Running the Dream
One Summer Living, Training, and Racing with a Team of World-Class Runners Half My Age

The bestselling author of 80/20 Running and How Bad Do You Want It?
reveals his inspiring and surprising journey to see just how fast he can go.

Matt Fitzgerald has been running (and writing about running) for most of his
adult life. But, like many passionate amateur runners, he never felt he was quite
fulfilling his potential. If he follows the training, nutrition, and lifestyle of an elite
runner, just how fast could he go?

In his mid-forties, Matt at last has the freedom to do nothing but train, if only
for the span of one summer. The time is now. He convinces the coach of Northern
Arizona Elite, one of the country’s premier professional running teams, to let him
train with a roster of national champions and Olympic hopefuls in the running
mecca of Flagstaff, Arizona, leading into the Chicago Marathon. The results will
completely redefine Matt’s notion of what is possible, not only for himself but for
any runner.

Filled with a vibrant cast of characters, rigorous and quad-torching training,
and a large dose of self-deprecating humor, Matt’s gripping account of his “fake
pro-runner” experience allows us to partake in the dream of having the chance to go
all the way. Yet for the gifted young runners Matt trains with, it’s not a dream but
concrete reality, and their individual stories enrich this inspiring narrative.

Running the Dream pulls us into the rarified world of professional running in
a way we can all relate to, regardless of speed, and inspires us to try to achieve our
own potential.