Wednesday, July 03, 2013

My New Book is Out!

I am deliriously delighted and over-the-moon overjoyed to announce publication of my 4th book after 11 months of gestation:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/martin-bodek/54-runners-54-stories-the-tale-of-the-2012-200k-jrunners-relay-race/paperback/product-21095945.html

The URL is long because the title is long. Matter of fact, I don't even think it's long enough to describe what exactly is inside!

So here goes:

Know the JRunners Brooklyn-to-Catskills 200k Relay Race that runs every summer (and will run again this year on 8/7 and 8/8)? Well, I've run it every year. It takes about 20 hours to complete. It's insane, really.

But this time, after putting in my 20 hours of running, leapfrogging, and adventuring, I also put in the aforementioned 11 months of running *after* all the participants for their unique stories. I think I have something pretty unique here. Other books have been written about races short (that is, marathon-length) and long (Badwater, for example, a 135-miler), but none - that I am aware of - have featured a writeup from every single participant in the race.

This is why I'm excited about the book, among a panoply of other reasons.

So please buy it for you bookshelf or coffee table. Actually, it could take up a whole bookshelf or *be* your coffee table. The thing is that huge (358 pages), as it includes the fully story of the 2012 race, but also includes some stories from 2011 and 2010, to paint as full a picture as possible of the club and the race. There's also a JRunners timeline, which was fun to put together, and a lengthy introduction that explains my pains - er, labor of love - in forging the giant manuscript.



Proceeds go to JRunners, to support and bolster their fitness-in-the-community initiatives. Profits don't interest me; disseminating my work does, as I blessedly make a good living from my 9-5 side job.

So get your copy today, and please sign up for the upcoming relay (https://www.jrunnersclub.org/200k-relay-registration/), because I'm going to come after you for the 2013 Relay book that I'll be writing. Hopefully, I can keep the gestation period to human levels. I wouldn't even mind a preemie.

Thank you for your interest, love, and support.

-Martin (Mordechi) Bodek