The Longform Guide to Running
Champions, record-breakers, frauds, and underdogs — our favorite articles about runners.
The Freshman and the Great Guru
A profile of a young Steve Prefontaine.
Pat Putnam Sports Illustrated Jun 1970 15min
Debbie Heald Set an Important Record
A 16-year-old runner, her coach and the lasting memory of an improbable race.
Steve Friedman Runner's World Dec 2012 30min
Marathon Man
The strange case of Kip Litton, road race fraud.
Mark Singer New Yorker Aug 2012 40min
Run Like Fire Once More
On the world’s longest foot race, which takes place entirely within Queens.
The Mysterious Death of Sammy Wanjiru
He rose from poverty to fame as a marathon champion at only 23. But was his fall from a balcony outside of Nairobi murder, accident, or suicide?
Anna Clark Grantland Oct 2011 15min
The Runner
A profile of 101-year-old marathoner Fauja Singh.
Jordan Conn ESPN Feb 2013 15min
The Power of One
At age 17, Bonnie Richardson won the Texas state track team championship all by herself. Then she did it again.
Gary Smith Sports Illustrated Sep 2009 25min
The Men Who Live Forever
In Mexico’s remote Copper Canyon, the Tarahumara Indians party hard, get by on a diet of carbs and beer, and can still run 100-mile races, even in their 60s.
Christopher McDougall Men's Health Apr 2008 20min
Bret, Unbroken
His brain and body shattered in a horrible accident as a young boy, Bret Dunlap thought just being able to hold down a job, keep an apartment, and survive on his own added up to a good enough life. Then he discovered running.
Steve Friedman Runner's World May 2013 30min
Jun 1970 – May 2013 Permalink