Race Across the Sky by Derek Sherman

by:  Derek Sherman
published by:  Plume
publish date:  July 30, 2013

Caleb Oberest is an ultramarathon runner, who severed all ties to his family to race brutal 100-mile marathons across mountains. Shane Oberest is a sales rep for a  cutting-edge biotechnology firm, creating new cures for the diseases of our time. Shane has spent his life longing to connect with his older brother, but the distance between them was always too vast.

Caleb’s running group live by strict rules, but Caleb is breaking one of them. He has fallen in love with a new member and her infant daughter.  When Caleb discovers that the baby has a fatal genetic disease, he reaches out to Shane. On the verge of becoming a father himself, Shane devises a plan that could save this baby and bring his lost brother home. But to succeed, both brothers will need to risk everything they have. And so each begins a dangerous race that will push them past their boundaries, and take all of Caleb’s legendary endurance to survive.

In Race Across the Sky Caleb lives by a very strict set of guidelines laid out by his running mentor.  Everyone in his house must follow the rules or they'll be kicked out.  For Caleb, the idea of being kicked out of the house is unbearable.  He shed his old life so he could live his life running.  However, he's willing to break all the rules when he falls in love with a new house member and her infant daughter.  He starts the longest race of his life to save them.

Every now and then there's a book that has a profound effect on you.  This book was is for me.  I was telling everyone about this book.  I had heard about ultramarathoners before, but the idea was totally foreign.  This book really put into perspective the amount of sacrifice and self-discipline these people must endure. 

I was also impressed with the author's research into biotechnology.  The differences in pharmacology and biotech were explained very well.  This aspect of the book was interesting and there was a blurb at the end about the real disease and how to donate for research.  I always like things like that.

So all in all fantastic debut novel!  Highly recommended from me for those literary fiction lovers and sports lovers....maybe even those medical thrillers readers.