By BRIAN TILLEY

Published at 09:10, Monday, 30 April 2012

WITH the Olympic Games just a few months away, Prudhoe author Keith Minton is on the final lap of his three-part Olympics opus.

He has just released the second section of Runaway Winner, the tale of Kim Stanley, the teenage tear-away from the back streets of Gateshead, vying for a place in the British athletics team for 2012.

We met the likeable tomboy in part one when she hit the chief coach of Gateshead Harriers with a snowball, and succeeded in running away from him.

Despite her chavvish ways and criminal record, coach Ken detects gold under the dross, and attempts to burnish it.

Naturally, love blossoms under the Olympic rings, and it’s not only pounding round the running tracks of Gateshead and Birmingham that leaves young Kim rubicund and exhausted.

With many trials and tribulations on the way, young Kim is given a second chance to make the team, and how she fares makes interesting reading.

The dialogue is often stilted, particularly that involving North-East running legends Brendan Foster and Steve Cram in the commentary box, but Mr Minton sets the scene well for part three.

Look out for lots of local references, with Wallington Hall and Corbridge being ticked off.

Mr Minton still has a number of technical issues to sort out with his self-published effort, with entire pages repeated, as well of chunks of text, but good on him for trying!

Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk