The blurb on the back:

In the America of the not-too-distant future, authority wears a uniform and stands above the law.
The nation's top sports event is a 450-mile marathon walk, a gruelling road race for the fittest young men in the land, a terror trek where a single wrong step is probably the last.
Victory means fortune and fame. There's only one winner and there are no losers.
Tomorrow's world is a place where failure is against the rules...

opening lines:
An old blue Ford pulled into the guarded parking lot that morning, looking like a small, tired dog after a hard run.

more Bachman:

Rage

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horror

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home

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