The Long Walk
The Long Walk is a novel by Stephen King published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman.Warning: Plot details follow.
The novel describes a walking contest held annually in Maine by a somewhat despotic government running the United States of America. One hundred teenage boys (selected from a large pool of applicants) begin the contest. Each boy must maintain a four mile per hour walking pace continuously, or receive a warning (per minute). Three such warnings, and the boy is removed from the contest. A warning may be "walked off" by maintaining pace for one hour. Though the boys are provided with food and water, there are no scheduled stops. There is no finish line; the last boy remaining in the contest wins a grand prize, anything he wants for the rest of his life.
What makes the novel rather gruesome is that when a boy is removed from the contest, he is shot by the armed guards overseeing the event. Every year's contest has one winner and ninety-nine dead boys.
The novel delves into several themes, especially survival (mental and physical). The Hands on a Hardbody contest held annually in Texas (and the movie by the same name) explore similar ideas.
The novel was published as part of King's collection The Bachman Books after King revealed to the public that he is Bachman.
In the long-running British comic strip Judge Dredd, The Long Walk is taken by retired Judges who feel that they can no longer be effective within Mega City One, instead choosing to take law to the lawless in the radioactive wastes of the Cursed Earth.ISBN numbers