Bob de la Motte is best remembered for his epic duels in the ‘80s with nine-times Comrades winner, Bruce Fordyce. Who can forget the 1986 Comrades where, following the legendary handshake 14km from the finish and running 5:26, De la Motte was narrowly beaten by the unstoppable Fordyce. Both runners broke the 1984 record of 5:27. De la Motte has written Runaway Comrade against the backdrop of SA in the politically charged ‘80s in honour of the Comrades Marathon and some of his less fortunate fellow South African runners. “Many of these trail-blazing black distance runners from the apartheid era, have simply disappeared; their triumphs ignored and possibly forgotten by those who should be honouring them,” says De la Motte and it is for this reason that he intends to apply any net proceeds of the publication for the benefit of these champion ultramarathon runners from the 1974-90 era.