The Mock Olympian

About the Book

Michael Long couldn’t believe how lucky he was to be working in London during the 2012 Olympics, but when the games ended, he was crushed. He wanted nothing more than to keep the Olympics alive a little longer. That was when the former beer monster from university who had won an award for “biggest party animal” in his final year had a fateful thought: Could he race in every host city of the Summer Olympics before the next games began in four years? He decided it was worth a shot, and he began scouring the internet to find marathons, half marathons, 10K runs, triathlons, and other events in twenty-three Olympic cities that he planned to visit over the next few years. There would be lots of training, some hard falls, and victories along the way. But nothing would compare with the friendships he would make and the adventures he would enjoy. If you’re passionate about traveling, running or both—or you want to be inspired to overcome your own challenges or simply want to giggle at someone else’s misfortunes—you’ll want to read The Mock Olympian.

About the Author

The author has lived in Athens, Brussels, Perth (Scotland), Newcastle upon Tyne, Sydney, and London. He enjoys stories (in book, theatre, or film form), urban areas, and travel. He has travelled to over seventy-five countries (to date) and studied tourism at university, and he has worked in the industry ever since. Travelling was therefore always in his genetic make-up. Running wasn’t. Entering his first half marathon at the age of twenty-six, he became an addict. He ran in races across the UK and the occasional one abroad. He enjoyed it and lost his beer belly. He then thought about racing in every Summer Olympics city. To his knowledge, nobody had done it before. He could then combine travel and his newfound love of running. To date, he has taken part in more than eighty-five races across six continents (spanning half and full marathons, ten kilometres, five kilometres, swims, and triathlons), making him a seasoned runner after less than ten of years after partaking in the sport.