Running for Home: A Novel

by Edward McClelland

In this moving new novel, a slight Midwest youth deals with a cliquish high school and a vanishing factory town through a devotion to his running sport and his caring family. Aided by a spunky girlfriend, a humble-wise coach, loyal teammates, and his earned self-awareness, he learns the value of resilience and home. "Ted McClelland's Running for Home relocates Chariots of Fire to the Rust Belt, with Inland North accents instead of the Queen's English, and a way better soundtrack. A blue-collar bildungsroman with breakaway speed. I enjoyed the book so much it motivated me to run three miles today." Pete Beatty, author of Cuyahoga Edward McClelland’s Running for Home is a deeply moving coming-of-age story with a distinct, refreshing authenticity. This sympathetic portrait of a young man trying to find his way in a working-class town after the factory closes has no easy Hollywood resolution (that often involves the main character running from home as if escape is victory). McClelland’s story rings true with the authority and complexity of an insider’s perspective. We immediately know where we are and who’s talking to us, and that we won’t be getting any bull from this narrator. A tight, powerful story crafted by a brilliant prose writer. ~Jim Daniels author of Middle Ages

176 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 19, 2021

About the author

Edward McClelland is the author of Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President, which will be published in October by Bloomsbury Press. His writing has also appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, and on the websites Salon and Slate, among others. A graduate of Michigan State University, he lives in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

His previous books include Horseplayers: Life at the Track, and The Third Coast: Sailors, Strippers, Fishermen, Folksingers, Long-Haired Ojibway Painters and God-Save-the-Queen Monarchists of the Great Lakes."

Reviews

[Travis Fortney · Rating 5 out of 5]

McClelland's first novel is a timeless, pleasurable read that gives the sports fiction a working-class makeover and incorporates themes from his recent Midnight in Vehicle City and his other well-received books about the Midwest. I enjoyed talking to Ted about the book for the Between the Lines Author Series. Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/J0okAR6GGF8

[Larry Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fine and revealing writing of a young boy's adventure into adult life. Through the sport of running he learns what is important. Set in a Midwest working-class town, he earns a place through work and caring. It's a small triumph, like each race.

[Larry Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fine writing by a pro. McClelland is adept at getting the background story, working-class family and community here and the sport of cross-country running. It rings true.