Run for Your Life

Noor is eighteen and is running a marathon. Everyone says she is mad, but Noor is stubborn and she keeps on training. Running is her only way to survive. A childhood trauma has turned her into an introverted teen who is always on the run – from herself. As she runs the marathon, the reader slowly finds out, through flashbacks, just how serious this childhood trauma was: her friend Linda died when they were playing a dangerous game. The marathon is the mountain she must climb, the ultimate challenge to help her overcome her grief.

Within the tight framework of the marathon and its slowly passing miles, Els Beerten sends Noor back and forth through time. The more miles she runs, the deeper she descends into herself and the more space she creates for her past. This switching between past and present operates on many levels, as Noor keeps trying to get closer to people, but then closes herself off. ‘Run for Your Life’ is a layered novel that remains with the reader because of the universal emotions it depicts: overcoming your fear of life, shaking off your childhood, and desperately seeking recognition and friendship.