Staying the Course

Staying the Course: A Runner's Toughest Race is a great book. It is about Dick Beardsley who in High School was never a runner until his junior year and didn't make the varsity team until the last few races. He didn't run his junior track season because it was during fishing season. With his senior year left in cross country he was the number one runner on his team but he never broke sixteen (which is kind of the mark showing that you are a good cross country runner). He was good enough his senior year in track and in cross to get a scholarship to a junior college in the area. He had two years of eligibility there but but some how he got three in track and two in cross country. Dick was turning into a very good distance runner so his coach told him he should try to start running marathons. He did his first marathon in 2:33:06 which is very good for his first one but it is no where near world class. Dick was going to go for the 1980 US Olympic team because he made a qualifying time of 2:20:22 seconds. That only got him 44th place in that race but he still was able to go to the Olympic trials. But at the Trials he didn't make the Olympic team but he had a great experience and learned a lot but he was running out of money so he went to a sporting goods show where he passed out his resumes to big name companies like Nike,addias, and New Balance. New Balance signed him and he got a new pair of running shoes that moment. Dick became a very big name when he started getting under 2:20:00 consitantly. Here is a link with the book I am readin in it.