Running has made news for many decades. Even though the running boom is more of a recent phenomenon, Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mile barrier 70+ years ago, and the Boston Marathon has been running since 1897. But this book has a different approach. As the title states, it has to do with running making history, not just running news. The common thread is that the author witnessed everything covered in the 21 articles/essays in which this book is divided.
His journey starts on July 30, 1948, at the London Olympics, when, as an 8-year-old kid, he witnessed Emil Zatopek become the first human to run the 10,000 in under 30 minutes; through October 2, 2016, when he saw 65-year-old Kathryn Martin become the oldest woman to run a sub-20 5K, and Libby James, at 80, ran 25:11.
A well-written book by an eyewitness of the greatest running moments over 7 decades
Born in 1939, Roger Robinson is a celebrated runner, scholar, and author. A professor emeritus of English at Victoria University of Wellington and a Ph.D. graduate from Cambridge, he is an authority on New Zealand literature. As a runner, the author competed internationally from 1966 to 1995, winning Masters-level marathons in the 1980s and continuing to race into his 80s despite two knee replacements. An award-winning sports journalist and author of Running in Literature (2003), he is a prominent voice in running history. He resides in New York State and New Zealand with his wife, Kathrine Switzer (yes, that Kathrine Switzer), author of Marathon Woman.
The author has witnessed a lot but has also missed a lot. He did not run the first New York City Marathon, nor did he witness Joan Benoit at the 1984 Olympics. But that doesnāt take away the impressive collection of first-person accounts spanning from 9 years old through 78.
Robinson saw Abebe Bikila run the cobblestones in the 1960 Rome Olympics, beginning the African dominance in distance running. He was there in 1990 when 26,000 runners went under the Brandenburg Gate, signaling the German reunification during the Berlin Marathon. He ran the 100th Boston Marathon, the 2001 NYC Marathon after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and was there to see Med Keflezhighi become the first American in 31 years to win Boston, just a year after the infamous bombing, among many, many events.
He is like Forrest Gump, serendipitously placed in so many historic events and places when running took center stage. Some as a spectator, some as a participant, and some as one of the multiple moving parts that made the event possible.
There is an interesting essay about his witnessing of what is now the Running Boom. The author spent between June and September 1980 in the United States on teaching commitments and, in the interim, participated in a handful of races. He chronicles the small steps running took to become mainstream. How little races became staples on the calendar, and how the public responded by participating in massive numbers. An industry with race t-shirts, timing companies, nutrition, hydration, media coverage, and sponsorships started taking over, starting at small towns like Fountain Valley, CA, through the birth and explosion of what has become the New York City Marathon.
Beyond a great writer, Robinson is/was an elite runner
As someone who ended up marrying running icon Kathrine Switzer, he delves into an essay about womenās running. He notes that in England and New Zealand, women were able to run with some but not much interference, unlike in the US, where the stories of Bobby Gibb and Switzer dominated headlines and forced changes.
Because the author is British and has spent most of his life as a New Zealand resident, despite having witnessed many historic running moments in the US, this is not a USA-centric narrative. This makes it even more interesting for many US-based readers, such as me, who tend to see much of the running world through the lens of our local authors.
When Running Made Historyincludes the best description Iāve ever read about hitting the wall. While participating in the 100th Boston Marathon, he writes: āBut suddenly at 18 miles, I started walking. There was no warning, no crisis, no decision. It just happened. I stopped running. My race ended. The tank ran empty. It felt as if somewhere in Newton, there was a dark, fetid hole invisible to the eye, like some dire vortex of fantasy fiction. I fest straight into it. I was powerless, a tattered rag on two bent sticks.ā WOW!!
Another gem from this book is: āMarathon Running is a sport of goodwill. Itās a sport where if a competitor falls, the others around will pick him or her up. It is a sport where never boos anybody.ā
When Running Made History is an excellent book for any runner. It is beautifully written and divided into easy-to-read chapters that do not require a massive time commitment. It is a good pick for any runner with the tiniest interest in the history of our sport. It is worth the time and the money.
Please share your thoughts about this book in the comment box below.
When it comes to the pioneers of women’s long-distance running, Kathrine Switzer is usually the first one to come to mind. Joan Benoit Samuelson is another. Roberta Gibb, Micki Gorman, Ingrid Kristiansen, and others deserve participation in the conversation. But one that usually gets left out is Norwegian Grete Waitz. If you never heard that name, just know this: she is a 9-time winner of the New York City Marathon. No, not a typo: Nine times!
In 1983 Grete Waitz won her 5th NYC Marathon, just a couple of days after we crossed paths running in Central Park.
In these days of social media and harvesting of likes, when you donāt even need to be a good runner to become famous, the field of celebrity athletes has become very crowded. Yet, Grete was known for shying away from fame, endorsements, and interviews because as much as she enjoyed running and winning, she disliked fame and the inconveniences brought by fortune.
The trailblazing pigtailed blonde revolutionized women’s distance running by showing the world what was possible. She initially competed in shorter distances, but it was her switch to the marathon that cemented her legacy. She made history in 1978 when she won the New York City Marathon with a world record in her first attempt at the distance despite having neither experience nor training. Later she became the first woman to finish under 2:30 and also earned the silver medal in the 1984 Olympic marathon, the first time the event was held for women. Throughout her career, she set several world records, won five World Cross Country Championships, participated in three Olympics, and inspired countless male and female runners globally.
The Great Grete Waitz is an eBook compilation of eight articles published by Runner’s World Magazine between March 1981, after her third straight NYC win, and July 2011, a few months after her untimely passing due to cancer at age 57. The articles vary from lengthy features to short write-ups. Seven of them were written about her by other people, except for “My First Time” a candid, memorable, first-person account of her first marathon, which is the lore of legend.
There is also a beautiful first-person account by the marathon founder Fred Lebow about his side-by-side run with Grete of the 1992 race. The back story, if you don’t know it, is that Lebow was diagnosed with brain cancer. He always wanted to run his five-borough race, but as his time was running out, he ran it with his friend in 5:32. A delightful read that guarantees teary eyes even on the toughest macho reader.
Because this eBook consists of so many articles written within such a wide time frame, some facts are constantly repeated. Some stories may have a few minor contradictions here or there because they are memories of the same incident by so many people over such a long period of time, but they are not a reason to question her accolades or achievements.
I heard the name Grete Waitz for the first time in 1982, as she won NYC the year my dad ran his first marathon. The following year, when I ran my first NYC she won again. My best Grete memory was when my dad and I went for a shakeout run in Central Park the Friday before my race and we saw her running. For an 18-year-old kid from Venezuela, crossing paths with The Great Grete Waitz was the equivalent of seeing a Martian.
Beyond her racing success, Waitz was known for her humility and dedication to giving back. After retiring, she focused on philanthropy, supporting cancer research and youth sports, even as she battled cancer herself. She remains a beloved figure in the running community, celebrated not only for her extraordinary accomplishments but also for her role in making distance running more accessible for women. While Kathrine Switzer was the catalytic force that brought women\’s running to the forefront, Waitz showed the world what women could achieve if they were just allowed to try.
This eBook is only 127 pages and can be acquired via Amazon for your Kindle for just $1.99. It must be available for other platforms. It is a negligible investment for an insight into one of the names of women’s running that should never be forgotten or underestimated.
Please like this post and share any recommendations from your previous experiences in the box below. Let’s build a community of informed and prepared runners.
Iāve wanted to read Marathon Woman for quite a while. For years. But because I thought I knew the Kathrine Switzer Boston Marathon story, other running books ended up jumping the line. Now that I tackle it, and finished it, I am glad I did. There is so much more to the generic story most of us think we know. There is so much more about this pioneering woman that every runner with the most basic interest in the history of our sport, especially women, should know.
The book was originally published in April 2007, for the 40th anniversary of her historic 1967 Boston Marathon. A new and updated version was released for the 50th anniversary.
Runners with basic knowledge in the history of running may know who Kathrine Switzer is. Yes, she was the first woman that while properly registered, ran the Boston Marathon. Yes, she is the protagonist of that set of three photos where the marathon official, Jock Semple, attacks her while trying to rip her bib. And yes, she is one of the pioneers of womenās long-distance running.
The set of photos by Harry A. Trask that propelled womenās running into a legitimate sport
But that is just part of the story. Only part of her legacy. She did so much more to promote that women were more than able to run beyond 800 meters, that they could run as far as they wished, including marathons at high speed without their uterus falling out. She was the catalyst of the womenās marathon becoming an Olympic event starting in 1984. And she did it not as a banner of feminism but because she believed women could do it, and se set out to prove it through actions. Not just words.
I am not going to go deep into the history of womenās running in the last 50 years. That is what the book is there for. But have this in mind: if you are a woman runner reading this post, next time you are in a race and see that more than half of the field being female, make sure you thank Kathrine Switzer.
I am sure that if Switzer did no endured and persevered through what she did, women would still be running marathons today. Another pioneer would have risen to the occasion. But Switzer was the one who did it, and as such, she should be recognized as a trailblazer in our sport. One of the most influential figures in history.
Switzer was more than a curiosity. She won the NYC Marathon, 2nd set up at 2:52 PR in Boston.
In her first-person account the author is very candid, vulnerable, and open about her life, both on and off the asphalt. She starts as a girl who just wants to run but finds no outlet, through her fateful first marathon, her win in the NYC Marathon, her 2:51 PR, the AVON race series for women and finally establishing the female marathon as an Olympic event.
Switzer is funny, intimate, candid and holds no punches while discussing her personal life experiences, especially when it comes to the men she has shared her life with. Her romantic relationships were not the best, yet she was able to persevere and come victorious on the other side, without surrendering as a victim and still making her lifeās goal a reality.
You donāt have to be a runner, or a woman for that matter, to enjoy and learn something from Marathon Woman. I highly recommend it. It is worth two particularly important resources: your time and your money.
Have you read Marathon Woman? Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below.
I came across this book just by chance. I have never heard of John Tarrant, Bill Jones (the author) or The Ghost Runner. But the title was intriguing enough to check what this book was about. Subtitled āThe Tragedy of the Man They Couldnāt Stop. The True Story of John Tarrantā, it seemed worth a try. I am glad I gave it a chance.
Bill Jones is an award-winning documentarist for British television. This is his first book. Back in 1984, while working on a documentary about the Centennial of the Salford Harriers, an athletic club based in North Manchester, came along the name John Tarrant and an awkwardly written autobiography he left behind. The more he learned about the man labeled āThe Ghost Runnerā, the more intrigued he became. In March 2013, the book was released.
John Tarrant was born in 1932 in London. As a young child he was shipped with his younger brother to the safety of a boarding school during the Nazi indiscriminate bombings of London during World War II. After 7 years in a living hell, he came back to a sick mother who died shortly after. His father remarried and the family situation was not very loving.
Tarrant focused his energy on sports and became a boxer. He participated in a handful of low-level fights, earning Ā£17. But John hated boxing and promptly discovered not just the joys of running, but that he had a talent for it. But his meager earnings from his past marked Tarrantās life, as he became a professional athlete. Back in those days, especially in a classist and discriminatory society like the English, disqualified him from athletics. Not just boxing, but everything.
In the shadows of Britain\’s elite schools, a contrasting ethos emergedāthe cult of the gentleman amateur. Rooted in the belief that the working class couldn\’t be trusted to compete fairly due to their perceived penchant for money, these beliefs gained traction. By 1880, the Amateur Athletic Association was established, defining an amateur as someone who, from age 16 onward, never competed for prizes, engaged in monetary considerations, wagered, taught sports for profit, or exploited their abilities for personal gain. This strict definition left figures like John Tarrant uneasy, underscoring a profound shift in sports culture.
Unable to participate in races, he resorted to jumping into them unregistered. He was a talented runner who sometimes even won. The press christened him as āThe Ghost Runnerā and a legend was quickly born. An adversarial relationship grew with the British Amateur Athletics Association and eventually he was reinstated, only to find at the time to choose the marathon team for the Rome Olympics, that this reinstatement did not include international representation of his country.
John Tarrant
While today jumping into races is frowned upon, the world of road racing in the 1950s and 1960s was a niche community. Bobbi Gibb also jumped into the Boston Marathon in 1966 and is today seen as hero. Tarrant became a star and the races looked forward to having him as an unregistered runner because his celebrity enhanced its profile.
The book goes in depth into Tarrantās early childhood. Sometimes you may feel it is a bit too much, but then you find it is important so you may find justification for the adulthood of the protagonist. His persona off the asphalt is as equally important of a character as his running self. Both are registered masterfully but this first-time author.
Even though Tarrant set a handful of world records and won a handful of marathons and many local races, this is not the story of one of the great runners of all time. It is, though, the story of someone for whom running was not part of his life, but his life. It is about the hypocrisy of British athletics in the mid-20th century and one manās, a working-class man, fight to overcome it.
That author says: āThe way he saw it, the ghost runner wasn\’t simply a person. He – John Tarrant – was the living embodiment of a cause. The ghost was his alter ego, his weapon, and his disguise.ā
Tarrant died in obscurity in 1975 at the age of 42 due to a misdiagnosed stomach cancer. Maybe this early death cost him his place in the pantheon of interesting running characters of our time.
I highly recommend the book. It is well researched, well written and worth the money and time to read it.
As the subtitle of this book clearly defines, this is the story of “the incredible journey of Kenya’s legendary coach Patrick Sang and the fastest runners on Earth.” Author Sarah Gearhart had unprecedented access to Sang and his Global Sports Communications training camps, located in Kaptagat, a small town nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley. From there, she reports through short chapters, kind of small essays, about what happens there and how some of the best runners the world has ever seen train and interact within and outside those walls.
Patrick Sang may not be a household name to most running fans. Maybe a handful of the most knowledgeable historians remember his steeplechase silver medal in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when Kenya swept the podium. But for sure, most casual fans must have heard about some of Sang’s top trained athletes: Geoffrey Kamworor, Faith Kipyegon, and the one and only Eliud Kipchoge.
When Eliud Kipchoge broke the marathon World Record in Berlin, the first thing he did was hug Patrick Sang
Sarah Gearhart goes into detail about Sang’s life story, from his early days in rural Kenya to his Olympic glory, going through his competitive years as part of the University of Texas and then his years competing in Europe. Then, his beginnings, establishment, and apotheosis as a running coach.
The book reviews a handful of Sang’s top pupils. The likes of Victor Chumo, Laban Korir, Jonathan Korir, and their triumphs are well-detailed. But she centers Sang’s impact on three of the top runners ever. There’s Geoffrey Kamworor, a two-time winner of the NYC Marathon, 3-time half-marathon world champion, and former world record holder in the distance, who overcame a nasty injury after being hit by a car during a training run to return to the top of his game. He finished 2nd in the 2023 London Marathon.
There’s also Faith Kipyegon, who, after winning gold in the 1500 at the Rio Olympics in 2016, had a daughter and had to juggle motherhood and world-class athletics to repeat the feat in Tokyo 2020. Her sacrifices in family and parenthood, and her determination to succeed where few women of her origin can, become inspiring through Gearhart’s pen. As a corollary, which comes after the book was published, in June 2023, she broke two world records (1500 and 5000) at the Diamond League Meeting in Paris.
After motherhood, Faith Kipyegon came back to win olympic gold and set new world records
And then there is this skinny teenager who once approached Sang asking for workouts. He graciously gave him a couple of weeks of work and forgot about it. The teenager kept returning for more and, through constant and hard work, became the Eliud Kipchoge we all know and who needs no introduction.
There are no earth-shattering revelations in this book. It is not about what gives Kenyans the edge in long-distance running. It is an intimate look inside the walls of the Global Sports Communications camp, which happens to have the best in the world. It is about a running unsung hero and the essence of what it takes to be a member of his elite Global Sports Communications running group, which happens to bring out the best of the best out of the most talented Kenyan runners and has produced some of the top runners, of both sexes, the world has ever seen. It is about Patrick Sang’s personality and kindness. Can you imagine what would have happened if he had not been kind to Eliud Kipchoge when he approached him?
I don’t want to finish this book review without sharing the introduction to Chapter 23, titled “Pushing.” It is not attributed to anyone, so it is not clear to me if this was written by the author or picked up from someone else. Regardless of its origin, there is not a wasted word. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
“He can quit anytime. When his muscles tighten, leaving his body uncomfortably numb. When his lungs plead for more air. When cramps pinch with arresting tension.
He can quit anytime. When a blister balloons on his feet, the friction a piercing pain. When his body boxes with his mind.
He can quit anytime. When his competitor pulls ahead, the speed unmatched. When the finish line seems to stretch. When the last mile is more punishing than the others.
He can quit anytime. When his legs begin to lose the fight. When his goal slips out of sight.
He can quit anytime. But he keeps going.”
NOTE: Since the writing of this article, Eliud Kipchoge is no longer the world record holder in the marathon. Kelvin Kiptum broke the record in the 2023 Chicago Marathon.
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Because this eBook consists of so many articles written within such a wide time frame, some facts are constantly repeated. Some stories may have a few minor contradictions here or there because they are memories of the same incident by so many people over such a long period of time, but they are not a reason to question her accolades or achievements.
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