Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed

New York Times sports editor Futterman enthusiastically documents the life of renowned American running coach Bob Larsen. Larsen grew up on a remote farm in 1940s Minnesota before moving to Southern California. There, he competed throughout high school and at San Diego State College. He realized that running faster wasn’t a result of the injury-inducing sprint-track workouts his coaches had relied on, but instead came from gradual increased mileage and intensity. After college, he coached and formed a number of running teams, among them the rag-tag Jamul Toads, which surprised the running world by winning the 1976 AAU National Cross Country Championship. In 1979, Larsen began coaching track at UCLA, where he became an early adopter of altitude training, which he later used for marathoners Deena Kastor, who won the 2004 Olympic bronze medal, and Meb Keflezighi, who won the 2004 Olympic silver medal. Throughout, Futterman makes physiology easily understandable (“When a body trains hard, it has to break down carbohydrates and glycogen to use them for energy”) and shares his own story of qualifying for and competing in his dream race: the 2018 Boston Marathon. This fast-paced sports history serves as an inspirational road map for runners. [em](June) [/em]