Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Hard: A Memoir

From the fastest marathoner in the world over fifty—and maybe the planet’s most determined underdog—an “extraordinary and uniquely valuable tale” (Andrew D, Huberman) of resilience, redemption, and personal transformation.

Born into a broken family in Somerville, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, Ken Rideout grew up in a household persistently scarred by drugs and crime. At just eighteen, he found himself working as a corrections officer in a prison where his stepfather had been incarcerated, and his brother would later serve time. Despite the bleak expectations set by his family, Ken harbored dreams far beyond the confines of his upbringing.

He eventually fled the gritty streets of Somerville for the high-stakes world of Wall Street where he carved out a successful career with top firms like Cantor Fitzgerald and Crédit Agricole. Yet, beneath the veneer of success, Ken battled a decade-long addiction to opioids, spending his hard-earned wealth on pills. The turning point came with the adoption of a daughter—a wake-up call to become the father and man he always dreamed of being.

Running became Ken’s salvation. With unwavering determination, he willed himself to run vast distances. In three years, Ken transformed from a “running nobody” to the world’s fastest marathoner over fifty. His mantra: Win—or die trying. In this “gritty and inspiring autobiography” (Publishers Weekly), Ken shares his mind-blowing achievements, including, at age fifty-two, winning the Masters (50+) Marathon World Championships in Chicago and conquering the Gobi March ultra-marathon, one of the world’s toughest races. Through sheer resilience and grit, Ken rewrote his story.

Ken Rideout is the fastest marathoner in the world over fifty and a former prison guard, Wall Street trader, and opioid addict. His life story has been chronicled in such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Outside. Since getting sober more than a decade ago, he has won some of the world’s toughest races, including, at age fifty-two, the Gobi March—a 155-mile, self-supported race across the sweltering Gobi Desert in Mongolia—and a few months later, the Masters (50+) Marathon World Championships. In addition to his many running victories, he has completed more than ten Ironman triathlons. In 2018, Ken founded capital solutions firm Camrock Advisors. More recently, he founded talent agency Rideout Sports and Entertainment. He lives in Nashville with his wife, Shelby, and their four children.