A Closer Look at... Running with the Legends
Many American sports fans are familiar with all-time great athletes competing in football, basketball, and baseball. However, even among track athletes, few individuals seem to be as well versed in the history of the great runners who have competed both on the track and on the roads. In his book Running with the Legends (Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, 1996, $19.95) Michael Sandrock provides a comprehensive look at the life stories, training, and achievements of 21 of the greatest distance runners of all time. His book serves as an excellent resource for any distance runner or fan wanting to learn more about the sport's history and the training involved with becoming an elite distance runner.

Sandrock's book is particularly useful for individuals wanting to familiarize themselves with some of the legends of distance running because it provides detailed information about such a large number of athletes. Rather than a standard biography focusing on only one athlete, Sandrock's book details the lives of many runners of the last century including the Czech great Emil Zatopek, Americans Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Joan Benoit Samuelson, Norwegians Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristiansen, Finland's Lasse Viren, England's Priscilla Welch and Sebastian Coe, Kenya's Hezekiah Kipchoge "Kip" Keino, Tanzanian Juma Ikangaa, and many more. While the criteria used to constitute a running "legend" is open to debate, Sandrock describes his process of selecting which athletes to include, noting "There is no formula for how many wins, records, or medals a runner must earn to qualify as 'a legend.' Rather, the sobriquet is reserved for those who carry a mystique that transcends the finish line, making them much more than champion athletes." While one could certainly argue that there are other athletes who should also be included in the list of legends, Sandrock has successfully compiled a group of athletes spanning both gender and nationality whose achievements certainly do qualify them as legends of the sport.

One nice feature of the book is that Sandrock often does acknowledge some of the past and contemporary athletes such as Amby Burfoot, Gary Bjorklund, Paavo Nurmi, and Steve Ovett who have influenced the individuals he spotlights in his book with page long highlights about their careers. Sandrock also provides brief highlights of the history and cultural atmosphere of the countries in which each of these athletes were competing in order to provide a context that enables the reader to better understand exactly why the accomplishments of these athletes were so exceptional. His highlights of topics such as the history of women's distance running and the tradition of running in America, Japan, and England, help the reader to better understand why the achievements of athletes such as Joan Benoit, Frank Shorter, Toshihiko Seko, and Sebastian Coe were so exceptional. Additionally, the book is particularly effective through its ability to cover the life story and running career of each of the athletes while also providing an overview of the specifics of their training and racing strategies. In spite of the fact that so many athletes are covered, Sandrock is still able to condense a wealth of information into each chapter.

In order to fully understand the nature of the sport of distance running today, it is necessary that one have some understanding of the history of those athletes that have come before. Sandrock's book provides a well-balanced background of some of these athletes and is a particularly useful source for the athlete or fan wanting to gain a greater understanding of the history of our sport.

Editor note: Elaine Binkley recently graduated as a one of two Valectorians from Denison University where she has earned NCAA Division III All American honors twice in cross-country. She has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All- America (R) Women's Track & Field/Cross Country first team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America in 2005 and 2006. Elaine was recently selected the 2007 Academic All- America of the Year for the College Division in Cross Country and Track and Field. Read more on this honor at: http://www.runohio.com/archive/news/06-28- 07Binkley.html Binkley also earned All State honors in Cross Country and Track at Bishop Watterson High School.

The RUNOHIO's Book Review - A Closer Look at - explores various running books and is a regular column in RUNOHIO. - To have your book considered for reviewed, please send a copy to: Matt McGowan, c/ o RUNOHIO, 330 Spellman Street, Granville, OH 43023

To read the other RUNOHIO Book Reviews by Elaine Binkley go to: http://www.runohio.com/archive/news/index.html