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The Ghost Runner
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Review
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
'[An] astonishing story...of staggering grit and determination' --The Independent
'Tarrant's poignant story is wonderfully refreshing and beautifully told' --The Sun
'Jones has unearthed and told quite brilliantly the tragic story of a man condemned not only by authority but also by his own stubbornness' --The Sunday Times
'A remarkable story...painstakingly pieced together...written with great empathy' --Athletics Weekly
'A terrific story - a comic strip hero made flesh...if I was a movie producer I'd snap up the rights in a trice'
--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
'[An] astonishing story...of staggering grit and determination' --The Independent
'Tarrant's poignant story is wonderfully refreshing and beautifully told' --The Sun
'Jones has unearthed and told quite brilliantly the tragic story of a man condemned not only by authority but also by his own stubbornness' --The Sunday Times
'A remarkable story...painstakingly pieced together...written with great empathy' --Athletics Weekly
'A terrific story - a comic strip hero made flesh...if I was a movie producer I'd snap up the rights in a trice'
--Daily Mail
Book Description
The true and heartbreaking story of a man the world came to know as The Ghost Runner
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Bill Jones has created a poignant book which vividly recreates the life of this talented athlete whose life was so blighted by the establishment. The story is well written and I was so involved I stayed up into the night to finish it. You would be a hardhearted person not to be moved by the life and death of this incredible man. Read it - you will not be disappoined.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I wept when I'd finished this book. The story is so tragic and engrossing, it's almost impossible to believe it's true. For a few quid earned as a teenage boxer, this man's dreams were ruined by people who should have known better. Some of the stories and characters in it are amazing. Definitely not just a book for sports-lovers either. I honestly couldn't put it down. Great stuff. A 100% recommend.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Despite being a runner for many years, and a sports fan for all of my life, I had never heard of John Tarrant prior to being introduced to this book. Having now completed Bill Jones' biography of the man I find this quite surprising, and also find it rather amazing that it has taken over 35 years since his sad premature passing for someone to tell the story (apart from the publication of Tarrant's own memoirs in the late 1970's).
For those as much in the dark as me John Tarrant was, in short, a talented long distance runner who in the late 1950s was barred from amateur running competitions by the authorities of the day after (rather foolishly, in hindsight) owning up to recieving a grand total of £17 for contesting boxing matches in his local town. He then took it upon himself to turn up and compete in races anyway, without an official entry, and was subsequently dubbed 'The Ghost Runner'. Haunted by exclusion in one way or another for the rest of his life, he eventually found himself immersed in the world of ultra distance running (i.e. much longer than a Marathon!).
Bill Jones describes beautifully how a single punitive act could come to dominate one man's thinking, almost to the exclusion of everything else (e.g. employment, his family life), and yet also be a significant driving force behind some astounding feats of endurance. The story is told largely chronologically from Tarrant's troubled childhood to his early passing, skillfully intertwining many interesting (real) characters along the way; and by the end of the book Jones' really has you rooting for his man. No punches are pulled however (no pun intended, honest) with the author leaving the reader in no doubt that his subject was often a difficult and troubled man.
Despite my surprise that this book was not written many years ago, I cannot help thinking that it is somehow apt that it appears now. Bill Jones concludes the book with an afterword that details some of the events that highlighted the end of amateurism in sport, including the reinstatement of Dwain Chambers to the GB team (compared to the ban on JT running for his country), and the appearance of a multi-millionaire professional Rafael Nadal in the Olympic Games tennis final. He does this I think mainly to hammer home the ridiculous nature of John Tarrant's treatment by the authorities, but it left me feeling almost as depressed about the state of sport today as it did about JT's trials back in the day. Full amateurism in sport clearly did not work, but neither I would argue does unfettered professionalism.
I highly recommend this book.
For those as much in the dark as me John Tarrant was, in short, a talented long distance runner who in the late 1950s was barred from amateur running competitions by the authorities of the day after (rather foolishly, in hindsight) owning up to recieving a grand total of £17 for contesting boxing matches in his local town. He then took it upon himself to turn up and compete in races anyway, without an official entry, and was subsequently dubbed 'The Ghost Runner'. Haunted by exclusion in one way or another for the rest of his life, he eventually found himself immersed in the world of ultra distance running (i.e. much longer than a Marathon!).
Bill Jones describes beautifully how a single punitive act could come to dominate one man's thinking, almost to the exclusion of everything else (e.g. employment, his family life), and yet also be a significant driving force behind some astounding feats of endurance. The story is told largely chronologically from Tarrant's troubled childhood to his early passing, skillfully intertwining many interesting (real) characters along the way; and by the end of the book Jones' really has you rooting for his man. No punches are pulled however (no pun intended, honest) with the author leaving the reader in no doubt that his subject was often a difficult and troubled man.
Despite my surprise that this book was not written many years ago, I cannot help thinking that it is somehow apt that it appears now. Bill Jones concludes the book with an afterword that details some of the events that highlighted the end of amateurism in sport, including the reinstatement of Dwain Chambers to the GB team (compared to the ban on JT running for his country), and the appearance of a multi-millionaire professional Rafael Nadal in the Olympic Games tennis final. He does this I think mainly to hammer home the ridiculous nature of John Tarrant's treatment by the authorities, but it left me feeling almost as depressed about the state of sport today as it did about JT's trials back in the day. Full amateurism in sport clearly did not work, but neither I would argue does unfettered professionalism.
I highly recommend this book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
A well told tale you must read
A deeply moving and beautifully written story, Bill Jones tells the tale of one man who fought for his right to run and be recognised as an amateur long distance runner.
Published 20 days ago by MR ME BROOKES
Excellent, Absorbing and Inspiring
A truly inspiring story of one man who was forced to stand up against an outdated establishment that would not let him compete as an amateur because he had been paid £17 as a... Read more
Published 20 days ago by Jacko
The best runner you've probably never heard of
A very interesting insight into one mans struggle against various lifetime bans issued to him for being paid a feww measley quid as an amateur boxer aged just 17. Read more
Published 1 month ago by drunkeneuphoria
fantastic book, well written, unforgetable..
great story really well told by the author, i defy anyone not to be gripped by it and to maybe shed a tear at the end. Read more
Published 1 month ago by mark lawrence
Superb
This is a superb book about the best sports story I have ever read. It saddens me a bit to think of all the time that is wasted reading books about over-paid, lazy Premiership... Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. Keane
A must read, no doubt at all!
By accident i came across this book, i had never heard the story before but wish i had, it should be made into a film as it really is an incredible story of tragic endeavour. Read more
Published 4 months ago by cjrunner
Much better than I expected
I loved this book. I had read about John Tarrant in passing in other books and always wondered what had really happened and I think the author Bill Jones has done a fantastic job... Read more
Published 4 months ago by AK47
Superb
Impeccably researched and brilliantly written, this is a real page-turner of a story that needed to be told. Thank you Bill Jones - how about another one?
Published 4 months ago by Flipper
A wonderful story
A well-written moving story of a man who spent his life fighting against the class-biased inequalities inherent in the old amateur system. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Greg
Awe Inspiring
I really enjoyed this book. Reading about the struggle John had and seeing the drive he had to run. I was just in awe of him. I would recommend this book to any runner
Published 4 months ago by Robert
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