Running Man Audiobook By Charlie Engle cover art

Running Man

A Memoir

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

Running Man

By: Charlie Engle
Narrated by: Charlie Engle
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.49

Buy for $19.49

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

A compulsively listenable, remarkably candid memoir from world-class ultramarathon runner Charlie Engle chronicling his globe-spanning races, his record-breaking run across the Sahara Desert, and how running helped him overcome drug addiction and an unjust stint in federal prison.

After a decade-long addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, Charlie Engle hit bottom with a near-fatal six-day binge that ended in a hail of bullets. As Engle got sober, he turned to running, which became his lifeline, his pastime, and his salvation. He began with marathons, and when marathons weren't far enough he began to take on ultramarathons, races that went for 35, 50, and sometimes hundreds of miles, traveling to some of the most unforgiving places on earth to race. The Matt Damon-produced documentary Running the Sahara followed Engle as he led a team on a harrowing, record-breaking 4,500 mile run across the Sahara Desert, which helped raise millions of dollars for charity.

Charlie's growing notoriety led to an investigation and a subsequent unjust conviction for mortgage fraud. Engle would spend 16 months in federal prison in Beckley, West Virginia. While in jail he pounded the small prison track, running endlessly in circles. Soon his fellow inmates were joining him, struggling to keep their spirits up in dehumanizing circumstances.

In Running Man, Charlie Engle tells the gripping, surprising, funny, emotional, and inspiring story of his life, detailing his setbacks and struggles - from coping with addiction to serving time in prison - and how he blazed a path to freedom by putting one foot in front of the other. This is a propulsive, raw, and triumphant story about finding the threshold of human endurance - and transcending it.

©2016 Charlie Engle (P)2016 Simon & Schuster
Running & Jogging Sports Inspiring Memoir Funny Heartfelt

Featured Article: The Best Running Audiobooks You Should Be Listening to


Running can be an arduous task, especially for those who are new to the sport. It can also be a life-giving force for those who are already more involved in the running community. Either way, it’s one of the best athletic ventures to couple with a great audiobook. Listening to the inspirational stories of other runners can be just what you need to push through a difficult jog or set a new personal record. Our list of great listens about running has you covered.

Brutally Honest Memoir • Inspiring Redemption Story • Authentic Narration • Captivating Life Journey • Personal Connection
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
This is the perfect blend of running, adventure, and the struggle of Charlie Engle. I wish it could go on forever!

Epic and entertaining!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Really enjoyed the this book from start to finish. I think anyone, being a runner or not, can take something positive from this story. Awesome that Charlie Engle narrates this book, it really helps you connect with the story!

Fantastic book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Great story, brutally honest, well narrated, but the profanity took away from it. If not for the F-bombs, greAt book

Very honest autobiography,good narration, Too many F-bombs

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This was one of the most raw and humanly written journeys of healing. An amazing amount of courage. An amazing amount of life lived by just one person. I wish I could say more but there are no words you have to listen or read it for yourself.

wow

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

was a good memoir and was very open of his addictions and recovery. Have recommended this book to others.

Very enjoyable ...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This book isn’t just another inspiring story of getting sober, or of conquering feats of physical impossibility, or of dealing with injustice and suffering. It is all of those, with a synergy topped off by one of the best “read by the author” performances I’ve ever heard. Charlie Engle is honest and funny, and I found myself running way longer than I’d planned while listening. You don’t have to be a runner or an addict to enjoy this book, but if you are, it’s a must-read. Life changing!

Fantastic story, excellent performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Parts were hard to hear and I wanted to yell don’t do it, but that’s his story. We all have one, and this was inspiring, hard to listen to at times, but one that helps me realize even on my bad days it could be worse. Keep moving forward, keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Inspirational, hard, and stripped down.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I read a lot of ultra running books and I had a feeling this one would be different. It was and in a very good way.

First, Charlie does not hold back. He gives you his story in its raw form. Whether you like it or not, his addictive personality is told to where you understand his troubles.

His life story is quite extraordinary and he does an amazing job of weaving his races within the book to where you feel every aching step.

Kudos to you Charlie. You are right, after watching ‘Running the Sahara’, I did think you were not a nice guy. But after your book I can see your side of the story.

Great read about an amazing journey

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Pretty amazing and inspiring story very well written and completely enjoyable read. I loved it

Incredible story!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I didn't expect much from this. I loved Running the Sahara so I gave this book a shot. It is an excellent autobiography and an excellent running book.
Frankly the addiction portion was difficult to get through because of the bad life choices that were made, but it made the contrasting portion so poignant.
I highly recommend this book !

unexpectedly excellent book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews