The Ghost Runner: The Tragedy of the Man They Couldn't Stop

Description

The true and heartbreaking story of a man the world came to know as The Ghost Runner The mystery man threw off his disguise and started to run. Furious stewards gave chase. The crowd roared. A legend was born. Soon the world would know him as 'the ghost runner'. John Tarrant. The extraordinary man whom nobody could stop. As a hapless teenage boxer in the 1950s, he'd been paid e17 expenses. When he wanted to run, he was banned for life. His amateur status had been compromised. Forever. Now he was fighting back, gatecrashing races all over Britain. No number on his shirt. No friends in high places. Soon he would be a record-breaker, one of the greatest long-distance runners the world has ever seen. This is his true story- The Ghost Runner.

Bill Jones worked for Granada Television for 27 years, where he was an award-winning documentary maker. He now works as a freelance writer and programme maker. He was researching a documentary about the centenary of the Manchester running club Salford Harriers in 1985 when he first came across the story of John Tarrant (a former Harriers member) and it has haunted him ever since.

A terrific story - a comic strip hero made flesh, with all the human complications that entails * Daily Mail * Tarrant's poignant story is wonderfully refreshing and beautifully told * The Sun * A fantastic story of the underdog * Metro * Makes fascinating reading * Manchester Evening News * Bill Jones used to make documentaries, and he retains that discipline's eye for telling details and evocative shots * The Times *