The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

It's the late 1950s: Borstal boy Smith remembers his crimes and plots his future as he runs, training for the national cross-country event. The governor is desperate for the kudos of victory, telling Smith that hard work and athletic success will turn him into an honest man.

At only 17 years old, Smith is a genuinely angry young man. His life is already a battle between them and us. There are the In-laws, as he terms the law-abiding, property owning majority, and the Out-laws, the substantial minority who have no stake in the system.

First published in 1959, Alan Sillitoe's landmark short story is uncompromisingly tough, at times bleakly comic, and always totally unsentimental.

Dramatised by Robert Rigby.

Smith ,,,,,, Lee Rufford
Governor ,,,,,, Karl Johnson
Roach ,,,,,, Tom Turner
Mrs Smith ,,,,,, Natalie Grady
Mike ,,,,,, Noah Burdett
Water Boy ,,,,,, Noah Burdett
Bishop ,,,,,, Tom Vanson
Detective Sergeant ,,,,,, Graeme Hawley
Lionel ,,,,,, David Hounslow
Mr Lennox ,,,,,, Michael Thomas
Warden ,,,,,, Michael Thomas
Mrs Lennox ,,,,,, Barbara Kirby
Magistrate ,,,,,, David Timson
Taxi Driver ,,,,,, David Timson
Smith Child ,,,,,, Millie Binks
Smith Child ,,,,,, Eve Manning

Sound Design: David Chilton
Spot Effects: Alison McKenzie
Production Manager: Sarah Tombling

Director: Carl Prekopp
Producer: Lucinda Mason Brown

A Goldhawk Essential production for BBC Radio 4 first broadcast in August 2016.