Gerry Lindgren takes readers through the growth process in distance running, from the back of the pack wimp to one of the world’s best. The book chronicles the rise of Gerry Lindgren from a last-place runner on his high school cross-country to the best high school distance runner of all time. Runners and non-runners alike will find inspiration and motivation in Lindgren’s book.
In The Complete History of Cross-Country Running, author Andrew Boyd Hutchinson captures the full history of cross-country running, from the early 1800s to the present day, on both a national and international scale. It includes chronicles of legendary teams, inspirational tales of achievement, controversies, and interviews with record-breaking runners past and present. From Walter George and Alfred Shrubb to Steve Prefontaine, Bill Rogers, and Galen Rupp—and everyone in between—Hutchinson uncovers all angles, via training logs, discussions with coaches, and the review of newspaper archives for race results and forgotten storylines. He offers commentary from Olympians such as David Torrence and Shannon Rowbury, amongst others. Along the way, the book addresses the following topics: • How cross country began in England • How the sport found its way to American colleges and universities • The birth of the International Cross-Country Championships • All the close events, including the 2012 race between Molly Huddle and Sara Hall at the US National Cross-Country Championship • And so much more!
Top five Best Books About Running, Runner's World Magazine Top three Best Books About Running, readers of Runner's World Magazine (December 2009) A phenomenal portrait of courage and desire that will do for college cross-country what John Feinstein's A Season on the Brink did for college basketball.
Runners and readers whose connections to the sport date back to the 1970s surely remember Dr. George Sheehan, the New Jersey cardiologist and writer whose unique approach to the joy of exercise helped spark America's fitness boom. As a columnist for his local Red Bank Register and later as the medical editor of Runner's World and through eight bestselling books, Sheehan became, through the influence of his example and writing, the spokesperson for an entire generation of runners and the manifold benefits they discovered through the running lifestyle. Sadly, several of Sheehan's books are now out of print, and the hundreds of newspaper magazine columns he penned over the last 25 years of his life have been lost to time. Until now. The Essential Sheehan is a collection of the best running pieces George Sheehan wrote in his lifetime, many of which ran in Runner's World when Sheehan was a columnist there. This collection illuminates Sheehan's lasting influence on running culture and is a reintroduction of George Sheehan to a new generation of runners and readers.
"What football is to the South, distance running is to the Northwest. And in Spokane, Washington cross country running is king. Each fall thousands of elementary, middle and high school students traverse the roads and trails, training and competing for their chance to win. Just as some of the greatest Kenyan runners in the world come from one small town, in an area called the Rift Valley, Spokane continues to supply some of America's greatest runners." -- back cover
In highlighting the unique features of focus groups, Cyr explains how they can help social science researchers effectively answer certain research questions.
A portrait of the foremost track coach and founder of Nike describes how he helped contribute to numerous team titles and record achievements while working at the University of Oregon, offers insight into the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, and considers Bowerman's relationship with runner Steve Prefontaine. Reprint.
Claude Wheeler is a young man who was born after the American frontier has vanished. The son of a successful farmer and an intensely pious mother, Wheeler is guaranteed a comfortable livelihood. Nevertheless, Wheeler views himself as a victim of his father's success and his own inexplicable malaise.Thus, devoid of parental and spousal love, Wheeler finds a new purpose to his life in France, a faraway country that only existed for him in maps before the First World War. Will Wheeler ever succeed in his new goal? The novel is inspired from real-life events and also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1923.
The story of America's greatest running legend. For five years, no American runner could beat him at any distance over a mile. But at the age of 24, with his best years still ahead, long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine finally lost. Driving alone at night after a party, Prefontaine crashed his sports car, putting a tragic, shocking end to the life and career of one of the most influential, accomplished runners of our time. More than 20 years later, Pre continues to influence the running world. From his humble origins in Coos Bay, Oregon, Pre became the first person to win four NCAA titles in one event. Year after year, he was virtually unbeatable. Instead of becoming one of the new breed of professional track athletes, Pre chose to stay amateur and fight for the adequate funding he felt American amateur athletes deserved. A man of incredible desire and energy, Pre trained relentlessly. In his drive to be the best, he spurred others to do their best. As one racer said, "He ran every race as if it were his last." But Pre not only touched runners; his exciting technique as well as his maverick lifestyle made him a favorite of the fans. A race with Prefontaine in it was automatically an event. His brief but brilliant life—documented by author Tom Jordan—is the tale of a true American hero. This is his story. "Some people create with words or with music or with a brush and paints. I like to make something beautiful when I run. I like to make people stop and say, 'I've never seen anyone run like that before.' It's more than just a race, it's style. It's doing something better than anyone else. It's being creative." —Steve Prefontaine *The e-book edition does not include photos
The undisputed classic of running novels and one of the most beloved sports books ever published, Once a Runner tells the story of an athlete’s dreams amid the turmoil of the 60s and the Vietnam war. Inspired by the author’s experience as a collegiate champion, the novel follows Quenton Cassidy, a competitive runner at fictional Southeastern University whose lifelong dream is to run a four-minute mile. He is less than a second away when the turmoil of the Vietnam War era intrudes into the staid recesses of his school’s athletic department. After he becomes involved in an athletes’ protest, Cassidy is suspended from his track team. Under the tutelage of his friend and mentor, Bruce Denton, a graduate student and former Olympic gold medalist, Cassidy gives up his scholarship, his girlfriend, and possibly his future to withdraw to a monastic retreat in the countryside and begin training for the race of his life against the greatest miler in history. A rare insider’s account of the incredibly intense lives of elite distance runners, Once a Runner is an inspiring, funny, and spot-on tale of one individual’s quest to become a champion.
