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Winner of the 2015 Armory Foundation Book Award from the Track & Field Writers of America
For fans of The Perfect Mile and Born to Run, a riveting, three-pronged narrative about the golden era of running in America—the 1970s—as seen through running greats, Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar
It was 1978. Jimmy Carter was President; gas prices were soaring; and Americans were hunkering down to weather the economic crisis. But in bookstores 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 in the mind of a public enamored of baseball and football. Suddenly, 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 head to head with Olympic champion Frank Shorter and Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers at the Falmouth Road Race, losing in the last mile to Rodgers's record-setting 32:21, nearly dying in the process, and setting the stage for a great rivalry. In Shorter, Rodgers, and Salazar, running had its conflict and drama like boxing had Ali and Foreman, like basketball had Russell and Chamberlain. Each man built on what the other achieved, and each pushed the other to succeed. Their successes, in turn, fueled a nation of coach potatoes to put down the remote and lace up their sneakers.
Kings of the Road tells the story of running during that golden period from 1972 to 1981 when Shorter, Rodgers, and Salazar captured the imagination of the American public as they passed their figurative baton from one to the other. These three men were American running during those years, while the sport enjoyed a popularity never equaled. As America now experiences a similar running boom, Kings of the Road is a stirring, inspiring narrative of three men pushing themselves toward greatness and taking their country along for the ride.
- Sales Rank: #126206 in Books
- Published on: 2013-04-09
- Released on: 2013-04-09
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x .88" w x 6.00" l, .90 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 240 pages
From Booklist
The lengthy subtitle states this book’s thesis, though the words “in America” might have been added. The volume captures a bright decade in American road racing, from Shorter’s marathon victory at the 1972 Olympics to Rodgers’ dominance mid-decade, to Salazar’s later ascendancy. It possesses a period charm. The author concentrates not on the major international marathons but on the shorter but highly popular Falmouth Road Race on Cape Cod. It fails, though, to make the larger case, the “how” of the subtitle. Lost in the thunder of running American feet is the looming domination of the sport by the Africans, and Stracher understates the influence of women runners such as Joan Benoit Samuelson and the role of the athletic-shoe companies in fostering running as a mass phenomenon. He argues unconvincingly that race organizer Fred Lebow’s insistence upon inclusivity in the New York Marathon ultimately hurt the sport. What remains is an account that will largely interest runners and dedicated fans of the sport. Publication will coincide with this year’s Boston Marathon, an event that no American man has won in 30 years. --Mark Levine
Review
"In his lively, informative history, Cameron Stracher traces the boom of running culture in America back to the 1970s when a trio of single-minded athletes -- Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar -- captured the national spotlight with their intense passion for pounding the road...Stracher writes with a true fan’s contagious enthusiasm." -- Newsweek/The Daily Beast “A focused survey of three unmatched American long-distance runners… 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 “In Kings of the Road, Cameron Stracher recaptures the wonder, energy, and excitement of American road racing from 1972 to 1982. With amazing detail and action, he follows Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar to their greatest victories in an era when they became national sports icons.” --Amby Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner and Runner's World Editor-at-Large
“Combining a novelist's eye for character and detail with an historian's insight into patterns and connections, Cameron Stracher's Kings of the Road delivers a rollicking, informed account of the rise of the American running movement. Bringing the 1970's alive in all their brokenness, weirdness, and hope, Stracher shows how distance running helped define a generation. Kings of the Road rekindles Baby Boomer memories while introducing younger readers to an overlooked piece of sporting and social history.” – John Brant, author of Duel in the Sun and co-author (with Alberto Salazar) of 14 Minutes
From the Inside Flap
It was 1978. Jimmy Carter was President; gas prices were soaring; and Americans were hunkering down to weather the economic crisis. But in bookstores 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 in the mind of a public enamored of baseball and football. Suddenly, 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 head to head with Olympic champion Frank Shorter and Boston Marathon champion Bill Rodgers at the Falmouth Road Race, losing in the last mile to Rodgers's record-setting 32:21, nearly dying in the process, and setting the stage for a great rivalry. In Shorter, Rodgers, and Salazar, running had its conflict and drama like boxing had Ali and Foreman, like basketball had Russell and Chamberlain. Each man built on what the other achieved, and each pushed the other to succeed. Their successes, in turn, fueled a nation of coach potatoes to put down the remote and lace up their sneakers.
Kings of the Road tells the story of running during that golden period from 1972 to 1981 when Shorter, Rodgers, and Salazar captured the imagination of the American public as they passed their figurative baton from one to the other. These three men were American running during those years, while the sport enjoyed a popularity never equaled. As America now experiences a similar running boom, Kings of the Road is a stirring, inspiring narrative of three men pushing themselves toward greatness and taking their country along for the ride.
Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
"The race is not to the swift. It is, instead, to the resolute and implacable, the steadfast, unswerving, and devoted."
By Julee Rudolf
begins Cameron Stracher's latest, Kings of the Road, an interesting book that provides a good mix of: running and related US history during the decade covered (`72-`82), recounting of races, and background information on both the beginnings of specific events (Falmouth Road Race, New York Marathon) and the highlighted runners as well as neat quotes and photographs. Running became popular in the US, the author writes, due to the performances and personalities of: Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar. Primarily chronologically (though he tells some parts in flashback), Mr. Stracher takes readers through the history of the running boom in America and tries to put the-way-things-were in perspective for runners and running fans of today. For example, prior to the current day conveniences of timing chips embedded into race bibs, tracking possibly thousands of participants' times meant (p 4), "matching runners' numbers on their racing bibs with an electronic printout of their times as they crossed the finish line." Shoes were pretty primitive compared to what now available and sometimes even elite athletes wore shoes that were too big or too small or that fell apart during the race. And while other sports, like football and baseball, earned athletes big bucks, runners often had to hold down jobs while training because they earned so little for their victories. After Rodgers won the Falmouth Road Race in 1974, (p 63) "he won a toaster, two tickets for the ferry to Martha's Vineyard, and a dinner for two at the Medieval Manor in Boston."
Although the overall tone of Kings of the Road is positive, the author's disdain for the decline in the performance of long distance runners over time is obvious. He laments the fact that while (p 213) "Today, more people run than every before...rather than spawning a new generation of champions, as it might in another sport, this phenomenal growth has slowed the median pace in the typical race," (p 214) "In general, there has been a movement away from running as a sport where people run fast, to running as an activity done for fitness or social purposes," which he blames on those who popularized running, claiming that they (!) "dumbed it down." He ends this section with the contention that, "What counts is the personal narrative of adversity and achievement. There are no heroes; there are only goody bags and fancy flavored waters." On the following page, he continues to take shots at several persons or practices popular today like (recurring target), "Barefoot running, for example, may help indigenous Central American tribes hunt game, but it has never made anyone fast [A loosely veiled reference to claims made in the awesome book, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. Note to the author: 2010 Harvard University research has shown that "runners who forefoot or midfoot strike" do not necessarily need thick-soled shoes for running];" popular author John "The Penguin" Bingham, who advocates for back of the packers, "runners so slow they waddle when they walk-celebrate finishing as if it were a victory;" and "new age gurus such as Jeff Galloway-[wait for it...]a former athlete who should know better-teaching that walking in the middle of a race will make runners faster." As a long time (30 year) recreational runner, I could not disagree more with Stracher's view that recreational runners of today don't care about training or time and just want to socialize. I'm a forefoot striker who wouldn't be caught dead barefoot or in those ugly toe shoes, though I like New Balance Minimus models; not a back-of-the-packer, though I have no qualms about them; and would never intentionally walk during a race. In fact, the runners I know, mostly women in their 30s and 40s, take training and race times seriously, while allowing themselves to enjoy the camaraderie and cool gear. Excuse us for not being bothered that we likely won't win a race! In fairness, he follows his diatribe with a brief moment of positivity about Galen Rupp's and Leo Manzano's recent medal-winning performances in the in 2012 Olympics and the importance of creating more "initiatives like the Oregon Project." Even so, the strength of his negative sentiments won't likely be lost on most runners.
Although I enjoyed the book, I would have loved for the author to tell readers what Shorter, Rodgers and Salazar are up to today (we learn the most about Salazar, probably because of information the author included from AS's memoir 14 Minutes). Also, this feels nitpicky, but I could have done without the following three similes, (p 124) "as easy for Alberto to love as a leggy blonde" (p 127) "bickering like a long-married couple who stayed together for the children" and (p 133) he "threw himself into running like a man in the throes of a desperate affair" used in quick succession. But when all is said and done, it comes down to whether or not I'd recommend this book to my overwhelmingly female runner friends. I'm not sure that I would. Kings of the Road is a well-written, interesting book about how the three Kings "Made Running Go Boom" but I preferred: The Long Run by Matt Long, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami and The Perfect Mile: Three Athletes, One Goal, and Less Than Four Minutes to Achieve It by Neal Bascomb.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Vivid reconstruction of an exciting era in American sports history
By Malvin
"Kings of the Road" by Cameron Stracher is a superb narrative history about the 1970s running boom in America. Centering the story around the life and times of the running greats Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers and Alberto Salazar, Mr. Stracher shows us how competitive running helped inspire and reenergize a weary American public. This expertly written, page-turning book is a must-read for everyone interested in running and/or 20th century American sports history.
Mr. Stracher explains how Shorter, Rodgers and Salazar overcame their individual adversities and channelled their passions into running. Interestingly, we learn how these elite American runners valued the local Falmouth Road Race as the prestige race to win. Indeed, Mr. Stracher contends that the intensity and drama played out each year at Falmouth nurtured the grass-roots running craze and spurred mass participation more than any other single running event at that time.
We learn about the struggles off the road physically, financially and culturally. As a competitive miler, Mr. Stracher brings considerable insights into the challenge of staying fit as he discusses how each runner faced up to their inevitable declines. Mr. Stracher relates how these trailblazing runners made life better for those who would follow by successfully challenging and breaking a system that profited at the athlete's expense. We also meet some of the colorful, entrepreneurial race organizers who sought to maintain the integrity of the sport as mass participation and commercial sponsorships brought new challenges and opportunities.
With its vivid reconstruction of an exciting era in American sports history, I highly recommend this terrific book to everyone.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Stracher's an expert chronicler of running history, though he's a bit of an elitist
By Z. Freeman
"Running is not soccer, or football, or baseball, where half the players on the field are victorious. There can be only one winner. Everyone else is a loser."
This sentiment, on page 91 of Cameron Stracher's exciting recounting of what he (justifiably) refers to as boomtime for running in America, also showcases his dual approach to this novel (his fifth). Aside from being an author and a lawyer, Stracher lists himself as a "competitive miler" in the mini-bio on the back of the book. And his competitive nature as a runner comes out pretty strongly in his writing. But I'll get to that in a bit.
Most importantly, Stracher is a compelling writer, with a firm grasp of what makes reading about running interesting. "Kings of the Road" jumps around quite a bit in time and location (mainly staying in the 70s and on the East coast), but he always keeps it fascinating. Throughout the book, Stracher covers various races, and he has a knack for recounting every twist and turn and surge and psyche-out with just a hint of breathlessness, managing to make the reader feel like they're right there with these front-runners (almost always Bill Rodgers, Frank Shorter or Alberto Salazar). As a runner myself, I'm probably biased, but it seems to me that Stracher's skill here can't be understated - he really knows how to make running exciting.
He also knows how to capture the spirit of his three stars: Rodgers, Shorter and Salazar. He paints these three very distinct personalities with intimate details from each of their lives. And though he clearly admires all three of them and presents them as legends, he effectively steers clear of painting them as anything more than fallible humans with foibles, quirks and rough edges. This style makes the reading all the more interesting and adds an additional level of depth to the recounting of the races.
Stracher's commitment to the sport of running is clear on every page, but as I implied at the start of this review, it also causes the book to stumble a bit towards the end. In Stracher's story arc, these three American running stars help usher in a new era of running in the United States, causing running to go from a series of little-known, poorly attended street races to a hugely popular industry (still growing today). But though Stracher builds up to this outcome throughout the book, he bemoans it at the end.
Discussing the New York City Marathon on page 139, he says: "As the event grew in size and revenue, the race itself became an afterthought, with more attention paid to participating than winning." These kind of complaints are repeated throughout, as Stracher subtly (and not so subtly) describes what he sees as the downfall of competitive running. In the epilogue, he even decries some of the race organizers he previously lionized by saying that, "In popularizing running, they inadvertently dumbed it down, celebrating the participant over the winner."
While I can understand his sentiment, I would argue that this is the beauty of the sport of running (versus any other sport). When I run the New York City Marathon or the Chicago Marathon (or almost any big marathon or other distance race) I'm competing in the exact same event and on the same course as world-class athletes. No after work softball player can say that about her sport, no weekend soccer player can say that about his sport. For me, and for many runners that I know, that's what sets running apart and makes it so exciting.
Still, though I frequently disagreed with Stracher's attitude towards the average runner and the result of the popularity of road races, there's no denying that he's an expert chronicler of running history.
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