On the Dead Run
- Author: Steven A. Simon
- Paperback: 404 pages
- Publisher: Xlibris Corporation (2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN: 0738839639
“On the Dead Run” is an action-packed murder mystery set in the modern-day Washington D.C. corridors of power and on the isolated forest trails nearby. The book - the first novel by Steven A. Simon, who worked extensively with Congress and spent many hours running on the trails described in this book - covers a pivotal three-month period in the life of Julie Davidson, an insecure but determined 31-year-old Congressional assistant, and her quest to be judged on her abilities and to prove to herself and others that she can make it on her own. The good times are short-lived, however, as a controversial political activist is murdered and Julie's militantly liberal boyfriend disappears. In addition to dealing with the murder, and her personal safety, Julie is preparing to participate in a one hundred mile ultramarathon. An accomplished runner at races up to fifty miles in length, this will be Julie's first attempt at the daunting hundred mile distance. While training for a “century” is difficult under even the best of circumstances, Julie's preparation, particularly its mental aspects, is undermined by her life's events. As through astute reasoning, dogged determination, and personal courage, she uncovers secrets about the victim and gets closer to the identity of a person who wanted him dead, she puts her life on the line.