Best Running Photograph: Jim Ryun Going Sub-4
If you want a glimpse of pure joy and agony, study the scene as Ryun wins the mile in 3:58.3 at the 1965 Kansas State Championships. The prep senior had broken the four-minute barrier once the previous year, but this was the first time he’d done it in a high-school-only meet—and was his best time to date. Ryun would go on to run faster, of course, but it’s doubtful that he dug any deeper than he did that day in Wichita.
Honor Roll: Rod Dixon celebrating his come-from-behind win at the 1983 Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Marathon with a defeated Geoff Smith collapsed on the ground; Mary Decker screaming on the infield moments after tangling with Zola Budd in the 1984 Olympics.
Hood to Coast: Disposable Timing Chips
The growth of relays and half-marathons is great for running, but the emergence of disposable timing chips is making the world a better place. They make racing less stressful, bring faster and more accurate results, and eliminate choke points at the finish line. And the icing on the cake: No more lost chip fees.
Reader’s Choice: Internet mapping
Coolest Runner: Steve Prefontaine
Coolness is like celluloid obscenity—you know it when you see it. RW editors and thousands of readers see that elusive quality in Pre. He was fast. He raced hard and without fear. He had attitude and could pull off a perfect mustache. Even his failures—cue his fourth-place finish at the 1972 Olympics—seemed heroic. It’s sad but true that his tragic death at age 24 only burnished his legacy.
Honor Roll: Usain Bolt; Bill Rodgers; Brian Sell
Best Rivalry: Haile Gebrselassie vs. Paul Tergat
For nearly a decade, these two legends traded punches in big races, swapping world records and top podium positions. Though Tergat was the superior cross-country runner, in head-to-head meetings Geb usually got to the finish a little bit sooner than his Kenyan rival. None of their duels had more drama than the final of the 10,000 meters at the 2000 Olympics, as Geb nipped Tergat by nine-hundredths of a second. They were that close.
Honor Roll: Health & Injuries; Frank Shorter vs. Bill Rodgers
Reader’s Choice: Gebrselassie vs. Tergat; Sebastian Coe vs. Ovett
Best Performance: Sammy Wanjiru in Beijing
We’ve seen amazing athletic feats, but none match Sammy Wanjiru’s bravura 2008 Olympic Marathon win (2:06:32). In hot, humid conditions, the Kenyan ran a breakneck pace from the gun to crush a stellar field—and the Olympic record by nearly three minutes.
Honor Roll: Ryan Hall winning 2008 Olympic Trials; Joan Benoit winning the 1984 Trials
Reader’s Choice: Usain Bolt’s world records at the 2009 World Championships
David Oliver and Steve Prefontaine: Terry Fox
He was more than a hero. Maybe it was the audacity of his run—3,339 miles on a prehistoric prosthesis. Perhaps it was how he raised support and funding for research. Or how he continued his Marathon of Hope until his cancer had metastasized to his lungs. Terry Fox proved that an ordinary person can change the world.
Honor Roll: Billy Mills; Dick and Rick Hoyt; Ed Whitlock
Reader’s Choice: Lance Armstrong; Steve Prefontaine
Best Training Secret: Value Rest
Patience can be tougher than persistence. We’re good at going long, pretty good at going hard, and sometimes decent at going easy. But to stay healthy and get truly fit, you need to rest, too. This typically involves cross-training, early nights to bed, and—gasp—days off. The whole rest thing is easier understood than mastered.
Honor Roll: Run slow when you’re supposed to run slow
Reader’s Choice: RW Editors pick their all-time favorite distance events, from 5-Ks to Ultras
Favorite Yoga Move or Stretch: Bird Dog
It’s a simple, effective way to stabilize your core and work your glutes. And for those of us too balky to contort ourselves into a one-legged inverted staff pose, it’s easy and satisfying. Do it in the parking lot after a group run at your own risk.
Honor Roll: Downward Dog; simple quad stretch
Favorite Energy Bar: Clif Bar, Crunchy Peanut Butter
The overwhelming favorite of RW staffers. We like the strong nutty flavor with real peanut pieces, the far-from-goopy texture, and the extra hit of protein. They’re ideal after a run, but mighty good with an afternoon espresso, too.
Most Beautiful Place to Trail Run: The Grand Canyon
If you have the legs, you can’t top the glory of this 5,000-foot-deep gorge. Our tips: Start before sunrise, carry tons of water, and grab a cold beer at Phantom Ranch if you make it down to the Colorado River.
Honor Roll: Ideal Runners Food
Best Invention or Trend in Racing: Hayward Field
There’s no place on Earth that we’d rather do intervals. Why? It may be the loud, savvy crowd, the success of the Olympic Trials, all that rich history. With apologies to the fine people of Oslo, this is the oval that fills our dreams.
Honor Roll: Central Park; Boylston Street; Rift Valley; Pre’s Trail
Must-Have Item For Every Race: Body Glide®
No one likes to get rubbed the wrong way. You can wind up with blistered toes and feet, chafed thighs, and other indignities we’d just as soon not get into here. That’s why we’ve come to depend on this nongreasy balm; you just roll it on at the beginning of a long run or race and forget about the friction. Not bad for something that costs less than a movie ticket.
Best Comeback: Alberto Salazar at Comrades
A decade after his last triumph, Alberto Salazar, 35, reemerged at the 1994 Comrades Marathon, winning the 56-mile race in 5:38:39. Said Salazar, “What happened was a miracle.”
Honor Roll: Paula Radcliffe winning the 2008 Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Marathon, a few months after a stress fracture; Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Marathon founder Fred Lebow finishing the race in 1992, two years after a brain-cancer diagnosis
Most Exciting Young Female Runner: Kara Goucher
She may be fresh-faced and cheery, but Goucher has guts and has matured into a superstar, highlighted by a bronze in the 10,000 meters at the 2007 World Championships and thirds in her first two stabs at the marathon. Goucher is prepping to go into family mode, but we still think she can win a really big one.
Honor Roll: Jenny Barringer; Jordan Hasay
Reader’s Choice: Jenny Barringer, only 23, now holds the U.S. record in the 3000-meter steeplechase.
Most Exciting Young Male Runner: Ryan Hall
This guy’s only 27? He already has the U.S. record in the half (59:43) and the heavy mantle as the nation’s best marathon prospect, but there’s good reason to think he’ll get even better. It doesn’t hurt that he’s lived most of his life at altitude and is full of talent and drive. But the real key to Hall’s greatness might be his faith in his ability to go faster.
Honor Roll: German Fernandez; Sammy Wanjiru
Reader’s Choice: Sammy Wanjiru
Most Important Female Pioneer: Kathrine Switzer
An attempted push from a furious race official could not stop K.V. Switzer from becoming the first woman wearing a race number to finish the Boston Marathon in 1967—nor could any reasonable force stop Switzer from inspiring millions of women to follow in her footsteps. Among her many subsequent achievements: winning the Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Marathon in 1974; creating the Avon International Running Circuit, a global series of women’s running events; and leading the charge to get the women’s marathon included in the 1984 Olympic Games. In short, this visionary has literally paved the way for millions of women to run and race.
Honor Roll: Joan Benoit Samuelson; Grete Waitz
Reader’s Choice: Joan Benoit Samuelson
Best Looking Male Runner: Craig Mottram
He’s the closest thing to tall (6-foot-2), dark, and handsome in running today, and the fact that the 29-year-old Aussie can crank out 12:55 at 5000 meters doesn’t make him any less attractive.
Honor Roll: David Oliver and Steve Prefontaine
Reader’s Choice: Steve Prefontaine
winning 2008 Olympic Trials: Kara Goucher
Beauty may come from within, but inner strength won’t help you shine in bun huggers and a cropped tank. We shudder to think how many guys have a pinup of Kara enjoying her bronze at the 2007 Worlds.
Honor Roll: Suzy Favor Hamilton and Uta Pippig
Reader’s Choice: Kara Goucher
Best Invention or Trend in Racing: Hills
We know that to race well on hills you have to train on hills. We know how great you can feel after a set of hill repeats. We know they build leg strength, incinerate calories, and increase aerobic capacity. But honestly, the truth hurts.
Honor Roll: Speedwork; tapering
Reader’s Choice: Speedwork
Best Postrun Food: Chocolate Milk
It’s pure science—an ideal blend of carbs and protein for tired muscles that works as well as fancy recovery drinks. The fact that it’s creamy and recalls our idealized childhoods has nothing to do with it.
Dream Personal Coach: Alberto Salazar
We’d like to know how Alberto helped transform Kara Goucher into an elite marathoner, coaxed Dathan Ritzenhein to run 5000 meters in 12:56, and has elevated nearly all of his athletes to new heights. After he gets Alan Webb out of the weeds, we hope he can offer us some training tips and some time in the altitude tent.
Honor Roll: Jack Daniels
Reader’s Choice: Best Male Distance Runner Of All Time
Best Performance By an Underdog: Billy Mills
This Oglala Lakota Sioux from South Dakota (and U.S. Marine) came into the 1964 Olympics as a virtual unknown, but emerged a hero as the first American to triumph at 10,000 meters. After surviving surges by world record holder Ron Clarke of Australia, Tunisia’s Mohamed Gammoudi, and other favorites, Mills sprinted past Clarke and Gammoudi to win in 28:24.4. That performance was an Olympic record—and almost 50 seconds faster than Mills’s previous PR. If you’ve never watched the last two minutes of this thriller, you should pull it up on YouTube.
Honor Roll: Dick Beardsley’s heroic second place in the 1982 Boston Marathon; Carlos Lopes winning the 1984 Olympic Marathon in record time two weeks after getting run over by a car
Ideal Runner’s Food: Bananas
Although a few of us feel that peanut butter actually increases our life force, all of us know that bananas are the Most Perfect Running Food. They come in a handy carrying case, they’re darn tasty year-round, and they’re packed with 500 milligrams of potassium to help prevent cramping, maintain fluid balance, even regulate your heartbeat. That’s a lot of goodness for a few dimes.
Honor Roll: Peanut butter; pasta; coffee; Greek yogurt
Best Workout To Wind up Puking: Mile Repeats
Long, hard track efforts do wonders for your VO2 max, but they can leave you in the pain cave. Afterward, if you’re not doubled over, making faces like you just passed a kidney stone, you did something wrong.
Honor Roll: Hill repeats
Best Thing About Runners’ Bodies: Legs
Strength can be beautiful. To wit: shapely calves to power you up tough hills, lean hamstrings to help maintain your stride, and well-defined quads to descend with confidence.
Honor Roll: Hearts
Hardest Race: Badwater Ultramarathon
RW’s own Bart Yasso can attest to the challenges posed by this 135-mile route that climbs 19,000 total feet from Death Valley to Whitney Portal. And to make things interesting, this takes place in July, in temps that can exceed 120 degrees.
Honor Roll: Western States; Pikes Peak Hill Climb
Reader’s Choice: Best Running-Related Movies
Best Female Distance Runner Of All Time: Grete Waitz
Her streak still gives us goose bumps. Over an 11-year span, this classy Norwegian dominated all comers at the Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Marathon nine times. She set world records in the marathon, the half, and on the track; won five world cross-country championships; and took silver in the first women’s Olympic Marathon. Even as she’s fighting cancer, she remains an unflagging ambassador for the sport.
Honor Roll: RW Editors pick their all-time favorite distance events, from 5-Ks to Ultras
Reader’s Choice: Joan Benoit Samuelson; Paula Radcliffe; Grete Waitz
Best Male Distance Runner Of All Time: Haile Gebrselassie
Kenenisa Bekele is knocking on the door. But by a nose, for now, it’s still Geb. He’s earned a world championship or set a world record at every distance from 1500 meters to the marathon. His triumphs include a 2:03:59 world record at the 2008 Berlin Marathon and two Olympic golds at 10,000 meters against hall of fame competition. Even now, at 36, he runs as though he’s not satisfied with 24 career world records.
Honor Roll: Best Workout To Wind up Puking
Reader’s Choice: Hood to Coast; Marathon du Medoc in Bordeaux, France; London; Big Sur
Best Time Of Day to Run: Early Morning
The new day is young, the light is perfect, and the whole world is full of unfettered promise. Plus, the cranky kids haven’t woken up, your boss hasn’t screwed up your afternoon, you didn’t finish that giant burrito at lunch, and you’re not burrowed into your couch watching Real Housewives of Atlanta reruns. For all these reasons, we set our alarm, slurp our French roast, and roll out the front door into the twilight.
Honor Roll: Evening; lunchtime
Best Race Worth Traveling For: Comrades Marathon
We like to think big, and it’s hard to imagine a bigger trip than flying to South Africa to take on this justifiably famous ultra. You get more than 56 hilly miles through beautiful countryside, the challenge of beating a 12-hour cutoff, and a very long flight home to nurse your trashed quads.
Honor Roll: Hood to Coast; Marathon du Medoc (in Bordeaux, France); London; Big Sur
Reader’s Choice: The Boston Marathon, a trip you literally have to earn.
Best Running-Related Movies:
Chariots of Fire
If you haven’t seen it since 1981, add it to your queue. The tale of two runners who need to win for different reasons holds up well.
Without Limits
The better of the Prefontaine biopics, this one (starring Billy Crudup) digs into Pre’s relationship with his coach, Bill Bowerman.
Saint Ralph
Staffers who like sentimental movies love Saint Ralph, the story of a 14-year-old boy on a desperate quest to run the 1954 Boston Marathon.
Prefontaine
The other Pre movie, with a strong turn by Jared Leto and powerful scenes of the Munich Olympics and maybe just a bit too much melodrama.
Run For Your Life
This documentary traces how Fred Lebow grew the Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Marathon from a quirky idea into a global sporting event.
Reader’s Choice: Chariots of Fire; Without Limits; Prefontaine; Spirit of the Marathon; Forrest Gump
America’s Best Races
RW Editors pick their all-time favorite distance events, from 5-Ks to Ultras.
Marathon(s): Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
In terms of pure theater, you can’t top New York, with unbeatable energy, huge crowds, and a view of one of the world’s greatest cities that can’t be had any other day.
Boston
It’s simple: Because you need to qualify. And more than a century of tradition doesn’t hurt, either.
Big Sur
If you prefer beauty—say running through redwood forests and along the rugged Pacific coast—over brawn, then put this one on your life list.
Half-Marathon: Philly Distance Run
With rare consensus, editors feted Philly for being flat and fast—a perfect setting for a PR.
10-K: Bolder Boulder
Out-of-towners may feel the altitude, but they’ll definitely love the spectacular scenery, world-class field, rich tradition, and the stadium finish.
Honor Roll: Peachtree Road Race
5-K: Carlsbad
This 25-year-old classic is fast, with sweeping views of the Pacific and an unparalleled chance to watch top elites rip it up. Did we mention it’s fast?
Ultramarathon: Comrades Marathon
This South African classic isn’t the hardest or longest ultra, but none have more beauty, more tradition, or more entrants.
Other Distance: Hood to Coast
Before there was a relay craze, there was Hood to Coast—a 197-mile journey from Oregon’s Mount Hood to the Pacific.
Honor Roll: Boilermaker 15-K
Quirky Event: PETER FLAX is based in Los Angeles and writes about sports, adventure, and culture; his book
This 99-year-old 12-K is what you get if you cross an elite road race with Mardi Gras. Even when it’s not pretty, it’s pretty funny.
Honor Roll: Empire State Building Run Up; The Dipsea Race
10 Best Running Cities In America
1. Portland
No place has so much sweet trail, mostly in Forest Park or by the Willamette.
2. San Francisco
Inspiring views, great weather, killer hills, and a festive hometown race.
3. New York
winning the 2008.
4. Boulder
Home to fantastic trails, a vibrant elite scene, and the nation’s best 10-K.
5. Austin
The city has 50-plus miles of scenic paths, plus typically sunny and mild weather.
6. Boston
Anyone can run Heartbreak Hill 364 days a year. Or try a scenic loop along the Charles.
7. Eugene
Track Town is Nike’s birthplace and home to Hayward Field and legendary Pre’s Trail.
8. Chicago
Anyone can run Heartbreak Hill 364 days a year. Or try a scenic loop along the Charles.
9. San Diego
Stellar weather, breathtaking ocean views, and lots of fast company.
10. Flagstaff
The elites love the limitless trail options, sunny skies, and high elevation.
Reader’s Choice: Advertisement - Continue Reading Below; Boston; Chicago; Eugene; Boulder; Portland; Washington, D.C. ; San Francisco; Austin; San Diego
Best Books About Running
Once a Runner by John L. Parker
RW editors still love protagonist Quenton Cassidy and this razor-sharp portrayal of serious running.
The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life by Amby Burfoot
RW’s editor at large distills 35 years of running into 15 life lessons, arguing that self-discovery beats winning.
The Four-Minute Mile by Roger Bannister
A deft memoir about a day that changed Bannister’s life and the sport forever.
Shoes & Gear by John Brant
Examines the mythic duel between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley at the 1982 Boston Marathon, which wound up shaping the lives of both men for years.
Born to Run by Christopher McDougal
Full of beguiling characters and tangents, this surprising yarn celebrates the soul and the joys of running.
Best Race Worth Traveling For by Chris Lear
Follow Adam Goucher and the University of Colorado men’s cross-country team through a season of training, tragedy, and triumph.
Reader’s Choice: Once a Runner; Born to Run; Best Race Worth Traveling For; Pre, by Tom Jordan; Shoes & Gear
Kenya vs. Ethiopia Live to Ride: Finding Joy and Meaning on a Bicycle is out in March 2024.
