Bowerman and the Men of Oregon
Few coaches have had as profound an effect on track and field as Bill Bowerman. From bringing the concept of jogging to the United States to designing some of the first supportive training shoes, his influence is still being felt today by runners across the country who are able to take for granted much of what he brought to the sport. Few coaches can claim such a resume that includes having served as the head coach of the US Olympic team, coaching 16 sub-four-minute milers, establishing one of the preeminent track and field powerhouses in the country at the University of Oregon, and being one of the founders of Nike. In his book Bowerman and the Men of Oregon (Rodale Inc., Emmaus PA, 2006, $28.95) Kenny Moore describes the life of this man and his influence on track and field.

Moore avoids the staleness of many biographical works by starting out with a personal anecdote concerning his own experience running for Bowerman at Oregon. He describes how, following illness, Bowerman ordered him to run only in his presence, with the embarrassment of running only about three miles on recovery days as opposed to the 12-15 to which he was accustomed. At the end of three weeks, Bowerman let Moore race the two mile in a dual meet against Oregon State. Moore won in a 27 second personal best of 8:48.1 that no one including himself had felt he was capable of. This story helps to illustrate Bowerman's prowess as a coach, and his relationship with his athletes. At a time which the predominant training philosophy for distance runners had consisted almost entirely of hard intervals, Bowerman's concept of the easy day was radical. Further, he had the ability to tailor workouts to his individual athletes and recognize that a training regimen that works well for one athlete may be a total disaster for another. Moore quotes Bowerman saying, "We have no hard and fast training rules...The vicissitudes of life usually teach an intelligent person what he can handle." It is this flexibility in training and ability to teach athletes to train themselves that became part of the hallmark of Bowerman's coaching philosophy.

Moore also does an excellent job describing Bowerman as a person. Moore is able to capture how Bowerman's persona was a large part of what made him successful as a coach. He begins by telling the story of Bowerman's family history as they settle in the rough Oregon frontier. He describes how Bowerman came from a family that was not only able to face the hardships and tough life of farming but also had a recognition of the importance of education and culture as is illustrated by Bowerman's relative who had grand pianos for each of his daughters shipped to their frontier home. Bowerman continued to uphold these ideals himself since he became not only a tough football player at the University of Oregon, but was also a top notch student who obtained a business degree while also having enough science credits to gain admission to Oregon's medical school. Moore describes how Bowerman was also shaped by tragedy at a young age when his twin brother was killed in an elevator accident following the divorce of his parents. Moore describes how Bowerman's having been raised by his mother had a major affect on his relationships throughout his life, including his commitment to his wife Barbara to whom he was married for 71 years.

Following Bowerman's history and childhood, Moore describes how he became a successful high school football coach, served in WWII, became head track and field coach at the University of Oregon, helped bring jogging to the United States with the influence of his friend Arthur Lydiard, and develop his team's own ultra-light racing apparel and spikes. By chronicling his relationship to athletes from Steve Prefontaine to Phil Knight, Moore is able to fully establish Bowerman's character by showing the effect that he had on those around him. This is an excellent book in all respects with the writing style keeping the book entertaining while also being able to capture the essence of Bowerman's personality and the impact that he had on distance running.

Editor note: Elaine Binkley is senior at 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 also earned All State honors in Cross Country and Track at Bishop Watterson High School.

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