Breakfast Club: September 3, 2019

breakfast club

curated running news and other curious content

Good morning!

Welcome back to Breakfast Club, your (bi)weekly dose of runningish content.  

To sharpen my motivation for fall racing, I've been rereading Chris Lear's cult classic, Running with the Buffaloes, a remarkable piece of running journalism about the 1998 University of Colorado men's cross country team.  Lear embedded himself into the program for the entire race season, documenting the ups and downs of every workout, recovery run, team meeting, and race.

The book follows the team through long runs, interval workouts, injuries, tragedy, and triumph.  A story about any other collegiate team would have been an interesting exploration of the discipline and talent needed to compete in NCAA cross country.  But what makes the book truly compelling are the turbulent events of the 1998 season and the main character, Colorado's head coach, Mark Wetmore.

Rereading it now, in a moment defined by social media and internet celebrity, …