Book Review: Kings of the Road

In October, I read Kings of the Road: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom by Cameron Stracher. It was recommended to me by one of my running friends, Matt. It was the first novel about running that I read, and I absolutely loved it.

I love running, but I hated history class. I think if history class revolved around running, I would have liked it more (and I might have retained some information; I had Jack explain Watergate to me on our historical Georgetown/Rosslyn run yesterday...now I'll probably always remember what Watergate is just because it was discussed on a running route). As I read this book, I couldn't help but smile and get excited about events as they unfolded. It was like reading a book or watching a movie when you know the ending, but you enjoy re-reading or re-watching it. I kept telling my boyfriend, "Oh! Hey! Listen to this..." as I read a paragraph from the book.

The book covers how Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar impacted distance running. The author does a good job making each of them into round characters, giving us information about their backgrounds, their motivations, their training, their lives. Usually people just remember basic facts--who won which race or just recognize famous names--but this book did a good job in helping see each man as a person who loved running. It was easy to empathize with each of them, wanting success for each man (even while knowing only one man would win a race). I enjoyed the coverage of each race, as is sometimes overlooked in race reports these days. It's always about the journey.

I'm not going to give up everything from the book, but I want to point out the great story of the Falmouth road race (just over 7 miles) and how these elite runners made such an impact on the race (as well as other races) and on the running community. I almost wanted to cry because it was so beautiful. I ached to live in a time before my own, to escape into the pictures from the early 80's, to be alive for the awakening of the running boom. I wanted to see the growth of running clubs, races, and changes in running.

Of course, I think each runner can know and understand the importance his or her own personal running boom. I remember falling in love with running, then with training, then with racing, and falling into injuries and burnout, just to make it through with running. I am excited for my future with running, and I am excited for the future of running. After all, us women still have to break the 4:00 barrier in the mile.