Rettenberger runs kilometer after kilometer, out of the city, across fields. Behind him, blue lights swirl through the night, in front of him the landscape stretches. Then it gets easier, he only puts his toes on the toes, takes off, as it were, flies away from his pursuers. 'I run away, this barely audible sentence came back incessantly, with every new step. And this talking provided him with air noticeably better, penetrated more easily the tightness in his throat, this barrier of his silent fear, and even masked the haste in his breathing.' The bank robber, who wore a Reagan mask during most of his robberies, became famous as 'Pump Gun Ronnie' at the end of the eighties. Television and newspapers reported in all editions about his escape, which he, the marathon runner, did for four days, mainly on foot. Martin Prinz, also a runner, knew him and made him the hero of his first novel.