FOR most first-time authors in Australia, a $30,000 book advance is something to be grabbed with both hands before the publishers change their mind. But not for Tristan Miller. When Penguin put their offer on the table, he says, ''I'm sitting there going, 'Surely, it's worth 60? You'll sell 100,000 copies, no worries'.''

Miller, 35, admits he was naive, maybe even a bit cocky, but he felt - and still feels - he had a pretty good story to tell. A former advertising salesman, he'd been at a low ebb after his first marriage ended, drinking too much and getting into stupid fights, until a workmate turned him on to running. He was instantly hooked - so much so that he decided to set himself the challenge of running 52 marathons in a year, all around the world.

Tristan Miller competes in Antarctica in his 51st marathon of 52 in a year in 2010.

On New Year's Eve 2009, he set off on his first race, in Zurich. On December 27, 2010, he finished his 52nd, back in Melbourne. Along the way, he had changed his life.

There's a lot of running in Miller's book, as you might expect, but Run Like Crazy frequently reads more like an Aussie backpacker's diary than an athlete's log, with its boozy nights, dodgy tour guides and corny pick-up lines aplenty. ''I actually didn't do it to run,'' Miller says of his epic adventure. ''I did it to go to the festivals, because I wanted to see how exciting the world could be.''