Gun Lap

Older runners may assume their fastest days are behind them, but this book argues that finishing well is still within reach at any age. Its picture comes from a long-distance race. When the leader starts the final circuit, the starter fires the pistol a second time, announcing the gun lap, a closing stretch meant for giving everything one has left.

Written mainly for men who are running their last lap, the book also speaks to younger men who are planning ahead for that stretch. Its aim is to help them live the years they have with purpose and strength, and to pay attention to the time still ahead.

Robert Wolgemuth draws on the letter to the Hebrews, which urges readers to run with perseverance the race set before them (Hebrews 12:1, CSB). He presents perseverance as the quality that matters most in this race, from the first lap to the last.