In for the Long Run - A Firefighter's Marathon for Burn Survivors

By Randy P. Gleason

Firefighter Gleason recently ran the Marine Corps Marathon to raise more than $15,000 for burn survivors. Now he's written an inspiring book that describes how he trained for this grueling race while... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0979399440
• ISBN13: 9780979399442
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Bear Lodge Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.54 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.5" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

Good Read!

This is a really good book. Mr. Gleason's Midwest character, charm, and logical thinking come shining through in each delightful page. It's been a while since I've read a book in journal format, and it was perfect for this subject matter. Practical information about preparing for a marathon is presented in a half serious, half whimsical manner. His commitment to his cause was both surprising and admirable. This is a must read for anyone embarking on a fundraiser for a charitable cause, whether it's for the Girl Scouts or someone in need of a heart transplant, the methods and thought processes employed by Mr. Gleason will definitely inspire. And if you're a serious runner looking for a laugh, or a newbie just getting started, this book is highly recommended.

Must Read!

A very refreshing read as Randy writes about a topic that is becoming relevant to more and more people. The balancing act of raising money for charity and training for a long distant event. We go on an entertaining journey of the escapades of Randy's cat and the interesting people he meets as he raises money for burn victims. At the same time we learn and relate to Randy's training highs and lows. I wish I would've had this book when I did Team in Training!

Very entertaining

This guy had no qualms about asking people for money. I loved it when he began asking the people he had paid money to all his life: his doctor, dentist, lawyer, utilities, etc. The author takes you through all the training and pain that goes into running a marathon and finishing. I read the book in one sitting and I have never done that before.

Randy' story

Randy takes us into his world of fire fighting, training for and running a marathon and fund raising for burn survivors. It is a humorous, honest (sometimes painfully honest), easy to read journal style book. This is Randy's personal story of how it all happened. Very fun and inspiring!

Amazing!

Randy Gleason deserves a job as a professional fund raiser. The man is relentless. When he set out to raise funds for burn survivors by running the Marine Corps Marathon, he hounded his friends, his fellow firefighters, his neighbors, his old girlfriends, the president of his alma mater at Grinnel College in Iowa, even a couple of millionaires he happened to know as a former newspaper man. Ultimately he raised over $15,000. Gleason shows us how he prepared for the run, including one aborted effort where he ingested too many brownies before a preliminary race. He includes such instructive details as taping your nipples to avoid chafing during the race, and choosing just the right running shoes. Randy is not afraid to go off on a tangent every so often, as when he relates the exploits of his obstreperous cat, Truman (think Garfield on steroids). When Truman goes missing, we have another subplot to go with preparation for the race and the fundraising minutia. Gleason also has quite a sense of humor, using both personal anecdotes and the occasional quote such as this comment from Neil Armstrong when asked about his regimen preparing for the Apollo 11 mission: "I believe the good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats --- and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste mine running up and down a street." There's also some self-deprecating humor where his fireman buddies give him a bad time about wanting to be on Oprah. IN FOR THE LONG RUN also functions as an PR for the firefighting profession in general. Not only do they fight fires and show up at accidents, but they also "place ice on a sprained ankle, bandage an injured hand, walk through an apartment building at three in the morning to ensure everything is all right after a false alarm." And they raise over $40,000 running the Marine Corps Marathon. Bravo!