The Mock Olympian

by Michael Long

Michael Long couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be working in London during the 2012 Olympics, but when the games ended, he was crushed. He wanted nothing more than to keep the Olympics alive a little longer. That was when the former beer monster from university who had won an award for “biggest party animal” in his final year had a fateful Could he race in every host city of the Summer Olympics before the next games began in four years? He decided it was worth a shot, and he began scouring the internet to find marathons, half marathons, 10K runs, triathlons, and other events in twenty-three Olympic cities that he planned to visit over the next few years. There would be lots of training, some hard falls, and victories along the way. But nothing would compare with the friendships he would make and the adventures he would enjoy. If you’re passionate about traveling, running or both—or you want to be inspired to overcome your own challenges or simply want to giggle at someone else’s misfortunes—you’ll want to read The Mock Olympian.

172 pages, Paperback

Published September 22, 2016

About the author

Michael G. Long is the author and editor of several books on politics, religion, and civil rights. He is the editor, most recently, of Marshalling Justice: The Early Civil Rights Letters of Thurgood Marshall.

Reviews

[Carianne Carleo-Evangelist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It's a self published conversion from his blog about the challenge, but it's well done. The combination of travel and running is a great one, similar to Phil Hewitt's Keep on Running. In Long's case, I'd been to a few of the cities and particularly agreed with him about Seoul: both the Olympic Park and the Joint Security Area in the DMZ. Perfect balance of Olympic tidbits, city info and race blog. Light, short read.

[Alex Baines · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read and I recommend this to anyone who enjoys running, travel or to anyone who is pushing themselves towards a goal or challenge.

Comically written Michael provides good anecdotes and helps enforce the adventurous nature that his character inspires.

However… I am left wondering if he’s had a cocktail with Mr Tom Daley yet… and what his next challenge includes… but some mysteries are best left unanswered!

5/5 stars