Running Ransom Road - by Caleb Daniloff (Paperback)

About the Book

In this searing and inspiring memoir, a runner, now thirteen years sober, confronts his past in a bib number and pair of running shoes, completing seven marathons in a year's time.

Book Synopsis

"Running Ransom Road is Caleb Daniloff's unblinking, ultimately triumphant account of his journey from mean, hopeless drunk back to humanity and himself--through distance running. It's a searing tale of spiritual redemption--one marathon, one mile, one brave, difficult step at a time."--Steve Friedman, co-author of New York Times bestseller Eat and Run and author of the memoir Lost on Treasure Island

For fifteen years, the words that best described Caleb Daniloff were "drunk," "addict," and "abuser." These days, the best word to describe him is "runner."

In Running Ransom Road, the long-since-sober Daniloff confronts his past by setting out to run races in each of the cities where he once lived and wreaked havoc during that lost period of his life. As he competes in marathons from Boston to Vermont to Moscow, he explores his old destructive life and how running's sobering and inspiring effects have changed him for the better. In doing so, he connects with others like him, illuminating the connection between addiction and running. Running Ransom Road is at once a memoir of addiction, finding oneself, and learning to push past barriers both physical and emotional.

"Just as Caleb Daniloff's life was about to tumble into the abyss of addiction, he was lucky enough to discover he liked to run, simply for himself. In Running Ransom Road, his captivating narrative describes a journey of personal redemption that, fortunately for us, he is willing to share."--Frank Shorter, Olympic marathon gold medalist

From the Back Cover

"Running Ransom Road" is Caleb Daniloff s unblinking, ultimately triumphant account of his journey from mean, hopeless drunk back to humanity and himself through distance running. It s a searing tale of spiritual redemption one marathon, one mile, one brave, difficult step at a time. Steve Friedman, co-author of "New York Times" bestseller "Eat and Run" and author of the memoir "Lost on Treasure Island"
For fifteen years, the words that best described Caleb Daniloff were drunk, addict, and abuser. These days, the best word to describe him is runner.
In "Running Ransom Road," the long-since-sober Daniloff confronts his past by setting out to run races in each of the cities where he once lived and wreaked havoc during that lost period of his life. As he competes in marathons from Boston to Vermont to Moscow, he explores his old destructive life and how running s sobering and inspiring effects have changed him for the better. In doing so, he connects with others like him, illuminating the connection between addiction and running. "Running Ransom Road" is at once a memoir of addiction, finding oneself, and learning to push past barriers both physical and emotional.
Just as Caleb Daniloff s life was about to tumble into the abyss of addiction, he was lucky enough to discover he liked to run, simply for himself. In "Running Ransom Road," his captivating narrative describes a journey of personal redemption that, fortunately for us, he is willing to share. Frank Shorter, Olympic marathon gold medalist
[AU PHOTO] CALEB DANILOFF is a regular contributorto "Runner s Worl"d and has written forthe" New York Times "and "Boston Globe." He has been a commentator on Vermont Public Radio and has contributed to NPR's "All Things Considered." Recipient of the 2005 Ralph Nading Hill Jr. Literary Prize, he runs thirty to forty miles a week.

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Review Quotes

"A vital, honest, and arresting account of one flawed runner's emotional and spiritual renewal with each step toward the finish line."
--Publishers Weekly "Daniloff's raw descriptions of his alcohol and drug abuse...are some of the most compelling parts of the book. They harshly illustrate the destruction of addiction and the courage it takes to walk away and build a new life."
--Booklist "In an engaging voice, the author brings the courses alive for readers. He replicates the physical demands of running such courses and the barriers, mental and physical, that need to be broken through to get to the finishing line. He interweaves the story of each race with memories and dialogue from the past, and he is candid about his childhood problems and his competition with his marathon-running father. Confidence in the future lends appeal to this deeply personal memoir."
--Kirkus Reviews "Daniloff's unblinking, ultimately triumphant account of his journey from mean, hopeless drunk back to humanity and himself--through distance running. It's a searing tale of spiritual redemption--one marathon, one mile, one brave, difficult step at a time."
--Steve Friedman, co-author of New York Times bestseller, Eat and Run: My Unlikely Path to Ultramarathon Greatness "Caleb Daniloff once poured everything he had into his drinking, and it nearly killed him. Then he poured everything into his running, and he was saved. Now he pours everything into writing about both, and we are graced by the result. Running Ransom Road is a brave, necessary, and uncompromising book."
--John Brant, author of Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon