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AudioBook information:
Author: Matt Fitzgerald
Narrated by: Justin Price
Release date: September 8, 2026
Audiobook Duration: 7 h 28 min
Summary:Â In a battle for survival and self-acceptance, Matt Fitzgerald is willing to risk it all to outrun chronic illness.
When sports journalist and bestselling author Matt Fitzgerald is struck by long COVID, his lifelong passion—running—becomes a distant memory, leaving him trapped in a failing body that simply won’t cooperate. After authoring dozens of books and articles on athletes pushing the limits of human endurance, Fitzgerald is now forced to confront his own limits in ways he never imagined. Doctors have no answers and every day feels like an endless loop of misery and mental fog, but Fitzgerald is determined to reclaim his life and his passion.
Despite serious health risks, lack of training, and a body that has become utterly unreliable, he makes the reckless decision to run a 100-km ultramarathon in a record-breaking desert heatwave. It’s an audacious gamble that could cost him dearly, but Fitzgerald won’t surrender to chronic illness without a fight.
Drawing inspiration from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, and epic tales from Greek mythology, Fitzgerald embarks on a grueling physical and spiritual journey to discover what it truly means to live when your body betrays you. He has no idea if he’ll find redemption or ruin in the scorching heat of the Sonoran Desert, but one thing is certain: This is a race he can’t afford to lose.
Reviews:
“Suffering (whether it’s a chronic illness or pushing oneself beyond limits) and how we cope with it are center stage and effectively explored here. Risk-taking is portrayed as paradoxical, occasionally impulsive and unreasonable, other times cathartic and life-changing. Confronting challenges, endurance (physical and mental), and the bliss of running combine to make this memoir a winner.” — Tony Miksanek ― Booklist (Aug. issue)
“The greatness of Matt Fitzgerald isn’t just that he fights, but that he battles an unknown enemy, an insidious interloper that evades all detection. In Dying to Run he reveals the incapacitating condition that rendered him unable to get out of bed on some days, and with little hope for recovery. To an endurance athlete, nothing is more unthinkable. Yet even with such a grim outlook, Matt was determined to forge onward. So he signed up for a grueling ultramarathon. Would the finish line be a pine box? The story that unfolds is something every runner must read. It’s just that good.” — Dean Karnazes, New York Times bestselling author
About the Author:
Matt Fitzgerald is an acclaimed endurance sports author, coach, and nutritionist. His many books include How Bad Do You Want It, 80/20 Running, and Chasing Mastery. Matt has also written for a number of leading sports and fitness publications, including Runner’s World and Triathlete, and for popular websites such as outsideonline.com and nbcnews.com. Matt is cofounder of 80/20 Endurance, the world’s premier endurance sports training brand, and creator of Dream Run Camp, a pro-style residential training camp for runners of all abilities based in Flagstaff, Arizona. He also codirects the Coaches of Color Initiative, a nonprofit program that seeks to improve diversity in endurance coaching. A lifelong endurance athlete, Matt speaks frequently at events throughout the United States and internationally.