How can you write an autobiography about running? You haven’t done anything!

It’s a fascinating experience to go through as an author; completing a book and sending it out there into the world, for other people to read, experience, criticise, and talk about. Just to have people purchase my novel is a huge complement, but to have them read and react to it. Well, money can’t buy that! It’s a priceless experience which makes independently publishing totally worth it.

I’ve had people tell me Running Against Time made them laugh out loud, cry, and sit on the edge of their seat while reading it. Some people have read it literally in a weekend! I’ve also had a degree of pleasant shock and surprise, that it is so autobiographical, that I actually had enough material to work with to make this story, my story of how I got into running, work.

You see, I haven’t done anything spectacular. I’m no superstar. I’m not famous. I haven’t lived an extraordinary life. How audacious of me to even think I could write a book about me, about running, that other people would want to read! But I have. I did.

Isn’t it a pity though, that as a society, we feel we only want to read something if it is about someone extraordinary, or by someone famous? As if those not famous in some way shape or form are somehow less literate, less interesting. Through publishing Running Against Time I have discovered a world of independent writing, and a world of ordinary people taking on, and completing, their own personal physical challenges. It has enriched my own world by exposing me to others and their stories and their challenges. So many of us out there, who have transformed ourselves, have a story to tell. I hope mine inspires others to take on their own challenges, and also write about it; share it!

I’m a writer first and foremost; a writer who happened to take up running. And the first rule of writing is to write about what you know. I know running. I learnt a ton in my years of stop start and trial and error. And, I know running autobiographies. I’ve read just about every decent one there is. So, I felt I had an interesting story to tell. I’d learnt something and I wished to share it all with you. Isn’t that what writing is all about? To share learning, and to do so in an entertaining way?

Running Against Time won’t blow you away with superhuman tales so far removed from our daily lives that its almost impossible to relate to. Running Against Time is not a bragging account of how good I became or how good I think I am. Running Against Time is my story, that I want to share with you, about my encounter with running, from armchair to trail runs. It’s a warning of the addictiveness of the sport, a description of the obstacles the sport will inevitably throw forward at any and every beginner. It’s an insight into what running could be like for you. Read it if you’d like to go on an everyday man’s adventure. Come run in my shoes for a while, I promise it’ll bring a smile to your face at the very least.

And then, get onto Goodreads or a similar site, and after writing me a fantastic review :-), seek out some new and different writers and books in your preferred genres. There’s a whole world of lesser known authors out there, that I’m only now just discovering, offering new and different experiences to read about. I’m thoroughly enjoying the ride…

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  1. Hi Chris,

    Great book, great story. I’ve just finished reading the published version on Saturday and wrote a review at:

    http://grahamclements.blogspot.com.au/2013/03/review-of-chris-paveys-running-against.html

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