Kings of the Road: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom

By:

Sign Up Now! Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title. Learn about membership options, or view our freely available titles.

Synopsis
A &“lively, informative history&” of distance running&’s 1970s heyday—including the famous Falmouth Road Race—written &“with a true fan&’s contagious enthusiasm&” (Newsweek). It was 1978. Jimmy Carter was president; gas prices were soaring; and Americans were hunkering down to weather the economic crisis. But Jim Fixx&’s The Complete Book of Running was a bestseller. Frank Shorter&’s gold medal in the 1972 Olympic marathon had put distance running on the minds of many Americans. The odd activity of &“jogging&” became &“running,&” and America was in love. That summer, a junior from the University of Oregon named Alberto Salazar went up against Shorter and Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers at the Falmouth Road Race. Though he lost to Rodgers&’s record-setting 32:21, the competition set the stage for an epic rivalry among the three greats. Each pushed the others to succeed and, in turn, inspired a nation of couch potatoes to put down the remote and lace up their sneakers. &“[A] lively, informative history.&” — Newsweek/The Daily Beast &“Essential reading for runners both competitive and casual.&” —Kirkus Reviews &“Kings of the Road is about marathon legends. It&’s about running Fast. It&’s about Will. It&’s about the Real. It&’s about drama of the finest kind.&” —Bernd Heinrich, author of Why We Run and Racing the Antelope &“A rollicking, informed account of . . . how distance running helped define a generation.&” —John Brant, author of Duel in the Sun and coauthor with Alberto Salazar of 14 Minutes
Copyright:
2013

Book Details

Book Quality:
Publisher Quality
Book Size:
256 Pages
ISBN-13:
9780547774008
Related ISBNs:
9780547773964
Publisher:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Date of Addition:
Copyrighted By:
status in your country.
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Has Image Descriptions:
No
Categories:
History, Nonfiction, Sports, Biographies and Memoirs
Submitted By:
Bookshare Staff
Usage Restrictions:
This is a copyrighted book.

Reviews

No Rating Yet