The Front Runner

Harlan's Story #1

by Patricia Nell Warren

First published in 1974, The Front Runner raced to international acclaim - the first novel about gay love to become popular with mainstream. In 1975, coach Harlan Brown is hiding from his past at an obscure New York college, after he was fired from Penn State University on suspicion of being gay. A tough, lonely ex-Marine of 39, Harlan has never allowed himself to love another man. Then Billy Sive, a brilliant young runner, shows up on his doorstep. He and his two comrades, Vince Matti and Jacques LaFont, were just thrown off a major team for admitting they are gay. Harlan knows that, with proper training, Billy could go to the '76 Olympics in Montreal. He agrees to coach the three boys under strict conditions that thwart Billy's growing attraction for his mature but compelling mentor. The lean, graceful front runner with gold-rim glasses sees directly into Harlan's heart. Billy's gentle and open acceptance of his sexuality makes Harlan afraid to confront either the pain of his past, or the challenges which lay in wait if their intimacy is exposed. But when Coach Brown finds himself falling in love with his most gifted athlete, he must combat his true feelings for Billy or risk the outrage of the entire sports world - and their only chance at Olympic gold.

Genres: LGBT, Fiction, Gay, Romance, Queer, M M Romance, Sports

346 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Patricia Nell Warren (pen-name Patricia Kylyna) was a Ukrainian and American poet and novelist. She wrote her works in Ukrainian and English.

In 1957 she married a Ukrainian emigre writer Yuriy Tarnawsky and subsequently learned Ukrainian language. Under Tarnawsky's influence she started socializing in Ukrainian emigre writers' circles and soon started writing her own poems, which culminated in her publishing several well-received Ukrainian poetry collections: Trahediya dzhmeliv (New-York: Vydavnytstvo New Yorkskoyi hrypy, 1960), Legendy i sny (New-York: Vydavnytstvo New Yorkskoyi hrypy, 1964), and Rozhevi mista (Munich: Suchasnist, 1969). She published her Ukrainian poetry collections under the pen-name Patricia Kylyna.

After Nell Warren divorced Tarnawsky in 1973, she left Ukrainian literature and never wrote another book in Ukrainian until her death. Instead Nell Warren switched to American literature and tried her best as an American novelist. In 1972 she published her first book in English, a novel The Last Centennial, still under her pen-name Patricia Kylyna (Kilina). Her breakthrough came in 1974 when she published a gay-themed novel The Front Runner. This was the first time she published any of her books under her real name Patricia Nell Warren, and it paid off: the book sold more than 10 mil. copies and was subsequently translated into multiple languages.

For her Ukrainian-language profile see Патриція Килина

Reviews

[Fabian · Rating 3 out of 5]

So there are actually two movies I could watch if I am sick and bedridden: as a child: "Peter Pan" (dedicated to the sick children of post WWII London, as I recollect); as an adult: "Brokeback Mountain."

I was not an instant fan of the film until I saw it on DVD. It is the ultimate Lifetime movie-- the perennial dramathon we've come to expect from love stories. Gay Brokeback, not Peter Pan.

Anyway, I also don't really regard the short story by Annie Proulx all that. So, then, which is the definitive gay love story of all time?

NOT the Front Runner, that's fo show.

It is melodrama supreme... the sentimentality like molasses, oozing its way into a reader whose intrigue is dimmed as the conclusion becomes all too apparent. It's sad, but not intimately sad. It's hot, but not ultimately hot.

For a fairly better delving into modern gay lit, go with Ben Saenz's "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe." And if you want the ultimate experience in CLASSY gay stuff, Alan Hollinghurst is your man. Or Isherwood. Heck, even Armistead Maupin has his moments with the muse.

Not this one, though. Sorry.

[Maria Clara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lo siento, pero no he podido con este libro. Según los expertos, es la historia gay más hermosa que se ha escrito hasta ahora, pero yo no estoy de acuerdo. Es más, hay frases que te dejan de piedra; helada contra las mujeres. Y no sólo eso, sino que el personaje de Harlan es odioso. ¿En serio quiere tener niños? ¿Él, que ya los tiene y ni se acuerda de sus hijos? Parece ironía.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

**2019 UPDATE** Patricia Nell Warren died at 82. Her gay-male novels of the 1970s (eg this one, The Beauty Queen, The Fancy Dancer) were eye-openers for young queer me. RIP, and thanks.

I've come to think of this as a very flawed book because its heroes don't get anything like their richly earned HEA. True to its times, death stalks them. But before that...transcendent love and not just slaked lust (though there's plenty o' lust-slakin' indeed). Revelatory for my 1976 self. I am sad it never got its movie...Paul Newman optioned it way back when and the bubble machine hit overdrive imagining him as Harlan...but I'm deeply glad it was around in its flawed glory when I was young and impressionable. Love! Ordinary, human love between two men, neither of whom wore marabou or make-up!

And then that ending. I think rising sea-levels started when gay guys hit the last three chapters of this book. It *still* hurts forty-three years later to think of the ending. My goodness, I'm even tearing up, I can not believe just remembering it affects me so profoundly!

Patricia Nell Warren, you did real good.

[Kaje Harper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a classic bittersweet m/m romance, written back when that was a far more rare and risky thing. It is a wonderful book, and has lost nothing in the decades since it was written. The 1970's setting is a vivid backdrop, the main characters are wonderful and complex, and the ending still makes me cry after many readings. As we browse through the candy store of contemporary m/m romances, this is one to read and savor, and to remind us of the things that change, and the things that remain the same.

[Katie M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sigh. What to say about this book? I do understand that it was brave and sensational and groundbreaking. I do understand that it changed the lives of many people who read it. I do understand that it was a product of its time and that times are different now. I do understand how it helped lay the foundation for other queer novels to follow. But seriously, it is just so. Extraordinarily. Bad. There, I've said it.

[David Carrasco · Rating 4 out of 5]

¿Puede una historia de amor cambiar la historia de un país?

No lo pregunto como provocación, lo pregunto en serio. ¿Puede el amor entre dos personas —contado con la urgencia de quien no tiene tiempo para metáforas— transformar la forma en que una sociedad entera se enfrenta al deseo, al miedo, a la culpa? El corredor de fondo, de Patricia Nell Warren, no se limita a responder: lanza esa pregunta como si fuese una piedra contra un escaparate. Y aquí estamos, cincuenta años después, contemplando todavía los cristales rotos.

Piénsalo un segundo. Esta novela se publicó en 1974. En varios estados de EE. UU., acostarte con la persona que amabas podía mandarte a la cárcel. Ser homosexual era motivo de expulsión del ejército, de universidades, de trabajos. En España, bastaba parecer ‘poco masculino’ para acabar fichado bajo la Ley de Vagos y Maleantes. No hablamos del siglo XIX. Hablamos de ayer. De ese ayer viscoso que todavía nos echa el aliento en la nuca. Lo que Warren escribió no fue solo una historia de amor: fue un desafío en forma de libro. Y cada página lleva el peso de esa osadía. Porque, a veces, lo que parece una novela deportiva resulta ser una barricada.

Y es que lo que arranca como una novela deportiva —un entrenador universitario, Harlan Brown, intentando reconstruir su carrera mientras prepara a jóvenes corredores para los Juegos Olímpicos— se convierte muy pronto en algo mucho más íntimo, valiente y transformador. Harlan, un hombre reservado y marcado por un pasado que no se nos cuenta de golpe sino que se nos va deslizando entre silencios, conoce a Billy Sive, un prodigio del atletismo con una fuerza interior que va más allá del cronómetro. Entre ambos surge un vínculo que desafía no solo las normas de la institución deportiva, sino las leyes no escritas de un país aún profundamente homófobo. Hasta ahí puedo contar sin destriparte nada esencial. Porque lo importante aquí no es qué pasa, sino cómo te atraviesa.

Patricia Nell Warren escribe como quien corre una carrera larga: sin perder nunca el control del ritmo. Su prosa tiene una claridad engañosa, como si no estuviera haciendo nada especial... hasta que llegas a cierta página y te das cuenta de que estás jodido. Que algo se te ha roto dentro y no sabes muy bien cuándo ha ocurrido. No hay florituras. No hay golpes bajos. Pero hay una precisión narrativa que no deja grietas. Como si cada escena estuviera construida con la paciencia de un orfebre y la rabia contenida de quien sabe que escribir también es una forma de pelear.

La estructura es limpia aunque no lineal en lo emocional: el narrador (el propio Harlan) va dejando caer pistas de su evolución como quien deja migas de pan en un bosque muy oscuro. Esa elección de voz narrativa lo cambia todo. Porque Harlan no es el tipo de personaje que grita sus emociones: es un hombre de silencios, de control. Por eso, cuando se permite sentir —y contárnoslo—, cada palabra pesa. Porque Harlan no se derrumba: cede. En el fondo, este libro es una confesión. Una que nos llega desde adentro, escrita con una honestidad que desarma. Y aunque la novela gira en torno al deporte de alto rendimiento, lo que realmente está en juego es el cuerpo como frontera política, como campo de batalla del deseo y como trinchera contra el odio.

Y ahí está la clave: El corredor de fondo es muchas cosas a la vez. Una historia de amor. Un drama psicológico. Un manifiesto encubierto. Un testimonio deportivo. Un retrato de época. Un mapa del cuerpo como frontera. Todo eso sin dejar de ser —atención— una novela. Es decir, una historia que se sostiene por sí misma, más allá del mensaje. Hay algo del Maurice de E. M. Forster en su impulso de dignificar el amor entre hombres. Pero donde Forster escribe desde la contención, Warren lo hace desde la furia tranquila. Desde esa certeza de que no basta con sobrevivir: hay que vivir a plena luz.

Billy es, probablemente, uno de los personajes más luminosos que me he encontrado en mucho tiempo. No porque sea perfecto, sino porque no negocia con el miedo. Tiene la luminosidad de quien ha decidido no esconderse más, y eso —en un mundo que castiga la diferencia— es casi heroico. Es joven, pero no ingenuo. Valiente, pero no invulnerable. Su forma de estar en el mundo no solo cambia a Harlan: también nos cambia a nosotros.

¿Y Harlan? Bueno… Harlan no es un héroe. Es un campo de batalla moral andante. Y eso es, precisamente, lo que lo hace fascinante. Es fácil juzgarlo desde nuestro presente, pero difícil no verlo como el producto de una época que castigaba sin piedad cualquier desviación del guion heterosexual. En Harlan se condensa el dolor de toda una generación que aprendió a odiarse antes incluso de amarse. A veces, leerlo duele. Pero también conmueve. ¿Que Harlan es un machirulo resentido? Pues sí, no vamos a negarlo. ¿Que hay cosas que hoy nos harían fruncir el ceño? También. Pero esto, amigos, fue escrito en una época en la que ser gay era delito, no identidad. Así que bajemos la ceja un segundo y pensemos desde ahí. Harlan no es solo un producto de su tiempo: es un hombre que aún no se ha permitido ser quien realmente es, y eso le pesa en el alma de una manera que duele ver. Por eso, su evolución no es solo emocional, es política, aunque no lo sepa aún. Y eso lo convierte, sin saberlo, en uno de los personajes más trágicamente humanos que he leído.

Es cierto que algunos personajes secundarios rozan el cliché, pero también hay que leerlos como parte del paisaje de la época. En el contexto en el que nos movemos, los estereotipos no son meros errores narrativos: son reflejos deformados de cómo la sociedad veía —y muchas veces sigue viendo, no nos engañemos— a las personas queer. En esos trazos gruesos se cuela también la crítica. Como si la autora dijera: “¿Queríais caricaturas? Aquí las tenéis. Ahora decidme si os gusta lo que veis”.

Lo interesante es que El corredor de fondo no solo cuenta una historia de amor. También pone sobre la mesa la violencia institucional, el racismo estructural, la homofobia sistémica y el uso político del deporte como herramienta de control social. Y eso es lo que más impresiona: que El corredor de fondo no cae en el panfleto ni en la cursilería. Que logra ser profundamente político sin dejar de ser profundamente íntimo.

Comparado con otras novelas queer publicadas en los años 70, el impacto de esta obra es difícil de igualar. Fue un éxito de ventas cuando lo más común era el rechazo editorial. Fue leída en secreto por quienes necesitaban verse reflejados, y fue odiada —sí, también— por quienes no podían soportar que un libro con dos hombres enamorados no acabara en tragedia desde el primer capítulo. Warren no fue solo una novelista. Fue una corredora de fondo. Y esta fue su gran carrera.

No es la novela más estilizada de su época. No tiene la densidad simbólica de Baldwin ni la elegancia literaria de Gore Vidal. Pero tampoco lo pretende. Su fuerza está en otra parte. Está en lo visceral. En lo urgente. En lo que dice sin metáforas. Y sí, es una historia romántica. Pero también es una historia sobre el precio de decir la verdad. Sobre lo que se pierde cuando el mundo no está preparado para vernos. Y sobre lo que ganamos cuando dejamos de escondernos.

Cuando cierro este libro, no pienso solo en lo que han vivido Harlan y Billy. Pienso en los miles de lectores que, al leer esta historia por primera vez, se atrevieron a imaginar que lo que sentían no era un error. En quienes encontraron en estas páginas algo parecido a una puerta abierta. Pienso en cada persona que se sintió menos sola porque este libro existía. En quienes lo leyeron a escondidas en los años 70. En quienes lloraron, desearon, se atrevieron por primera vez. Y sí, pienso también en mí, en todos nosotros, y en la suerte que tenemos de poder leerlo ahora, con otras leyes, con otras palabras, porque alguien tuvo el coraje de escribirlo cuando costaba tanto.

Así que vuelvo a la pregunta del principio: ¿puede una historia de amor cambiar un país?

Mira: El corredor de fondo fue la primera novela comercialmente exitosa en EE. UU. donde dos hombres se aman y no acaban pagando por ello. Eso, en 1974, fue una bomba. No solo entre lectores: hubo librerías que se negaron a venderla, columnistas conservadores que la pusieron en la diana, y aun así se coló en las listas de más vendidos como quien se cuela en una fiesta para la que nunca tuvo invitación. Fue una novela incómoda, sí, pero también imparable. Hasta entonces, lo habitual era que las historias queer acabaran en muerte, suicidios, enfermedades o castigos divinos y morales. Pero Patricia Nell Warren cambió la narrativa. Y eso cambió también la forma en que muchas personas queer se leyeron a sí mismas. Muchos testimonios de lectores de la época hablan de leerla a escondidas, de sentirse vistos por primera vez, de no sentirse rotos. Y eso es un cambio radical. No legislativo, quizá. Pero íntimo, profundo. Cambió corazones. Y a veces, eso es lo que hace que después cambien las leyes.

Así que sí, yo creo que una historia de amor puede cambiar un país. Pero no cualquier historia. Una como esta. Una que, cuando terminas la última página, te quedas un rato ahí, quieto, con el corazón latiendo fuerte, como si tú también hubieras corrido con ellos. Como si tú también hubieras cruzado esa línea de meta. Porque El corredor de fondo no se lee con la cabeza. Se lee con las entrañas. Es un grito de dignidad, una historia de amor escrita en mitad de una pista resbaladiza.

Y no. No hay que ser atleta ni gay para conmoverse con esta historia. Solo hay que tener corazón.

[Letty Chihoro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was simply gripped by this book. I have lived through the horrors of apartheid and know of the horrors of slavery and the slave trade in the United States. This book describes the discrimination and brutality suffered by gay people from the 1930s to the 1970s and in many ways it is like apartheid. I was simply riveted. Quite often I was brought to tears. The book describes the life of a gay athlete whose private life with his coach became the focus of attention for politicians, the media and the public all of whom tried every trick to have him dropped from the Olympic team all because of his sexual orientation. How he overcame these obstacles through sheer determination and strength of character and the support of his partner is most inspirational.

It is one of the best books that I've read in a long time.

[LenaRibka · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it soo sooo much! It goes directly to my favorite shelf.
Review later, I hope I'll be able to write a proper review one week later.

(I really have a lot of thoughts about it, but it is impossible for me to type a review on my smartphone at the hotel lobby- it is the only place with a free internet access!)

[Lidia · Rating 5 out of 5]

De esas lecturas que se necesitan para cambiar el mundo. Los héroes son gente anónima.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rest in Power, Patricia. Thank you for the wonderful words.

A smarter man than I might have noticed the word "Tragic" on the back cover of this book. That's all I'll say about how it was that I ended up blubbering in the midst of the Atlanta airport last week on my way to New Orleans.

This book was phenomenal. That it has just had its 20th anniversary makes it all the more stunning to me for its ability to hold up over time, as so many books struggle to do. Set in the year leading up to the Montreal Olympics, we follow the life of an ex-marine Coach who begins very much in the closet, and who falls in love with a gay runner left in his charge.

Warren's characterizations are fantastic - you can feel these people, their emotionality has an absolutely realistic pulse, and the love story at the core of the novel left me aching. The historical content was spot-on; her treatment of what gays and lesbians of the period went through was frighteningly accurate, and at the same time quite a positive reinforcement of many the things we have accomplished. This book is a glimpse at the social rights movement that brought us this far, as well as the lives of two gay men written so well that you really will breathe with them.

But, like I said, perhaps not something to read on vacation in an airport. Or at least, pack a handkerchief. You'll be glad you did.

[Amina · Rating 3 out of 5]

✰ 3.5 stars ✰

“You're a very virtuous kid," I said.
"I go to bed only with people I love," he said.​

"You're too young to know what love is," I said.
"I know," he said. "I guess I'll fall hard one of these days.”

Since its publication in 1974, the best-selling The Front Runner has never gone out of print.🏃🏼

The blurb hails it as 'the controversial coast-to-coast best seller - an unusual love story, as moving as any ever written'.
​
Is it controversial because it features a relationship between a thirty-nine-year-old track coach and his twenty-two-year-old front runner? Or is it controversial, as Harlan argue​d against those who attacked him, simply because it is a relationship between two men?​

​“How much does an athlete have to do before he is respected and let alone? Since when is an athlete's private life any of their business?”

The writing depicts how hard it was to be a gay athlete in a time where track politics were adamantly resolute in preventing a homosexual from representing the United States team in the Olympics. Ostracized, shunned, and vilified, P​atricia Nell Warren shows how much harder Billy and his two teammates have to work to earn their respect and their rightful place on the track team, when the self-appointed moral guardians of the track committee is determined to keep them out of the picture. 😟 No way, Jose is their campaign and they're determined to fight them at every corner - even going so far as attacking Harlan for his own supposedly-sordid past that makes him a target for attacks. It is a cruel and heartbreaking notion - one where there is no rule book or guide that states one's sexual orientation is cause for discrimination - and yet, here is Billy and Vince and Jacques living a life of fear and rejection and contempt.​

Scorned and ridiculed​, blacklisted from all future earnings and races, and the butt of abuse and jokes, despite the unwavering talent and glistening prospect of winning gold they possess​ - it is a cruel sort of mental punishment that would agonize even the strongest of able-bodied men. At times, the extensive focus on running statistics and legal action does slow down the tempo of the story - highlighting the pros and cons of the public reaction, but that desperate desire and frustration against the unjust and unfair way in which their participation is creating such a hue and cry angered and frustrated me.​ 😥 'So much history, so many lives, went into each of their strides.​' They're just trying to be and not hurt anyone. What are they worried about? That it is an attack on masculinity? That they're afraid they'll catch the gay from them if they get too close? It's a dangerous time, as well as an awakening - one that will herald the steps for others to take further action in the fight of equal representation. 🌈

​And we do get a strong sense of what the gay community was like at that time; vibrant as it was fearful. Alive as it was in the shadows. A life of double living that is as sad as not being able to come out on your own terms. Vince and Jacques and Billy were a trio of beautiful runners who were not being seen for their capabilities, rather attacking their masculinity, their macho-ness, their sleeping habits and their impressionable behavior. 'In fact, the discussions about the boys' being gay— rumors, arguments, were they, weren't they, how could they be if they were so masculine, etc.—' It is a vivid image of the 70s and how America was not ready to be the cultural hub of acceptance, where only a few corners were as forgiving and accepting as the European nations that embraced them wholeheartedly and warmly. Those straight athletes vied for the chance to compete against them - looking only at the stamina in their legs on the track and not how long they could hold out in bed. It was disheartening and upsetting, to say the least. 😢

Harlan and Billy's story is also regarded as the most celebrated gay love story ever.'

​​“... Anyway, you don't have to worry. I'll be loving you for the rest of my life."

"That's a long time," I said.​​”

Considering the sequels are already written, it is no surprise that their story ends ​on a heartbreaking note. 😢 Why do people consider a doomed relationship, a great love story; is there some morbid beauty in seeing a love lost forever? I've never understood that. 😔 But, I can understand why their story has touched so many. In Prescott College​ - a live and let live place - where Harlan teaches, and eventually, Billy​, too, she presents an ideal idyllic gay utopia; one where equality is given easily - without judgment or prejudice​ - a liberal form of thinking that would be considered radical - very forward-thinking.. A safety of understanding that they won't be demeaned for their sexual orientation - free speech and free will. It's what perhaps many people at the time of the novel's release were searching for. A place to belong - a sheltered community that only sees the talent​ on the track and the person you are, rather than who you take to bed.

For the gay community, Billy​ Sive became the symbol of their everyday fear as a target of hatred, as well as an idol of what they hoped they could achieve​ - the gay Pied Piper who was friendly and courteous and had everyone madly in love with him.​ I admired how the author portrayed Billy as a person of tolerance and non-violence; one who followed the teachings of the Buddha that wished for peace and harmony. Even when he was shunned, he never retaliated in violence. 🥺 Was that a way of speaking up for the audience of that time? That even when he and Harlan only wanted to be left alone as two people in love - their love story was broadcast for the world to voice an opinion on? And regardless of that shame, he never acted in kind, but behaved with patience and respect. And that one point when he wished to throw hands and get dirty - did that not spur in me a victorious fist in the air? I did love that scene... 🥲

​​“I was always afraid of loving someone as strong as myself.”

Billy, the beautiful front runner, raced to the finish lines into hearts of adoring fans, but his beautiful blue-gray eyes were only for Harlan. Despite their significant age gap, Billy does abandon himself to love for Harlan - on sight and before the three of them arrived on his doorstep in the hopes that he would take them in when the world turned their back on them. Former Marine Harlan - ' that lonely mature man, but I was also like an​ adolescent seething with longing' - is still haunted by a past; he doesn't want his own desires to cloud his decision as their coach or abuse his power. ​But, it is impossible not to be attracted to Billy - 'for the first time in my life, I was deeply​ in love.' 👨🏻‍❤️‍👨🏻

There is a disconcerting and rather unpleasant take on his reasoning behind his fixated attraction - specifically for athletes, one which may have thrown off readers at how vividly he pursued that train of thought - but he just can't act on impulse; until he finds that he doesn't have another choice. 'I had craved​ nothing more than a lover, but I also got a friend.​' 🥹 And when you see the two of them together, what makes their feelings any different from that between a man and a woman? Marriage, love, commitment, dedication, trust issues - are these not emotions that run deep with anyone. Supporting each other in sickness and in health - caring for one another above all else; perhaps that is why they are celebrated; just because they are gay, does not mean that they can't be allowed to love. 🩶🩵

In twenty-one months, Billy changed, nay, challenged the trajectory of Harlan's life - professionally and personally. With tender affection, I saw their love grow and harmonize - 'each of us gave, and gave again, until we were drained and hurting.'; one where Harlan was fighting the battles for him off the track, and Billy was proving his worth on it. ​'I'm just​ running and loving you, and that's all I want to do with myself.​' ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 I was not too bothered by the descriptions of their physical intimacy; there was a quiet yearning in it - one tinged with slight jealousy of others, but still laced with the fierce desperation that if they don't make the most of it, it could somehow escape from them. Iwould have liked to have a bit of Billy's perspective; how he believed so strongly in their love, certain of their future. But it is Harlan's reflection of those bittersweet memories - days that came so late in his life, but defined who he was.

“It seemed to me that I had lived through several lifetimes of suffering before I met him, and several lifetimes of love in those twenty-one months.

I would not be able to love anyone like that again.”

​The author does take certain liberties, in my opinion; Harlan's background and Billy's own upbringing being the root of their ability of not being bothered by their intense romance. But, this was not a story about questioning one's sexuality - no awakening of that kind. And perhaps that is what sets it apart; that these were two people who knew who they were, but were too afraid to act upon their emotions, simply because of how the world was - is - not ready to accept such a union. 😞 It's about putting their future prospects on the line - a great risk that could shatter all their hopes and dreams - but when they were both willing to take a chance on it - they fought together to keep that vision alive with 'love, struggle, and hard work'. And a life together on the horizon - a family, a home, a name to carry on their legacy.

​The writing may be outdated - certain content questionable - distinct opinions not entirely validated, but the universal theme remains the same - love and acceptance. It is something we can all relate to - regardless of gender or race or sexuality. It is not a story about the race to the finish line, but a race against the time that it heralds. About the forces that target and threaten happiness. Billy gave Harlan a chance to experience real true love without fear or remorse. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 Though it came in his later years, it did not leave him empty-handed; for the two of them, they really were each other's first love. The ending hurt to read; but it felt so very real, too. As much as it pains me to admit it, I suppose with the sequels already in mind - despite how many years passed before she eventually attempted them - Billy's ending was always meant to be a tragedy. And even if it was just a short reprieve in his life, Harlan and Billy were happy and in love; they faced many challenges to speak up for themselves and earn their place in the eyes and minds of those who disapproved, but one thing that can't be denied is that their story certainly left a place in the those hearts who have been changed by it. 🤧

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book - it wasn't the best written story, but it depicted an honest and candid story involving two men in love when the gay liberation movement was just picking up steam. It was written by a woman, which I find intriguing, and involves a relationship between a college track coach and one of his students separated in age by a considerable gap.

The story has quite a few issues for me - mainly the development of a relationship between the two main characters - it is clear that Harlan is attracted to Billy - with no development. Their relationship just suddenly ferments and develops into fruition. There are quite a few stereotypes presented in the book and the laydown of Harlan at the very start of their relastionship - marriage or its over - seemed a bit off.

For all the book's faults, I enjoyed reading it and will read it again in the future. I felt for Harlan and the many struggles he underwent, could relate, and rooted for him from the beginning. The standout quality aside from the characters relationship and development was the idea that "liberalism" was simply the idea of "acceptance" in which people are judged on their personality and not on physical appearance while acknowledging people's freedom to make their own choices. As Harlan progresses from conservative to "liberal", nothing is mentioned about social programs or the other crazy stuff that, in today's society, makes one a liberal. A liberal then was simply someone who acknowledged everyone as a human being and didn't discriminate or hold prejudice - a concept I can get behind.

The book is full of some very memorable and interesting quotes that made me chuckle:

"Macho gays, all of them. I should have recognized those leather pants of Billy's."

"'I'm not one of your mealy-mouthed permissive liberals.'"

"The gay who is a good dancer can turn even the fox trot into an uninhibited celebration of male sexuality."
*i like to think so also :)

A few sentences later...
"All the action was in the hip-jerking, the crotch-gyrating, the buttock-twitching and the thigh-weaving."

sort of spoiler....don't read...unless you want a hint.




"How many more times would I have embraced him that night, how many more times would I have kissed him, if I had known the name of that stranger lover who was already in Montreal, who had already bought his stadium ticket from a scalper for the 5,000 tomorrow.
That implacable lover who was going to turn Billy's eyes away from me forever."

[Guillermo Valencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Me di cuenta de que ser gay no era únicamente una cuestión de sexo: era un estado de ánimo. La sociedad me había dicho que yo sufría una enfermad, pero yo estaba seguro de que había llegado a la homosexualidad por inclinación natural. Rezaba para encontrar a alguien a quien amar, rezaba para encontrar una forma menos corrupta de ganarme la vida."

Una historia que ha logrado conmoverme en un 95%.
4.5/5☆

[Jason Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS was beautiful.

It was also soul-crushingly sad but totally worth the read.

[Modesto García · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una preciosidad. Una historia de amor entre un entrenador de atletismo y un joven corredor de fondo que transcurre en 1974 (año en que se escribió la novela) y que servirá para hablarnos de la situación de los derechos civiles de los homosexuales en aquella década, unos años en los que la dignidad LGTB empezaba a reclamarse y a visibilizarse. La novela nos habla de esto utilizando la voz de Harlan, el maduro entrenador, cuyo viaje personal ejemplifica a la perfección la experiencia de tantos hombres a los que el conservadurismo americano forzaba a casarse y tener hijos y a los que su inevitable condición de homosexuales les supuso una transición muy traumática pero también un viaje hacia la felicidad. Emocionante, es posible que llores.

[Rosalinda *KRASNORADA* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Billy Sive, you are the most perfect character on Earth!!!

This classic is a must read BUT you guys need to be in the mood for such an emotional ride. In my humble opinion this reads like a story about LGBT rights and not like Billy and Harlan's love story. They happen to be the main characters in this tale but it didn't feel like I was reading their love story. I felt as if I was being part of a history class where the teacher tells you what the LGBT community had to go through in the 70's.

I had to stop reading often because I needed a break. I had think about how real everything felt, about how hard it was for them to stand up for everything they believed in. Billy and Harlan are just two names in an endless list of people who were trying to fight for their rights and boy, that was hard. The author has an unique way to tell you the story and to make you feel part of it.

Gracias, Izen <3

[Mariana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bueno; quiero empezar diciendo que leí este libro porque me prometía “el libro con la historia gay más bonita” y no, para mí no lo fue.
Tal vez si hubiera leído el libro antes de saber e interesarme tanto en el feminismo serían 5 estrellas en vez de 2. Tal vez si hubiera leído el libro cuando salió, la calificación sería otra, porque tenía otra cabecita; pero ahora simplemente no.
.
El libro está ambientado desde 1935 que uno de los personajes nace; pero el punto fuerte de la historia es alrededor de los años ‘70 en EEUU, donde creo que ya todos sabemos lo que era ese contexto. Pocos años antes ser homosexual era un delito, perseguían a los gays para golpearlos o meterlos presos, la represión era muy fuerte. Creo que la autora hizo un buen trabajo de investigación, eso no voy a negarlo, pero ahora voy a decirles que cosas no me gustaron.
Habían tantos comentarios y tantas “perlitas” misóginas que me dio asco. Seeep, ya lo dije. Las mujeres sólo buscan a Harlen -el protagonista y narrador- por su dinero, al parecer todas las mujeres somos unas perras ambiciosas y avariciosas.
Ni que hablar la actitud que tenía. Quería tener hijos, y HOLA AMIGO, tuviste DOS QUE DEJASTE TIRADOS sin conocerlos, solamente justificándote en que le pasabas la pensión alimenticia.
La razón por la que son dos estrellas y no una es por Billy 💙 y porque a pesar de todo el ritmo fluye; pero sin dudas no fue mi libro.
Hater Annie off.

[Johnnie Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gets four stars because it made my adolescent, gay heart pound. I fell in love with Billy. It was tragic. It broke my heart. I read and reread it because it was about people like me who'd met other people like me and I wanted to run away and join those people. I kept this book hidden under my bed. I'm scared to reread it now that I'm in my forties because it could pop that romanticized bubble. It's better for me to remember this one. If you read this book because of my recommendation, be advised that this recommendation is made based upon sentimental memories some thirty years after the fact.

[Jenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, things have certainly come a long way since 1974.
Now, they actually publish gay novels that are good, instead of schmaltzy claptrap like this.

[John Inman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful story, wonderfully told. Now I know why this book is a classic. I can't believe I had never read it before. Anyone who considers themself a true fan of gay fiction should read this book.

[Repix Pix · Rating 1 out of 5]

Misógino.
Huye.

[Mark Kwesi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the 70s. This novel sounded a bit cheesy, lengthy and even misogynist to my ears, but it's an important document of gay liberation in the pre-AIDS era. A must-read!

[João Roque · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curioso ter lido quase de seguida dois livros sobre relações entre homossexuais, ambos de grande nível e ambos escritos por mulheres.
Depois de "Salto Mortal" de Marion Zimmer Bradley, ambientado no mundo do circo, li agora o livro mais conhecido de Patricia Nell Warren, "The Front Runner", em boa hora, traduzido para português pela INDEX ebooks,"O Corredor de Fundo" e desta vez ambientado no mundo do atletismo de alto nível americano.
Há um muito bom registo de toda uma época em que após Stonewell, os gays começaram a deixar de ter medo de se assumir numa América profundamente conservadora.
Corredor de fundo tem para mim um duplo sentido; além daquele que o título do livro expressa e que tem a ver como uma das tácticas usadas pelos atletas nas corridas de longas distâncias e que leva ao desgaste progressivo dos adversários, não dando depois hipótese, no final da corrida aos sprinters, mas também pode ser visto como um trabalho de sapa, lento mas eficaz, do mundo homossexual se ir afirmando como um mundo não anormal, mas sim algo de perfeitamente integrado numa sociedade que seja justa - é um trabalho desgastante, em que se empenharam e empenham tantas organizações LGBT, e pessoas anónimas, com o testemunho da sua vida.
É um livro poderoso nesse aspecto, mas é também um belo romance de amor entre pessoas de idade diferente e que buscam no outro, a felicidade que ainda não tinham tido.
E é um terrível drama, com toda a problemática da intolerância e as suas nefastas consequências.
Patrícia Nell Warren demonstra uma incrível e inesperada lucidez para descrever esta história de amor entre dois homens.
Fico curioso numa eventual tradução de outros livros desta autora tão desprezada, não sei porquê pelas editoras portuguesas...

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The angel of death had cruised him. Death, that hustler, that last lover.”

Published between the era of Leave it to Beaver and Father Knows Best, and the AIDS crisis, The Front Runner is a very blunt and honest look at homosexuality in the world of American sports, circa 1975. By its time’s standards — as well as the current day — this book is progressive; the ideas are daring, the revelations unflinching. The front cover calls it “controversial” and “unusual” and “as moving as any love story ever written.” I would agree with all those descriptors. What is this novel? It is a tragedy.

The first person narrator is a college track coach quickly entering middle age. In the fall of ‘74 he received three candidates for his team — three boys kicked out of their previous school for their homosexuality. He, the coach, being gay himself, takes them under his wing; a romantic relationship between he and one of the boys soon develops.

This book is almost certain to make any reader a little uncomfortable; good literature does that. This challenges every societal norm of its time and even some that are still in place today. While a bit excessively dated at times (some of the male characters are a bit too chauvinistic for my tastes), this story can be enjoyed by modern audiences. The pacing, too, is an issue — the middle is a bit of a slog, at times — but the noteworthy beginning and extraordinarily written finale more than make up for it. Recommended!

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been wanting to give myself two weeks to read this trilogy for quite awhile, but I'll tell you I won't need it... This was an amazing book, smartly written, and such a page turner.

Written in first person, Harlan Brown, 39 (going on 40), is our main character. Within the first 20 pages we know his life story thus far and is presently the track coach for Prescott College. Enter Billy Sive, 20y/o, with Olympic potential as the country's premier long distance runner. Billy was cast-off his college's track team from his homophobic track coach along with two other gay classmates, Jacques and Vince. Together, the three enter Prescott and draw immediate national attention.
Billy falls hard for Harlan and within months, the romance comes to life which brings both character's first time falling in love.

This is a story of over-coming obstacles of such grand circumstances and the tragic twist that left me in tears throughout the last 30 pages.

Think ahead by getting all three of Harlan's Story's. I'm already enjoying Harlan's Race.

[Juan Naranjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puede que “El corredor de fondo” no sea un libro perfecto, pero es el primer libro en mis 35 años que me ha hecho llorar desconsoladamente y con hipidos.
La autora cuenta la historia de amor entre un entrenador universitario y un joven atleta que se prepara para los Juegos Olímpicos, con una delicadeza impropia en las novelas de temática gay de la época en la que se escribió (¡1974!).
La pareja protagonista es encantadora y verosímil, los acontecimientos fluyen de una forma muy cinematográfica, y la ambientación es muy sensorial: si bien es normal que ciertas cosas hayan quedado algo anticuadas tras más de cuarenta años, no sorprende que esta sea una de las grandes obras LGTB de la época contemporánea.

[Nick Pageant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has not aged well at all, but if you have an interest in the history of gay literature, you should give this a read.

[Moloch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Allora. Fino all'85% il libro, senza far gridare al miracolo, non era male, anche se a tratti scritto in modo curiosamente "cronachistico". Ma il finale è spaventosamente "over the top", spingendo il melodramma al parossismo. Non so bene che pensare. Scritto nel 1974, "suona" effettivamente datato. Forse il valore di questo libro va cercato, più che nella qualità intrinseca, nel fatto di essere un'opera "pioneristica", che ha presentato per la prima volta al grande pubblico certi temi.
Lascio 3 stelle, che era il voto che pensavo di dare prima del finale, ma se volessi essere severa dovrei abbassarlo. La storia prosegue con altri due libri, ma difficilmente li leggerò (anche perché la conclusione di questo è già soddisfacente, non lasciando praticamente nulla in sospeso).

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

5++++ - This classic novel was first released in 1974 when I was fourteen, but I didn't "discover" it until I was seventeen; the first novel I ever read with gay characters. Upon the discovery--after spending over and hour reading the back covers of paperbacks at the local B. Dalton Bookstore in a mall, I noticed this novel with a young, athletic guy sitting on a bench with an older man standing behind him; the original cover of this novel. Reading the back cover, my veins shot full of adrenaline! I quickly returned the paperback to the shelf and made-like I was searching for other books, afraid someone would see that I had plucked The Front Runner off the shelf. I found two additional books I wanted to read, both mainstream, then grabbed The Front Runner and sandwiched the paperback between the other two books. Silly, huh? At the counter, I was terrified the clerk would glare at me, judge me, or even make me return the book to the shelf, but alas, I paid the money, and was on my way out the store, happier than a kid in a candy store--but crazy-terrified my parents would catch me reading it. Or better yet, find the paperback stuffed between my mattresses in my room when I wasn't home. Yes, that's how things were back in the late seventies - a far cry from the more open, accepting society today.

I devoured the novel as fast as I could read, my eyes going blurry. Staying up late into the night to finish the novel. The Front Runner was the first "gay" novel I'd ever read, much less heard about. It showed me that I was, in fact, "normal"; that I could grow up accepting myself, and that finding love with another man was possible. In the many years following, I've read a ton of gay-themed books, but none have affected me more than The Front Runner, which I believe is due to it being my first, and due to my age, innocence of the time; I've refused to re-read the novel over the years, though I've wanted to badly, but I was afraid the experience wouldn't be the same for my older self, and because I want to preserve that awesome feeling as a scared, closeted seventeen year old, sneaking off to read a novel considered taboo. Needless to say, after reading TFR, I've read everything Patricia Nell Warren ever released.

Oh, and my HEA? I've been with the same man for 32 years, and got legally married when the US Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage.

Spoiler Alert for the following:

At the end of the novel, and bawling my eyes out, I literally threw the paperback across my bedroom into the wall, not because I disliked the story. Far from it. The Front Runner remains my all-time favorite gay male pairing of all time, even though the story ends in tragedy for the track star and his lover. Such were the novels of the day. Rarely did we "queers" get novels that provided a HEA or HFN ending. A true classic, this one; a novel I encourage every young, closeted gay guy to read. You just might discover how normal you are after all.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 stars adjusted to 5 for historical reasons.