USEDOM-MARATHON

About the Book

The story starts just before the USEDOM-MARATHON, an international running event on this shallow island in Northeastern Germany near Poland.

Spa physician Aloys happens to be a transvestite who frequently pays a public ladies' room a visit. Also the inventor of a diagnostic sonar analyzer, he realizes that the athlete in the stall next door has a fatal heart condition. His attempts to warn Mwama, a striking marathon-ace from the East African island of Zanzibar, fail. An intervention during the race spells disaster by leading to the runner's disqualification and the physician's downfall. Shattered, he secretly takes off for Zanzibar to find the young runner and try to save her life. His decision changes his life forever.

Their falling in love, his conversion to his own extraterrestrial version of Islam, his son's following his foot steps, and the events of the 2002 Usedom-Marathon are milestones a reader hardly wants to miss.

About the Author

The author is an experienced runner who has participated in three half-marathons last year. He?s a German-born PhD chemist who spent most of his professional life in the Boston area. At age 67 he is now retired and resides in Southern California where he enjoys trail running and hiking.