Runner 13

Author Amy McCulloch
Narrator Sarah Durham, Jill Winternitz, Greg Jones, Charlie Beck
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Publish Date 19 June 2025
Run Time 10 hours and 59 minutes
Format Audio
Genre Adventure fiction, Crime and mystery fiction, Thriller / suspense fiction.

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

The gripping new thriller from the bestselling author of Breathless, based on her own extraordinary ultra-running experience.

It’s the ultimate test of endurance: two-hundred-and-fifty miles in the brutal heat of the Sahara, with only the supplies you can carry on your back.
Adri is ready. Returning to ultra-running in the wake of a scandal, she needs to prove to herself – and her young son – that she’s a winner.
When a fellow runner is badly injured, Adri knows something isn’t right. Yet in a race this extreme, even a dead body can be explained away.
But there’s a killer stalking the hot sand. And the problem with running faster than everyone else, is that you’re miles ahead of anyone who can save you...

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PRAISE FOR AMY MCCULLOCH

'Amy McCulloch is the queen of the adventure thriller!' - CLAIRE DOUGLAS

'Enthralling... She has an eye for edgy and unusual settings....' - SUNDAY TIMES

'Chills, thrills and intense suspense...' - CHRIS WHITAKER

© Amy McCulloch 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

McCulloch writes vividly...an intense focus on the physicality of her characters is becoming her USP

Sunday Times

Fascinating, exciting and with a terrifyingly convincing depiction of people under savage stress this is an unmissable novel

Literary Review

If there was a race to write a dark, immersive thriller that will transport you to a whole new world (of extreme marathon running) then Runner 13 by Amy McCulloch would be first across the line. A masterclass in atmospheric writing, it is told with resounding skill and authenticity, as deadly events at the extreme end of competitive running threaten the lives and families of troubled participants. This is gold medal storytelling and I raced through it.

JANICE HALLETT

Runner 13 is an utterly brilliant immersive thriller set in a terrifyingly arduous adventure race think Agatha Christie meets Marathon de Sables meets the Barkley Marathons. It is smart, visceral, deliciously dark and twisty.

LOUISE MINCHIN

Brilliantly atmospheric and with relentless pace, Runner 13 is one of the most propulsive adventure thrillers I've read. It will leave you gasping for breath. I loved it!

Liv Matthews

Amy McCulloch does it again! Runner 13 is an absolute scorcher of a thriller that examines the lengths we are willing to push ourselves for what's right. Each chapter left me out of breath and desperate to learn what would happen next. Reading this book was a race to the very last page. All in all, Runner 13 proves that no one does an adventure thriller quite like Amy McCulloch.

SARA OCHS, author of The Resort

A thriller set around the fascinating world of ultra-running where there's always the threat that even the race might kill you. Utterly breathtaking - absolutely loved it. Amy's best yet

CATHERINE COOPER

In Runner 13, McCulloch's firsthand experience of ultra running shines through every page. I felt like I was there! A fast-paced adventure thriller that will get your pulse racing. Not to be missed

LUCY CLARKE

Tense, exhilarating and deeply immersive, I raced through this epic ultramarathon thriller. So good on character, with a layered plot and vivid desert setting--I loved it as a runner, a reader, and a full-of-admiration writer

LAURA STEVEN, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Our Infinite Fates

As soon as I finished it I ordered all Amy's other books. A breathless, complex thriller. I steamed through it

JANE FALLON

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