The Long Run - by Martin Dugard (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A dramatic narrative telling the story behind the running and marathon boom of the 1970s and early 1980s, featuring the stories of Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Grete Waitz, and many others, and how a generation of runners turned a formerly obscure distance into a national obsession

On September 3, 1970, the New York City Marathon was run for the first time. One hundred twenty-seven runners paid a $1 entry fee. The race was won by a Long Island firefighter who came to the starting line straight from his overnight shift. Only one woman competed. All but one runner was a New York resident.

Fifty-four years later, nearly fifty thousand runners finished the same race. Nearly half were women. More than three times as many runners applied, and over two million spectators watched. Today, runners from all over the world run the NYC Marathon, and many others like it. Marathons are inclusive, fully global, and still exploding in popularity.

How did we get from there to here? As Martin Dugard, long-time runner, running coach, and #1 New York Times bestselling author explains, it was thanks to four very special runners who changed the way America, and the world, saw running. The Long Run will celebrate these athletes--Frank Shorter, Steve Prefontaine, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Grete Waitz--and many more, sharing stories of the specific races and social movements that transformed running from a niche sport to a national obsession. It is a story with big characters, enormous moments, and a historical arc that has never been completely explored. The Long Run will reveal how the sport of running, and the race, that we all know and love became iconic--and how "finishing a marathon" became a top bucket-list goal for runners and non-runners alike.

Review Quotes

"To best appreciate the current boom in distance running, it's necessary to peek back at its history. Martin Dugard's The Long Run is an entertaining look at the roots of the sport, a celebration of its heroes, and a beautiful reminder that, while distance running hasn't always been the most popular sport, it's always been pretty dang cool." --Des Linden, Boston Marathon Champion and New York Times bestselling author of Choosing to Run

"The Long Run goes beyond recounting America's running boom, showing how Steve Prefontaine, Frank Shorter, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz helped turn running--and the marathon--into a national force. With a historian's eye and a runner's heart, Martin Dugard delivers racing accounts that put you in the shoes of these legends, infused with his own passion for the sport. It's a reminder not just of how running got cool (and keeps getting cooler), but why we keep doing it." --Chris Chavez, CITIUS MAG founder and author of the forthcoming The Marathon Book

"Martin Dugard's The Long Run unearths and relates many fascinating, long-forgotten stories of the first running boom. Dugard's love of the sport infuses every page, while his rapid-fire narrative style makes every chapter a readable feast. From Bowerman to Pre, Shorter to Rodgers, Waitz to Benoit, it's all here. A marathon tour-de-force that moves at sub-4 mile pace." --Amby Burfoot, winner, 1968 Boston Marathon, author of Run Forever, and longtime editor of Runner's World

"The Long Run is a brilliantly written education of the most mass-participated sport in the world, the marathon. It is a must read for the millions of people who take on the distance each year." --Deena Kastor, Olympic bronze medalist and New York Times bestselling author of Let Your Mind Run

"In The Long Run Martin takes us back to when running started and how it inspires to this day. Every runner should be a student of the sport and learn from Martin Dugard's amazing book."
--Meb Keflezighi, 2004 Olympic silver medalist, Boston Marathon champion, and New York Times bestselling author of 26 Marathons

"This just may be the best book on running that I have read. Combining the research skills of an historian with the powerful storytelling of a novelist, Martin Dugard gives us a thrilling narrative. He tells the incredible history of long distance running, it's larger than life personalities, the dramatic events that brought running to millions around the globe and why it all matters so much."
--George A Hirsch, chairman emeritus of the New York Road Runners, co-founder of the five borough New York City Marathon, founding publisher of Runner's World

"More than a sports history, The Long Run is the story of a cultural phenomenon. Dugard shows how a perfect storm of charismatic figures and cultural anxiety transformed running from an obscure activity into a global phenomenon. It's a powerful exploration of how we learned to embrace endurance, not just as a physical test, but as a defining part of our modern identity. A must read!" --Steve Magness, author of Do Hard Things

"Reading The Long Run is like pounding out some miles with a great friend on a Sunday morning. Pure joy. And most importantly, it will make you want to run -- as far and as fast as you can."
--Matt Futterman, author of Running to the Edge

"Is there anything more pure than a foot race? In The Long Run, Martin Dugard captures both the passion of the hardcore runner and the curiosity of the beginner, taking readers on a journey from the mythic contests of ancient times to the boom of the 1970s and the electrifying competitions that define running today. The Long Run explores why people continue to be drawn to a seemingly simple sport and to a distance so iconic that it is sometimes used as a metaphor for life itself: the marathon." --Grant Fisher, Team USA. 2024 Olympic Medalist in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters

About the Author

Martin Dugard is the author of a dozen #1 New York Times bestsellers. Among these works of running and history is the international sensation Into Africa. He is a Fellow of Great Britain's Royal Geographical Society, Board Member of the USA Track and Field Foundation, and high school distance running coach of more than two decades with multiple California state championships to his credit. Mr. Dugard blogs weekly as The Paper Kenyan on martindugard.com.
Martin Dugard and wife Calene live on a hill in Southern California.