Michael Collins (born 4 June 1964) is an Irish novelist and international ultra-distance runner. His novel The Keepers of Truth was shortlisted for the 2000 Booker Prize. [1] He has also won the Kerry Ingredients Irish Novel of the Year Award and the Lucien Barriere Literary Prize at the Deauville American Film Festival. [2] [3]
Collins was born in Limerick. [4] He earned an athletic scholarship to University of Notre Dame and received a master's degree from Oxford University. [4] He has a doctorate from the University of Illinois Chicago. [4]
A former member of the Irish National Team for the 100k distance (62.2 miles), [5] Collins holds the Irish national masters record over the 100k distance.[ citation needed ] As captain of the Irish National Team in 2010, [6] he won a bronze medal at the World 100k Championships held in Gibraltar.[ citation needed ] He has also won The 100-mile Himalayan Stage Race and The Mount Everest Challenge Marathon, along with The Last Marathon in Antarctica, and The North Pole Marathon. [7]