The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete
On the morning of December 22, 2005, Matt Long was cycling to work in the early morning when he was struck by and sucked under a 20-ton bus making an illegal turn. The injuries he sustained pushed him within inches of his life. Miraculously, more than 40 operations and months later, Matt was able to start his recovery. In spite of the severity of his injuries, Matt found the psychological consequences of the accident nearly as hard to process. He would no longer be able to compete at the highest level.
In the 18 months before the accident, he had competed in more than 20 events including several triathlons and marathons and had qualified for running's most prestigious race, the Boston Marathon.
After the accident, his doctor told him he'd be lucky if he could even walk without a cane.
The Long Run is an emotional and incredibly honest story about Matt's determination to fight through fear, despair, loneliness, and intense physical and psychological pain to regain the life he once had. The book chronicles Matt's road to recovery as he teaches himself to walk again and, a mere three years later, to run in the 2008 New York City Marathon--a gimpy seven-and-a-half hour journey through the five boroughs. "Running saved my life," Matt says, and his embrace of the running community and insistence on competing in the marathon has inspired many, turning him into a symbol of hope and recovery for untold numbers of others.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
He knows that he is over confident and doesn’t shy away from it in “The Long Run.” That is a crucial point because he hits the skids with depression after his accident and loses his confidence for a while, something most of us can relate to.
This book is a must read for runners/ athletes who knows what it is like to overcome the odds to succeed. It tells the story of Matt Long a FDNY firefighter who was crushed by a bus in 2005 and came back to run the NYC in 2008. But, this is not only a story about a man who overcomes the odds between 2005 and 2008. It’s a story about his family being strong before that and raising him with integrity and values. It’s also a story about a man who knows what it means not to give up on himself or his friends.
With the help of a co-author Long crafts an easy to follow story of his upbringing in NYC and how he went from being an average college basketball player to a tri-athlete/ marathoner to a guy crushed by a bus back to being a marathoner. All along he is a bar owner in NYC (he promotes his bars many times in the book) and is a FDNY fire fighter (he survived being at ground zero on 9/11).
In short, read this book.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.