Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed Hardcover – June 4, 2019

I'd read it before many years ago, but heard it mentioned on a pod cast, so picked up another copy -- not sure what happened to the old one, but I hope someone is enjoying it.

loved the book,based on historical team and coach from California that read like a novel.

This is a great motivational book for runners; it will make you want to go out and run hard for as long as you can. That's running to the edge and staying there, the simple training method that has been extremely successful for coach Bob Larsen. The books is in two parts. In the first part, you learn the story of how Larsen started out coaching in a small high school and how he developed the Jamul Toads Running Club into a bunch of elite runners. You get the story of Bob Larsen and how he developed his training plan, as well as the stories of each of the individual runners who made that club so successful. These are all great stories.The second part of the book focuses mainly on Meb Keflezighi, but does include the story (or part of the story) of Deena Drossin, as well, the two most successful marathon runners Bob Larsen ever trained. They had amazing stories and amazing successes and I believe Futterman tells the story very well, even including tidbits of his own running experiences throughout the book.It's a great book. If you're a runner you should read it.

I started Running to the Edge the moment it arrived in my mailbox and couldn't put it down. Futterman does an excellent job explaining his personal joys and whys of running, as an amateur runner himself. You can't help but feel his enthusiasm as he trains and competes in races, vignettes that are interspersed amongst the book's main narrative. I knew nothing about the subject of the book, Coach Bob Larsen, until I started reading, but what a worthy subject he is. Coach Larsen was driven by his own personal quest to get faster, something every runner craves, and he eschewed accepted training methods popular at the time to test out his theories on an otherwise unlikely band of runners, the "misfits" in the subtitle. Ultimately, he climbs to the highest levels of the sport, as coach of the UCLA and Olympic long-distance running teams. I don't want to give away those keys he unlocks, because Futterman does an excellent job of taking you along on Coach Larsen's journey, as well as getting inside the heads of many of the runners he trained over the decades. I felt like I was pounding the pavement right along with them, and it made me want to lace up my running shoes and head out. I recommend this book to any runner, casual or competitive, who is looking for a great read, along with the insight and motivation it offers.

This is the first time I have ever written an Amazon review, but I was moved to do so because I was so disappointed in this book.First let me say that I think Coach Bob Larsen is a terrific coach who deserves to have his story told, but to say that he devised some secret sauce, or that he held some singular vision for coaching distance runners is just not correct. There were lots of great coaches all over the US in the 60’s and 70’s, and there were lots of great runners who were essentially self-coached. And while San Diego was a hotbed of talent, there were also hotbeds of talent in Florida, Philly, Boston, Oregon and elsewhere.So that’s the first big criticism of this book. The other big criticism could be described as “death by a thousand paper cuts” or, in this case, death by a thousand little inaccuracies that call into question the accuracy of the book as a whole. To name just a few:- US distance runners most definitely did not flock to Wyoming to train in the 70’s.- The author implies Mark Nenow wasn’t world-class when he ran his American Record in the 10,000 meters in 1986. In fact, Nenow was ranked #1 in the world that year and his time was the third-fastest in history, only 7 seconds off the world record.- The science and benefits of altitude training were well known long before Larsen and Vigil established Running USA in Mammoth Lakes.- Larsen was well aware of Meb Keflezighi before he saw him run at the Drake Relays. Anyone who made his living by following and recruiting the best high school track athletes to their college program would have to be.- Sebastian Coe did not come from an “aristocratic” family. His father was an engineer. His family was certainly comfortable, but definitely not aristocratic or even especially wealthy.- Meb was partially sponsored by the New York Athletic Club, not the New York Road Runners. Deena Kastor was never sponsored by Nike. She is sponsored by Asics.Finally, there are the short chapters about the author himself, Matthew Futterman, interspersed throughout the book. One has to wonder why he chose to include these anecdotes about such topics as injuring his knee and a college frat party. Yes, he also runs a bit and even once qualified for the Boston Marathon (congratulations), but the chapters don’t have any connection to the rest of the story. He doesn’t describe putting Larsen’s principles into practice in his own training or even how his training evolved over time. Instead, these chapters just seem like vanity pieces. Yes, he ran Boston once and flirted with another runner on the morning of his wedding. Who cares?This could have been a great book about a coach quietly dedicated to helping others achieve Olympic medals, but by trying to inflate and embellish his subject, Futterman instead, ironically, makes it a lesser book.Skip this book and instead pick up either of Meb Keflezighi’s excellent auto-biographies, Run To Overcome and 26 Marathons, or Deena Kastor’s auto-biography, Let Your Mind Run.

I have never written a book review before however Running to the Edge is a truly outstanding book that really captures the mind set and distance running culture in San Diego during the 50s., 60s, and early 70s. I know this because I was there in San Diego racing and competing as a Cross Country distance runner (Mesa College State Championship, 1964; SDSU NCAA College Div. National Champions 1966 and 67). I knew of or ran,, raced and trained with many of the runners mentioned in the first part of the book. I also aran the Balboa 8 mile many times (16th. in 1966) now in it's 65th year and the oldest run in San Diego. San Diego was a place where many great runners grew up and raced. If you want to get a real feeling for what distance running during this time period was like, when only serious distance runners wore running shoes, when there were no finish T-shirts, no finisher medals (only place medals to the top 10-20 finisher)s, this is the book get. A great read that you won't be able to put down.

Fantastic Book! The stories within the book give you a sense of the pioneer spirit of the Toads and gives you an insight into how the ‘mind over body’ is a necessity for top athletes.Highly recommended!!

Efficiently dispatched overseas for a gift.

I enjoyed this read and feel it was remarkably well served by a man who understands the trials and tribulations that reside on the continuum between runners high and injury. The personal connection is woven deeply into the story.

A running book for runners. The main trail of the book is a very well told story, but also includes side tracks of running and life philosophy mixed with scientific facts. Thoroughly enjoyable reading experience for those who love running or maybe want to love running.

It’s not as engaging as I would have thought. Could have had better suggested more tricks to improve running. Using various techniques.