Flanagan’s Run

By: Tom McNab

Narrated by: Rupert Degas

Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

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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Fantastic narration

Someone who runs for a living recommended this book in an interview with Altra. I loved the book and the narration. It was a fantastic read and got me thinking, could this have really happened? I sure wish it did. They need to make this into a movie.

A blockbuster movie waiting to be made

Or maybe a mini series.
Great cast of characters and sub-plots, great period detail, great landscapes, great entertainment.
And a genuine love of long distance running runs throughout.

Compelling sports novel and masterful narration

The novel is an underrated classic. McNab’s historical knowledge of American distance running is impressive, but he uses it to enhance the narrative rather than to bog the story down with details. The book itself deserves greater attention than it’s gotten.

Additionally, the audio narration is masterful! The novel contains a large cast of characters, and the narrator proved himself adept at distinguishing them by subtle character details and accents. Really impressive to hear.

Inspiring, whimsical novel of the human spirit.

I started this book hoping to be inspired by the running. What I discovered was far more than a simple novel on running. (I have run 2 marathons, once beating Oprah Winfrey in the 1994 Marine Corps Marathon. Normally you just want to finish, but who wants to get beat by Oprah!)

In Forest Gump fashion, the 3000 mile race takes in most of the historical American figures of the 1930s. There's Mary Pickford, Douglass Fairbanks, Will Rogers, Charles Lindbergh, Al Capone and Frank Nitty, J Edgar Hoover just to name a few.

Author Tom McNab creates some of the most colorful characters I've experienced since McMurtry's Lonesome Dove. Each person is motivated by their own circumstances, well written by a master story teller. He does a wonderful job creating a competition between runners that kept me riveted to the end.

If a similar event was held today there would be little fanfare. Pulling off such an event in 1931, with the world in a depression and corruption rampant throughout America, would require more than a few miracles. Once again McNab delivers in Lonesome Dove style with a group of people who must overcome disaster after disaster to reach their final goal.

Rupert Degas handles a myriad of diverse voices together with a great deal of suspense as well as any one I've heard.

This one gets 5 stars on great characters and just plain fun!

Rupert Degas is extraordinary!

I purchased this book just to hear Rubert Degas reading to me again; his character voices and accents are exceptional. What I found in this book was the best of all worlds - an extraordinary narrator reading an excellent novel. The characters and story pulled me in from the start and I listed to the last 30 minutes twice just to relish the ending. I hope Tom McNab and Rubert Degas team up again VERY soon!
- John's wife

Makes you want to run beside them.

If you could sum up Flanagan’s Run in three words, what would they be?

Vivid, epic, compelling.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked its intelligence, the way it captured the times, and the way it made you care about the characters.

Have you listened to any of Rupert Degas’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first time. After listening for a few minutes I was convinced it was an ensemble cast. Degas's narration voice is very easy to listen to and he has great dynamics. His versatility if excellent and he handled all of the voices very well and very consistently. I have heard many good performers, but he has been the best so far. Looking forward to another by him.

Any additional comments?

Some of the historical references seemed to be a bit of a stretch, but they added interest and did not sap the overall strength of the story. Glad I listened.

An American Classic

Great story accompanied by great narration. The story captures the struggles of Americans during the Depression and the narrator compliments it perfectly with a wide range of voices and accents.

Great story. Great reader

Story well told of the invincibility of man’s spirit. Even if you’ve never been into any running sports it is still very enjoyable.