Marathon by John Herbert is a story of overcoming the many challenges that life puts you through. Richard Marlborough, The Kid, shows immense talent from a very young age. He runs like nobody else and is focused on winning every competition that he can, proving to everyone all that he’s capable of achieving. The Kid’s talent is the sort of talent that rarely appears, once in every generation, with lots of promise for the future. However, no story is perfect, and he’ll see himself going through darker times and emotions. As an answer to this, he holds onto his anger and uses it for motivation. The only question is, where will this man’s journey lead him to?

The engaging book presents a complete arc of the life of The Kid, showcasing in detail his competitive career and his lifestyle. We get to explore his preparation for each competition, his relationships, and his plans for the future. With each new step, though, complications appear that eventually turn into important lessons that push him closer to finding his purpose. Although the lessons taught can be applied to everyone’s life, they aren’t geared exclusively towards the life of a successful athlete, which makes this book easy to relate to and leaves the reader with a set of inspirational stories that can be used as motivation.

The entire journey of The Kid’s career is documented in detail in this fascinating book, and in every chapter, one can find a new lesson that is taught and applied. The story’s pacing is slower, so it takes some time to get into it. Some emotional turns shape the course of the story, bringing something new and different that has to be dealt with and understood. The successes achieved are great, and inspiration can be found inside every chapter. As a parallel, life is presented as a marathon that has to be run: the trajectory might be difficult, but the end should be worth it.

Marathon by John Herbert is a stirring story presented about the life of a successful, talented athlete, with its ups and downs. It’s realistic in the sense that it collects the varied dimensions of one’s life, and it adds love, hope, determination, and motivation as a necessity to reach the finish line.

Pages: 654 | ISBN : 1466962208