male long-distance runners

"Bring home the incredible true story of a friendship so strong that it crosses the globe! You will love the inspiring tale of Gobi, a lost dog who kept pace with an ultramarathon runner, Dion Leonard, across a vast desert. Follow their unlikely friendship through the challenges of an 80-mile race and Dion's struggle to bring Gobi home for good. Finding Gobi : The True Story of One Little Dog's Big Journey is the incredible true story of Dion Leonard, an athlete who was befriended by a stray dog while running an ultramarathon through the Gobi Desert. Named for the desert in which he found her, Gobi became Dion's closest companion throughout the 80-mile race across China. The scrappy little pup ran mile after mile alongside Dion, through treacherous conditions and across raging rivers. He let her sleep in his tent and share his food, and eventually, his focus shifted from winning to the newfound friendship he and Gobi shared. They crossed the finish line together--not first, but together--and Dion decided to bring Gobi home to Scotland. Just before they were about to leave, however, Gobi disappeared, setting off a worldwide search for the stray. In a town of more than 3 million people, the search seemed hopeless, but this tale of friendship will surprise and delight you as you find out what happens! Join the almost too-good-to-be-true story of hope, friendship, and beating incredible odds in Finding Gobi : The True Story of One Little Dog's Big Journey by Dion Leonard"--.

While racing through the Gobi Desert in China and Mongolia, the author, a seasoned ultramarathoner, encounters a stray dog who, keeping pace with him for nearly 80 miles, gives him a new perspective on life, causing him to fight to bring her home with him with the help of strangers and a viral outpouring of assistance on the internet.

Fighting was a practiced routine for Lieutenant Ivan Castro. But when a mortar round struck the rooftop of his sniper?s post in Iraq, he found himself in a battle more difficult than even he could have imagined. The direct hit killed two other soldiers and nearly claimed Castro?s life as well. Mangled by shrapnel and badly burned, Castro was medevac?d to Germany more dead than alive. His lungs were collapsed. He couldn?t hear. One eye had been blown out, the nerve to the other severed. In the weeks and months that followed, Castro would find that physical darkness was nothing compared to the emotional darkness of loss and despair. Desperate for a reason to live, he eventually fought his way back to health through exercise and a single-minded goal: running a marathon. Once he set his course, there was no stopping him. Stubborn to a point that at times bordered on insanity, he managed not only to recover but to return to active duty. Since 2007, he has run over two dozen marathons, including the Boston Marathon in 2013, where he was one of the runners diverted when the bombs exploded.