After three and a half months, In Search of Al Howie has sold its first print and a second printing is on the way. Thanks to everyone out there in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. for telling friends about his unusual story. He was a one of a kind.
It's a new decade!! 2020. New opportunities and challenges. One of the greatest is moving forward with all your guts while still keeping the past alive. We are nothing without the past. But like my good friend Brother Ray says, "the past is a great place to visit, but we can't live there." With that said, in this day and age we move on to the next big thing pretty quick. Roots easily get covered over, and without them, we float aimlessly, confused as to who we are, why we are here, and where the hell we are going.
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Howie was more than just a runner - more than just an ultrarunner - he was a free-spirit in search of new horizons. He sought inhuman distances to find the human within him. He also ran to stay healthy - upstairs. More and more people today are finding exercise can do just that. And bravo!!
We need our legends, our mysteries, our white whales out there to keep us guessing about the limits of human physical and spiritual potential. We also need to understand that they are human, full of mistakes and shortcomings. If we can relate, we can get something. Howie's story is full of both.
A few reviews:
"This moving biography will leave you yearning for a recent yet distant unplugged era in human-powered adventure, when a free spirit kindled righteous pursuits of endurance as a way of life." - Adventure Journal
"A quirky, captivating biography. If the author described a smoke-filled bar, they'd smell it... the pages fly by, like the miles beneath Howie's feet."-Kirkus (starred review)
"Probably the most accomplished ultrarunner Canada has ever seen." - Canadian Running
"Recommended, not just for runners, but for anyone .. a legend of incomprehensible focus and determination."- Athletics Illustrated
"Solid research and entertaining from a non-runner perspective... character, persona and what the 70s, 80s and 90s represented in many ways." - Joe Fejes - American 6-day record-holder
"Ultra Running's Biggest Enigma." - Runner's World
