Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit, Grete Waitz and the decade that made the marathon great
There have been many 40th and 50th anniversary events associated with the rise and “boom” of our sport in this decade of the 21st century.
Events such as the launch of the New York City Five Borough Marathon and the first women’s Olympic marathon, alongside legendary names such as Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Grete Weitz and Joan Benoit, all began to help fuel the fire that droves of runners descended to join in the 1970s and 1970s.
Now, a longtime runner and writer Martin Dugard and his new book “long term” literally put these events and legends together to show the impact not only on the millions of runners who took up the sport in the 1970s, but also on the author himself.
Fluently written with an emphasis on her own life experiences, Dugard also draws on influences from runners such as Shorter, Prefontaine, Waits and Benoit, as well as the rising Bill Rogers, with vivid commentary and anecdotes that make these stories not only interesting to read, but inspiring.
Somehow, readers might think that, like starting a long run after a hard workout the day before, the book might not break new ground, and your body might feel it at first.
But once the reader gets going, The Long Run becomes one of those experiences that puts one into flowing motion, where pleasure, not drudgery, dominates the mental mindset, much like a real long run that has clocked in miles.
