Running to the Edge

The story of visionary American running coach Bob Larsen's mismatched team of elite California runners who would win championships and Olympic glory in a decades-long pursuit of "the epic run."

In the dusty hills above San Diego, Bob Larsen became America's greatest running coach.
     Running to the Edge is a riveting account of Larsen's journey, and his quest to discover the unorthodox training secrets that would lead American runners to breakthroughs never imagined. Futterman interweaves the dramatic stories of Larsen's runners with a fascinating discourse on the science behind human running, as well as a personal running narrative that follows Futterman's own checkered love-affair with the sport. The result is a narrative that will speak to every runner, a story of Larsen's triumphs--from high school cross-country meets to the founding of the cult-favorite, 70's running group, the Jamul Toads; from his long tenure as head coach at UCLA to the secret training regimen of world champion athletes like Larsen's protégé, Meb Keflezighi. Running to the Edge is a page-turner . . . a relentless crusade to run faster, farther.

MATTHEW FUTTERMAN is Deputy Sports Editor of the New York Times. He has previously worked for The Wall Street Journal, The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Star-Ledger of New Jersey, where he was a part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News in 2005. Like a lot of sportswriters, he is something of a frustrated athlete, who is still smarting from going 0-8 in singles his senior year at Union College. He blames a formerly weak psyche and sub-optimal serve. He grew up in Larchmont, New York, and graduated from Mamaroneck High School, Union College and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. He also attended the creative writing program at the University of Arkansas. He lives in New York with his wife and children. In his spare time he runs marathons. He is not sure why.