EDITOR: gestalten |  CO-EDITOR: Nick Butter
FEATURES: full color, hardcover, stitch bound, 256 pages
FORMAT: 21 × 26 cm | 8 ¼ × 10 ¼ inches
PRICE: €39.90 (D) | £35 | $60 (US)
ISBN: 978-3-89955-864-7

@gestalten #ontherunbook #gestaltenbooks

EU + UK PUBLICATION DATE: February 25, 2021 
INT PUBLICATION DATE: May 11, 2021 

ABOUT THE BOOK
With marathons and trail runs being canceled the racing world, like the rest of the world, may be on hold, but as people look for an outlet to exercise and escape the confines of their homes, running has become as popular as never before. It’s liberating, invigorating to the point of euphoria and at the same time easily accessible. It’s the sport of the moment. All you need is to lace up your sneakers and take a step outside, and then another one. And while many of the new runners as well as the newly enthused ones are not in it for the competition – much rather for a clear head, for a pause from screens and algorithms or simply for the fun – 2021 could see a great number of personal records and a thirst to put all that training into test.

Combining first-hand experiences of some the world’s most exhilarating, challenging, and uplifting runs and races with – quite literally – breathtaking imagery, On the Run inspires people of all levels of fitness to embrace the joy of running. This book shows how runners from different backgrounds, of different ages, and with different abilities are championing the sport. 

While one may argue that running is, first and foremost, a competition against our own limitations, our own doubts, there are times when running becomes a gateway to confidence and empowerment. The kind of confidence that transcends sport. On the Run includes profiles of runners such as Justin Gallegos, who has cerebral palsy, but is running 50 miles a week and is redefining the boundaries of the impossible with each mile. Mimi Anderson, who didn’t start running until she was 36 and a mother of three. Now at 57, she’s holding three world records in endurance running. And yet, by building a community, urban running collectives have found ways to make running bigger than any one person and have shown that running itself can become a political act. There is the Ghetto Run Crew that is reclaiming the streets of Rio de Janeiro favelas’ at night using running as as a tool for cultural representation and social empowerment or Berlin-based Wayv Run Kollektiv, whose founders aim is to support and encourage LGBTQI+ and BIPOC people to take to the streets and increase its members visibility in the running community. 

Though at the moment it may seem that it is just us, alone with our thoughts, running is much more than just a way to exercise or a health trend, it still has the ability to foster community: even now with at least six-foot in between each other there is a sense of solidarity, an unspoken language, among runners. And while for the time being we will continue to just slightly nod at each other in parks, On the Run is a source of inspiration to keep going.
Introducing 25 marathons and trail runs around the world from the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc and the infamous Badwater 135 through California’s Death Valley to the Athens Authentic Marathon following the original 42.2 km course between Marathon and Athens that is considered the birthplace of the sport or the Great Wall Marathon deemed one of the toughest in the world as runners are challenged to climb more than 5000 steps, On the Run instills a yearning for the outdoors and an urge to push the limits.

ABOUT THE CO-EDITOR
Nick Butter is a British long-distance runner, adventurer, and motivational speaker. In 2019 he became the first person ever to run a marathon in every country in the world, doing so in just 23 months.