The protagonist is Jesse Sanchez an unknown 800 metre runner from Houston, Texas and the happening is the US Olympic Trials for the 2000 Games in Sydney, Australia. It is Chapter 5 before Slinger’s race is over but by this time the reader is well and truly hooked by the characters and drama thus far revealed. Players such as Jesse’s life-time coach Kevin McClanahan - an ‘in-your-face’ Scotsman who truly cares for his athletes but doesn’t give a hoot if he rubs officialdom the wrong way. Kevin’s measured but expletive heavy talk goes with his blunt personality and he uses one four-letter word in a way that I won’t forget - ‘work’.

     We are also introduced to Jesse’s mother, Carmen Sanchez, who along with Jesse, suffered beatings from his biological father. The other characters in Slinger seem drawn from life which helps Glikin’s novel run with fluidity from beginning to end. You will find yourself racing the turning pages in an effort to keep pace with Jesse’s dramatic running life. It’s a life the reader will care about which should be no surprise as Slinger’s author is himself an accomplished runner who knows well many runners of world-class ability. Getting inside the head of a potential champion is the secret to good coaching. Understanding how a person thinks and what motivates them to be the best. Glikin takes the reader to this place with an authenticity that is almost surreal. You run with Jesse from the Rice University track and asphalt bike trails of Houston to the alleys of Barrio de Santa Cruz in Seville to the red tartan of track meccas such as Hengelo, Lucerne and Oslo.

     There is something special, awe-inspiring about a track & field world record. It means the fastest, highest or longest performance ever. The simplicity of these world records is evident to one and all. A watch. A tape. Black and white. I have personally witnessed the setting of ‘world records’ which are still standing. They were incredible at the time but subsequently clouded by revelations of systematic drug supply to athletes by certain countries. Drugs are an issue that is tackled in no uncertain terms in Slinger Sanchez Running Gun. Another reason to keep reading - will talent, work, mental strength and love prevail over deceit, laziness, cheating and hate?

     One of the big track meets in Canberra has always been the ‘Coca-Cola’ Distance Classic. This year it was held on November 27 and the 800 metres was one of the featured events. Jesse Sanchez’ race, the two-lap sprint. It wasn’t the men’s event but the women’s which to some in the know showcased what could be called the Running Gun spirit. A puff of white smoke and the crack of the starter’s pistol. A young woman taking the race out hard - 29 for the first 200. She had been sick and injured most of the winter - most recently with achilles tendinitis, the same injury that plagued Jesse Sanchez.

     Through the first lap in 63 and still leading the older more experienced women in the race. Overtaken at the 450 she was expected by most to fade but kicked again down the back straight in a shoulder to shoulder duel. Then in the sprint home she was still a chance but finished second in 2:10, nine seconds quicker than her best for the season. Talent and tenacity that is so evocatively portrayed in Bruce Glikin’s first novel - Slinger Sanchez Running Gun. If you’re a runner, read ‘Slinger’ - it’s totally engrossing. If you don’t run, read ‘Slinger’ - it’s a bloody good story!