The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon
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John Brant. (2016). The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon. Random House Publishing Group.

John Brant. 2016. The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon. Random House Publishing Group.

John Brant, The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon. Random House Publishing Group, 2016.

John Brant. The Boy Who Runs: The Odyssey of Julius Achon. Random House Publishing Group, 2016.

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1. • role: Author
   • fileAs: Brant, John
   • bioText: John Brant is the author of Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America’s Greatest Marathon. He is a writer at large for Runner’s World and a contributor to publications ranging from Outside to The New York Times Magazine. Brant’s stories have appeared numerous times in the annual Best American Sports Writing collection. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
   • name: John Brant

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title

The Boy Who Runs

fullDescription

In the tradition of Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation by way of Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, this is the inspirational true story of the Ugandan boy soldier who became a world-renowned runner, then found his calling as director of a world-renowned African children’s charity.
“Julius can’t remember who first saw the men. He heard no warning sounds—no dog barking or twig snapping. Until this point, events had moved too swiftly for Julius to be afraid, but now panic seized him. In another instant, he realized that his old life was finished.”
Thus begins the extraordinary odyssey of Julius Achon, a journey that takes a barefoot twelve-year-old boy from a village in northern Uganda to the rebel camp of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army, where he was made a boy soldier, and then, miraculously, to a career as one of the world’s foremost middle-distance runners. But when a devastating tragedy prevents Julius from pursuing the gold at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, he is once again set adrift and forced to forge a new path for himself, finally finding his true calling as an internationally recognized humanitarian. Today, Julius is the director of the Achon Uganda Children’s Fund, a charity whose mission is to improve the quality of life in rural Uganda through access to healthcare, education, and athletics.
While pursuing his destiny, Julius encounters a range of unforgettable characters who variously befriend and betray him: the demonic Joseph Kony, a “world-class warlord”; John Cook, a brilliant and eccentric U.S. track coach; Jim Fee, an American businessman who helps Julius build a state-of-the-art medical center deep in the Ugandan bush; and finally Kristina, Julius’s mother, whose own tragic journey forms the pivot for this spellbinding narrative of love, loss, suffering, and redemption.
Written by award-winning sportswriter John Brant, The Boy Who Runs is an empowering tale of obstacles overcome, challenges met, and light wrested from darkness. It’s a story about forging your true path and finding your higher purpose—even when the road ahead bends in unexpected directions.
Advance praise for The Boy Who Runs
“Brant proves again why he is one of our best sportswriters, masterfully weaving a compelling narrative of an African country at war, along with the transformation of a young man from athlete to humanitarian. . . . [Achon’s] life story is a shining example of the Olympic spirit.”—Booklist (starred review)
“Fantastic . . . Brant does a beautiful job of chronicling the tension. . . . Indeed, his work is first-rate throughout the book, and it makes for a read-in-one-sitting story.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Inspiring . . . Achon’s difficult journey as an athlete and humanitarian reveals how sport can provide a valuable avenue of hope for those seeking to rise above tragic circumstances.”—Library Journal
“This is an astonishing story about an amazing athlete who outruns not only the grinding poverty and deprivation of the Ugandan bush but brutal war and imminent death, then dedicates himself to saving his family and friends. This man has the heart of a lion. I couldn’t put this book down.”—John L. Parker, Jr., author of Once a Runner
“An instant classic . . . John Brant has given us an epic, moving, and ultimately hopeful story about the power of sport and friendship to transcend boundaries and make the world a...

reviews

1. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from June 6, 2016
     In this fantastic biography, Brant narratives the life of Julius Achon, a boy soldier who was raised in the Langi tribe of Uganda. Achon’s father was nominally a cattle wrangler, but he mostly drank, and his mother cared for the nine children, the mud hut, and the family’s income, which she earned by selling clay pots. As a boy, Achon was kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a group of rebels who would go on to terrorize their way into international headlines. He escaped, and with this second chance, he took up competitive running in the hopes it would lead him out of rural Africa; he won local meets and earned a scholarship to private high school; then an American college came calling. He set an NCAA record in the 800 meters and made the Olympics. But back in Uganda, the rebel activity of the LRA was decimating the country, leaving his family starving and terrified. World-class runners can’t afford distraction, and Achon’s attention was increasingly turning toward home. Brant does a beautiful job of chronicling the tension that followed. Indeed, his work is first-rate throughout the book, and it makes for a read-in-one-sitting story. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM.

2. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     June 15, 2016
     The inspiring life of a Ugandan middle-distance runner and his journey from bush village to Olympic hopeful.Julius Achon was born during Idi Amin's terrifying reign. A firstborn son who barely survived a potentially fatal measles outbreak, he became charged with the care of his siblings after being frequently abandoned by his herdsman father, who spent the family's meager income on alcohol and gambling. At age 12, Achon was captured by the Lord's Resistance Army and physically and mentally primed for combat. His already "sinuous, efficient, straight-backed stride" and fierce running speed allowed him to escape during an ambush attack and return home. In this segment, sports journalist Brant (Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon, 2006) demonstrates his flair for building suspense. Achon's father advised him to learn to run and "become like John Akii-Bua," who won the gold medal in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1972 Olympics. Empowered and increasingly fearless, the young man trained relentlessly and began advancing in contests within larger arenas and eventually paid for boarding school. In the mid-1990s, having relocated to America, Achon swiftly ascended the competitive ranks in more challenging races. While attending George Mason University, his coach cautioned him not to become preoccupied with the "African witch-doctor tribal stuff, all this rebel civil war junk" in his past. Professional racing beckoned, as did Olympic trials, but after a bittersweet reunion back in Uganda, a return to the States was dampened by the news of his mother's violent death at the hands of the LRA. Achon refocused himself with more philanthropic endeavors, including a children's fund financed by a businessman eager to construct an ultramodern medical facility back in Uganda. With breezy, accessible prose, Brant's profile incorporates African history and insider details on the physical demands of race-running, strategies for success, and how Achon personally paved the way for others like him to succeed with pride and humanitarianism both on the track and in everyday life.A bright, uplifting biography about determination and giving back.

     COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

3. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     Starred review from August 1, 2016
     Two-time Olympian Julius Achon, a middle-distance runner from Uganda, may not have won a gold medal, but his life story is a shining example of the Olympic spirit. Achon's odyssey began at age 12, when he was abducted and forced to become a child soldier of the Lord's Resistance Army, a militant rebel group. After he escaped, his gift as a talented runner punched his ticket out of the war-torn country to compete in world-class events, attend college in the U.S., and eventually to train top American runners at Nike's Oregon Project. Often eating just one meal a day, Achon took on additional jobs to supplement his modest income, most of which he sent to his family and an orphanage back home. A chance encounter with a kindred spirit, Jim Fee, led to expanding his charitable efforts by establishing the Achon Uganda Children's Fund (AUCF). Brant, author of Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon (2006), proves again why he is one of our best sportwriters, masterfully weaving a compelling narrative of an African country at war with the transformation of a young man from athlete to humanitarian.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

4. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     June 15, 2016
     

     Brant (Duel in the Sun) offers an inspiring biography of Ugandan runner Julius Achon (b. 1976). A former boy soldier who was abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) at age 12, the indefatigable and endlessly resilient Achon eventually escaped his homeland to attend college in the United States, become an Olympic runner, and start a charitable organization to help his home village. The author details Achon's determination to pursue his athletic career after his traumatic childhood and his eventual formation of the Achon Uganda Children's Fund, which later resulted in the creation of a desperately needed health clinic in northern Uganda, as well as support for the area's children. Brant's perceptive work brings needed attention to the untold suffering of Ugandans during the brutal conflict between government forces and the LRA, and especially to the plight of Ugandan children. Achon's difficult journey as an athlete and humanitarian reveals how sport can provide a valuable avenue of hope for those seeking to rise above tragic circumstances, and how true sportsmanship is not about winning but about harnessing strength that contributes toward creating a better world. VERDICT Best suited for running enthusiasts or recreational readers interested in social change. [See Prepub Alert, 2/8/16.]--Ingrid Levin, Salve Regina Univ. Lib., Newport, RI

     Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

5. • premium: True
   • source:
   • content:

     March 1, 2016
     

     Born into poverty in Uganda, Achon was forced into the horrific Lord's Resistance Army at age 12 but escaped to become a gifted local runner and a scholarship student in America, where he set a collegiate record in the 800m that still stands. He subsequently competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics and went on to found the Achon Uganda Children's Fund. Not just for the fleet of foot.

     Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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In the tradition of Uzodinma Iweala’s Beasts of No Nation by way of Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run, this is the inspirational true story of the Ugandan boy soldier who became a world-renowned runner, then found his calling as director of a world-renowned African children’s charity.
“Julius can’t remember who first saw the men. He heard no warning sounds—no dog barking or twig snapping. Until this point, events had moved too swiftly for Julius to be afraid, but now panic seized him. In another instant, he realized that his old life was finished.”
Thus begins the extraordinary odyssey of Julius Achon, a journey that takes a barefoot twelve-year-old boy from a village in northern Uganda to the rebel camp of the notorious Lord’s Resistance Army, where he was made a boy soldier, and then, miraculously, to a career as one of the world’s foremost middle-distance runners. But when a...

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