Running man A memoir

World-renowned ultrarunner Charlie Engle chronicles his descent into alcohol and cocaine addiction and his long journey back from an unlikely venue: the confines of a federal prison after being convicted of mortgage fraud. Admittedly, the first 60 pages are raw, like watching back-to-back episodes of the TV show Intervention, with Engle eventually hitting rock bottom before embracinghis true passion: running. Never satiated, he soon replaced marathons and triathlons with the tougher physical and mental challenges of adventure racing (The Raid Gauloises, Eco-Challenge) and extreme endurance events like RAAM (Race Across America) and the Badwater Ultramarathon, also known as The World's Toughest Footrace. Engle's best-known challenge is likely his 2007 run across the Sahara Desert (more than 4,500 miles across six countries) made famous by the Matt Damon-produced and -narrated documentary, Running the Sahara. Similar to the journey of self-discovery chronicled in Rich Roll's Finding Ultra (2012), this is a fast-paced, well-written account of a man who accepts pain, pushes beyond imagined limits, and ultimately finds redemption and peace.--Barrera, Brenda Copyright 2016 Booklist

First-time author Engle's fascinating account of the high and low points of his life as an ultramarathon runner is written with cinematic quality. Starting with a bleak depiction of himself as "a middle-aged white guy who ran laps alone" in a prison's recreation yard, Engle flashes back to life as a 29-year-old drug addict at the end of a 10-year addiction to cocaine, "sitting in a gutter, in filthy clothes, my fingers black and blistered." What saves him is a love of running, and he becomes an amazing marathon runner. His career peaks with a record-breaking 4,500-mile run across the Sahara Desert, captured in a Matt Damon-produced documentary, Running the Sahara. But a subsequent investigation by the IRS, focusing on income reported on a home loan application, leads to a 16-month stint in a West Virginia jail in 2011, a conviction that New York Times writer Joe Nocera publicized as unfair. Engle's story has an uplifting and inspirational ending: he decides to spend his time in prison training for a 135-mile race that he successfully runs after his release, which reinvigorates his career as a runner. Agent: Deborah Grosvenor, Deborah Grosvenor Literary. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.