Little Runs Big World: A Marine's Path to Peace

Crashing through the Atlantic Ocean on board a goliath aircraft carrier, looking out at Virginia Beach from the top of a mountain made of trash, and peering inside a sea cave on a hidden turquoise beach in Okinawa are some of the last places most people would think about running. In an entrancing memoir, we join Chris Bolender on his little runs as a child tortured by running, a navy sailor, a college football player, a marine officer candidate, a nervous lieutenant, a hospitalized captain, a comedian, an absent father, a lonely commander, the son and grandson of war heroes, a supervisor of drill instructors, a retired marine, and a present father. This modern-day Renaissance man gives his readers the access given only to a service member behind the perimeters. Readers will see the gorgeous places Bolender has traveled around the globe, while feeling the heavy stresses placed on him. All his little runs tie together to form a narrative that begins as an insecure teenage kid joins the navy and finishes with an enlightened marine officer—with a few wrinkles and gray hairs. Over the course of sixteen years, each run is an escape and a reconnection with nature that keeps him sane and strong enough to overcome the challenges at hand. Over time his bond with running grows stronger and stronger—enough that he adopts it into his daily routine—for life. Little Runs, Big World:A Marine's Path to Peace is sure to be an enjoyable, witty read for people who are interested in fitness, running, the military, travel, and spirituality.