The Frontrunner

De: Brad Fawley

Narrado por: Anne Marie Howard, Brad Fawley

Russ Clayton is a young man who keeps losing the important people in his life. Each time someone disappears, he finds himself left adrift. The Universe stacked against him. He only finds peace running alone on the roads of his small town in Kansas. Russ finally believes that everyone in his life is gone. Feeling abandoned, reckless, and liberated, he gives himself up wholly to the running by setting an impossible goal. But, he needs help.

Long ago, Brad Coy was the fastest marathoner on the planet, but a man who also lost everything he valued to a cheating Russian runner named Yuri Grimlov. Finding a kinship, Coy and Russ team together, retreat to the desert, and undertake a quest to shatter the brain's protective hold on the body that prevents us from reaching our physical limits of speed and endurance.

On the other side of the world, Grimlov has been charged with restoring Russia's tarnished reputation for doping its distance runners. He takes two young twin boys from their family and subjects them to his special mixture of psychological manipulation, doping, and scientific training. The boys, however, come to him already strongly shaped by their fraternal rivalries leavened with a heavy dose of their mother's demanding ethics and branded by their father's superstitions.

Inevitably, Coy and Grimlov face off again, Russ discovers whether he really ever was alone in the world, and the Twins confront the limits of their love for each other.

©2024 Brad Fawley (P)2024 Brad Fawley

Fascinating story of grit and tenacity, suspenseful. Outstanding first novel.

The narration was top notch, including very believable Russian accented English. you can picture the settings, the sweat, Each character comes alive.

Book for the true running fan!

I got both the print and audio versions. Fun book! - In the early chapters I knew that the author was knowledgable about running in general. References to some historic and inspiring runners were tastefully used to draw in the reader who is a true running fan. Even referencing one of my favorite biographies "Today We Die A Little" a great book on Emil Zatopek. I knew this book was going to be accurately written. --- The BEST part of this book is the way the races are described. The emotions and thought-processes you go through as the splits unfold in a track race were SO accurate, that you can't help but be pulled in to the story. There's a race where the main character needs to run "just a 4:20" to qualify, and the way he goes through his splits, tries to do the math, gauges his effort and pacing, and ultimately pushes to his limit are so relatable. It's great. "Pressing in to it", "Cruising", "the last 200 at full throttle and holding on for dear life", It's all well told. The story has an ending that you don't necessarily see coming, both somber and inspiring at the same time. Highly recommend reading this book.