable. The many characters are perfect. We learn why they want to run and then there's the deliciousness of them coming together and making the story.

These characters overcome a succession of obstacles that can't be predicted. They are people I'd love to know. The story is exciting and feels good.

Having lived in different parts of the country, it was interesting to read about their trials and successes in those parts. Wholeheartedly recommend.

A surprising gem.

I started listening to this book 3 or 4 times but when I finally got past the beginning, and became engaged with the characters I slowed down once more, worrying about the characters and how they all would come out in the end. it engaged me enough that I looked up the factual events that inspired this book. the reading was superb and I was often amazed the readers ability to pull off such a vast amount of accents... and pulled them off well! this book was amazing, a classic in my opinion.

Absolutely riviting

I don't know how one can call an audiobook a page turner with a straight face but this recording was absolutely riviting. I stayed up late to finish it because I couldn't bear to stop. The reader did an excellent job and it was very exciting. It's been a while since a book pulled me into it this deep.

I woke up thinking about the characters and what became of them this morning. It told you about the main characters but there were almost a thousand runners who finished. I had to keep reminding myself that this is a work of fiction because I really cared what happened to these people after they completed such a huge event. I do have a problem separating fictional people from non fictional people sometimes. What a silly person I can be. But anyway, a delightful, exciting read that's for sure.

Amazing narrator and fun book for runners

Flanagan's Run is a great book to listen to while running. You can't help but be motivated by the story of these runners making their way across the country in all kinds of weather and conditions. The story is well paced and exciting.

However the thing that pushed this book into a five star rating is the amazing job of the narrator Rupert Degas. I have listened to so many wonderful audiobooks but he's in a class by himself. At one point, I even came back to the website to see if there were more than one narrator because the voices of the characters were so distinct and believable. This is a fun story, with likable characters who triumph over long odds.

Interesting story coupled with great narration

This book shines based off its character development and narration. Degas is a master of narration, he can make an average book a 5 star audiobook. The story line kept my interest though felt carnival like. A little unrealistic to a point of creating disinterest in the plot of some of the chapters. If you are a runner, even more so a marathon runner, this is a 5 star book. For everyone else, a solid 4 star book (probably in large part because of the excellent narration) and a good use of a credit. A nice change of pace for me.