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Duel in the Sun: Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, and America's Greatest Marathon
John Brant re-creates the tense drama of the 1982 Boston Marathon—and the powerful forces of fate that drove these two athletes in the years afterwards
"One was a humble farm boy from Minnesota. The other was the most electrifying distance runner of his time. In 1982, they battled stride for stride for more than two hours in the most thrilling Boston Maraton ever run. Then the drama really began. . . ." Thus John Brant sets the stage for the epic race that took place 23 years ago between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. Since Beardsley was only 26 and Salazar 23 at the time, everyone assumed that this would be the start of a long and glorious rivalry.
Instead Beardsley soon began a descent into drug addiction that brought him perilously close to dying. Salazar's decline was more gradual, his vigor slowly giving way to baffling symptoms that left him completely exhausted. Brant's portraits of the painkiller-addicted Beardsley and the depression-plagued Salazar are at once sensitive and hair-raising. The supporting characters are also richly drawn, from Alberto's father, Jose Salazar, a towering presence with a fascinating history and a former close friend of Fidel Castro, to Bill Squires, Beardsley's coach, a Casey Stengel–like figure whose oddball goofiness masks an encyclopedic knowledge of distance running. This elegantly written story is riveting nonfiction at its very best.
"One was a humble farm boy from Minnesota. The other was the most electrifying distance runner of his time. In 1982, they battled stride for stride for more than two hours in the most thrilling Boston Maraton ever run. Then the drama really began. . . ." Thus John Brant sets the stage for the epic race that took place 23 years ago between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. Since Beardsley was only 26 and Salazar 23 at the time, everyone assumed that this would be the start of a long and glorious rivalry.
Instead Beardsley soon began a descent into drug addiction that brought him perilously close to dying. Salazar's decline was more gradual, his vigor slowly giving way to baffling symptoms that left him completely exhausted. Brant's portraits of the painkiller-addicted Beardsley and the depression-plagued Salazar are at once sensitive and hair-raising. The supporting characters are also richly drawn, from Alberto's father, Jose Salazar, a towering presence with a fascinating history and a former close friend of Fidel Castro, to Bill Squires, Beardsley's coach, a Casey Stengel–like figure whose oddball goofiness masks an encyclopedic knowledge of distance running. This elegantly written story is riveting nonfiction at its very best.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published February 21, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 158 reviews
August 24, 2012
I started off not liking this book. The writing was choppy, back and forth between different story lines, and the characters themselves (Salazar and Beardsley) were not likable in the way that John Brant was portraying them. The fierce competition and obsessive nature of the sport made them almost pathetic when they reached the level in their careers that they couldn't improve on their times and finishing positions. I felt embarrassingly sorry for them. The motiff of their shadows always being before them with the enemy looming just over their shoulder wove through the whole book. Their shadows definitely caught up with them. In the end, the story was one of deeply flawed individuals who found redemption by embracing the reality of their darker side and opening themselves up. The last line of the book shows Salazar joining Beardsley in his 1/2 marathon running into the morning sun with their shadows behind them. Their shadows are still with them, but they are unarmed. They no longer instill dread and fear. I almost didn't stick with this book; I'm glad I did.
July 22, 2023
I devoured this book in a day. The first chapters are a compelling portrait of 70s/80s marathon culture--where no barriers separated spectators from competitors and (this blew my mind) there were NO AID STATIONS WITH WATER. Rather, runners were dependent upon spectators offering them water (hopefully) from the crowds. Fields were smaller and the average entrants ran faster (even many mid-pack male runners were sub-3-hour marathoners, or at least 3, no 6 hour competitors).
The book chroncles a legendary race between the favorite Alberto Salazar and the upstart Dick Beardsley where the two men raced virtually shadow-to-shadow and shoulder-to-shoulder the entire race. As a running geek, I was in heaven with all the states and the contrast between the men's training as well as their biographies. But although only seconds separated them at the end, rather than saying both men won, it was almost as if both men lost. Salazar (who only drank two cups of water the entire brtually hot race) did some metabolic damage to himself that is still poorly understood and never ran the same again. Beardsley over-raced and shredded his Achilles and became addicted to prescription drugs after a horrific farming accident. In some ways, the book is a cautionary tale about over-training and highlights how little was known in the wild and wooly world when American marathoners were briefly kings.
It's interesting to read this book in light of Kara Goucher's powderkeg of a memoir, of course, and her relevation that Salazar sexually assaulted her while giving her sports massages, as well as engaged in quasi-legal or flat-out illegal doping of many of the athletes he coached. Goucher's Salazar is a far more dissipated figure than the austere man in this text. Yet perhaps the seeds were planted--the conservative Reaganite Salazar grew up on a machismo-dominated household where his Cuban-American father had a loaded unsecured gun used for target practice on a mattress in the basement and anti-Castro revolutionaries with machine guns were frequent houseguests.
Salazar once pushed himself so much in a 7.5 mile road race as an adolescent he had to have the LAST RITES read to him by a Catholic priest and his father held up a cross made of tongue depressors for his son to gaze on. Salazar turned to seeking help for his inability to run first at a shrine to the Holy Virgin in then-communist Yugoslavia and later to Prozac. Is he kind of an asshole? An abuser? Well, don't ask my opinion, he's been banned from coaching. But I understand him better after this book. He came to run not to enjoy himself or push himself but to prove his worth and mortify his body, and in that I guess he did succeed.
The book chroncles a legendary race between the favorite Alberto Salazar and the upstart Dick Beardsley where the two men raced virtually shadow-to-shadow and shoulder-to-shoulder the entire race. As a running geek, I was in heaven with all the states and the contrast between the men's training as well as their biographies. But although only seconds separated them at the end, rather than saying both men won, it was almost as if both men lost. Salazar (who only drank two cups of water the entire brtually hot race) did some metabolic damage to himself that is still poorly understood and never ran the same again. Beardsley over-raced and shredded his Achilles and became addicted to prescription drugs after a horrific farming accident. In some ways, the book is a cautionary tale about over-training and highlights how little was known in the wild and wooly world when American marathoners were briefly kings.
It's interesting to read this book in light of Kara Goucher's powderkeg of a memoir, of course, and her relevation that Salazar sexually assaulted her while giving her sports massages, as well as engaged in quasi-legal or flat-out illegal doping of many of the athletes he coached. Goucher's Salazar is a far more dissipated figure than the austere man in this text. Yet perhaps the seeds were planted--the conservative Reaganite Salazar grew up on a machismo-dominated household where his Cuban-American father had a loaded unsecured gun used for target practice on a mattress in the basement and anti-Castro revolutionaries with machine guns were frequent houseguests.
Salazar once pushed himself so much in a 7.5 mile road race as an adolescent he had to have the LAST RITES read to him by a Catholic priest and his father held up a cross made of tongue depressors for his son to gaze on. Salazar turned to seeking help for his inability to run first at a shrine to the Holy Virgin in then-communist Yugoslavia and later to Prozac. Is he kind of an asshole? An abuser? Well, don't ask my opinion, he's been banned from coaching. But I understand him better after this book. He came to run not to enjoy himself or push himself but to prove his worth and mortify his body, and in that I guess he did succeed.
June 19, 2012
This is the story of probably the most epic marathon of all time, Boston 1982. It is also a biography of the two frontrunners, Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley - their backgrounds, what motivated them, what they did afterward. As a runner, it's fascinating to read about what compels these people to race THAT HARD and how it affects them, and it's fascinating, for me at least, to read about the mysteries of sports injuries. But it's a character story as much as a race report, one that's simultaneously triumphant and heartbreaking, tragic and life-affirming. Some limits you can obliterate if you try hard enough. Some you can't.
I took a star off because at times the narrative is cumbersome and melodramatic, and hard to keep track of the switching back and forth between characters and moments in time. But overall it's absorbing, impactful, and incredibly well researched. After reading mostly magazine, newspaper and internet articles for quite a long time, it made me really appreciate reading something with enough space to lay out all the details and background. Some books, especially nonfiction, tend to repeat themselves and make me wish the author had been satisfied with a nice 5-7 page feature, but Brant doesn't, he's just really thorough.
I took a star off because at times the narrative is cumbersome and melodramatic, and hard to keep track of the switching back and forth between characters and moments in time. But overall it's absorbing, impactful, and incredibly well researched. After reading mostly magazine, newspaper and internet articles for quite a long time, it made me really appreciate reading something with enough space to lay out all the details and background. Some books, especially nonfiction, tend to repeat themselves and make me wish the author had been satisfied with a nice 5-7 page feature, but Brant doesn't, he's just really thorough.
April 18, 2019
Best book I've read in a while. Great story about the tolls of distance running, mortality, and humanizing even elite athletes.
May 31, 2025
Loved every word
August 21, 2017
I love running books. They are my version of a beach read. Books about epic struggle. Books about crazy dedication (obsession) to pushing oneself to greater achievements. I did not know the story of the '82 marathon and Salazar and Beardsley. I enjoyed learning about it.
August 8, 2023
An absolutely ripper of a read, sped through it in about 2 days on a camping trip. If you’re looking for a sprinkle of inspiration, focus on the Beardsley parts. If you’re looking for a slightly deeper look into the sick and twisted madness that is Alberto Salazar, read the Salazar parts.
February 27, 2011
Not sure if I bought the premise that the '82 Boston Marathon led to the ruin of both men, particularly Salazar, but Brant uses the idea pretty well to string together a book about a single great race. The race descriptions are the best part of the book and alone, would have made for a fun magazine article. Not sure I cared much to learn the details of Beardsley's fall into drug abuse and Salazar into depression. One theme that I would like to have seen developed would have been the contrast between the life of pro runners now vs then. Brant thinks the approach back then was more extreme and that the runners were a little more desperate, exemplified by this race. But I wonder if how worthwhile it is, given Brant's "ruin" premise. Also, how did they do financially vs runners today?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2012
Very good "running" book that was actually three stories in one. Two of the threads were the personal biographies of U.S. Marathoners Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. Each of these guys had some pretty impactful events in their lives outside of their running. The author then wove the two biographies together by interspersing the story of the 1982 Boston Marathon in which these men finished 1-2 and is considered probably the "best" Boston Marathon in its long, long history. Definitely a great book for runners, but compelling enough for non-runners as well. This book should certainly be in an reading runner's collection, but it can't top Once a Runner by John L. Parker.
May 13, 2015
As I often find to be the case with sports books, at first I thought this book to be poorly written, overwritten/cliched at parts. In the end I guess I stopped noticing that though. Quick read and enjoyable. Honestly I could imagine some who isn't into running liking this book since it wasn't just about the race, or even mostly about the race, but about the long-term effects of the one race on both their lives. Since ~65% of my waking thoughts have to do with running maybe I am not in a position to imagine what someone who isn't into running would think of this book. Also, who knew there were so many books called Duel in the Sun?
November 15, 2015
This is a slightly biased review, as I am a runner and wish to run the Boston marathon one day... I enjoyed the in depth bio of Dick and Alberto, I am calling them by their first names because I feel like their friends after having read this book. This book portrays an honest view of people doing amazing things and humanizes them in a level that we can relate too. A book worth reading if you are not a runner, but a book you MUST read if you are a runner.
June 24, 2009
For anyone who has ever dreamed of or completed a marathon...with some great insight into what goes ON in the heads of elite athletes during a race. This made me want to run Boston and meet both Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar, who regularly give speeches based on the events described in the book.
March 25, 2010
I remember watching this race or at least being aware of it as a kid with a marathon-running dad. Now that I run marathons this book gives me a whole new appreciation for the sport and just how far it has come in 30 years. A marathon can be life-changing and this book shows that in an amazing and compelling read.
October 8, 2013
Overall, an interesting and exciting book. I actually didn't know who won the marathon, and the book kept the secret well (except for the picture on the front cover).
Although I feel there could have been more content about the race itself, these runners have very interesting pre- and post-marathon lives, so it was a pleasure to read about them.
Although I feel there could have been more content about the race itself, these runners have very interesting pre- and post-marathon lives, so it was a pleasure to read about them.
November 16, 2009
This is a great read, especially if you like running! The author does a tremendous job of mixing in pre and post race lives of both runners. It really helped me to connect with them and this great race.
January 27, 2009
Good historical look @ one of the closest and more controversial Boston finishes.
November 12, 2009
Life doesn't begin and end with marathon glory. The gripping passages about the "duel in the sun" are eclipsed by the personal stories of two great American champions. A great read.
January 7, 2010
Anyone who has run a marathon would appreciate this book and what happened to the two runners.
September 16, 2012
Fascinating book about the mind set of two determined athletes. Learned a lot about marathon running. Structure of the book confusing at times but all in all, a compelling read.
November 29, 2023
Nice bit of running history to learn about. 2 great men with very different lives and struggles.
December 16, 2018
I thoroughly enjoyed "Duel in the Sun." Coming into it, I knew Dick Beardsley was a Midwestern runner, but that was the extent of what I knew about him. I knew little more about Alberto Salazar aside from the snippets I picked up when his autobiography came out and the vicious posts about him on Letsrun.com. As long as a marathon feels while you're running it, I couldn't imagine how the author was going to draw out the action of a single race over 200 pages. The way Brant does it is by expertly switching back and forth in time to describe the lives of Beardsley and Salazar going into the 1982 Boston Marathon and their lives afterwards. The message I ultimately took from "Duel" was that both men ran the races of their lives that day but at a brutal cost. Neither of them were really the same runners afterwards. While Beardsley was the smarter of the two that day, wearing a cap and drinking plenty of water, Salazar prevailed but permanently damaged his lung capacity in the process. Both men overtrained and over-raced in those years. Beardsley soon had achilles injuries that killed his career. The descriptions of the race itself are the centerpiece of "Duel," (and it's hard now to imagine a Boston Marathon where there were no barricades between the fans and spectators) but the author gives us much more. He deftly shows how that single race impacted the runners' lives. Everything seemed tied to the duel in the sun, at least in Brant's view: Salazar's frantic attempts to rekindle his speed, Beardsley's farm accident and subsequent drug addiction. What I took away was the complexity of the two men involved. It would be easy to portray the '82 race as a hero/villain story where the villain wins. Sleeker, faster, more weapons at his disposal. Salazar becomes almost like a Darth Vader figure. But that would make for an awful story. The truth is always more complex, and I think some of the online critics of Salazar's life and training methods would be less judgmental if they knew the full story. Salazar was pressured to succeed from an early age, and one must respect, if nothing else, his drive to win no matter the effort involved. As a runner, he pushed until he collapsed from heat exhaustion. Ultimately he worked himself into the ground, at least where running is concerned, and this book makes clear that Salazar has had to live with the regret of that ever since. He fully admits the bad in him: his early indifference to competitors and reporters, the way he treated his workers when he owned a restaurant. One wonders if his turn to devout Catholicism while in the midst of his struggles was selfish or selfless...but there's redemption here, too. Salazar's a good family man, a good coach who cares about his runners, a hard worker. He's human. We all make mistakes. Beardsley is no different. Everyone loved Beardsley because of his demeanor, but he too struggled with running woes as well as financial debts and seven years of addiction to painkillers. As great as Beardsley is, he's also a convicted felon. But both men had triumphs as well after Boston. Salazar won Comrades and became a great coach for Nike. Beardsley built several successful businesses in his home state of Minnesota. It was great to see the book end as it did, with the reunion of Salazar and Beardsley at Beardsley's half-marathon in Minnesota. "Duel" is not just a book for serious fans of distance running but for fans of sports in general and for anyone, really, interested in the humanness of star athletes. It's a great reminder that these aren't merely faces we see on TV but real people with real lives, problems, and regrets to go along with their successes.
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October 22, 2023Duel in the Sun is John Brant’s first of many books that revolve around the running world. The intense non-fiction opened up his writing career by telling the brave story of two completely opposite individuals. He would later write The Power to Transform, 14 Minutes, and others, becoming a huge writer for Runner's World articles.
For a bit over 2 hours Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley ran stride for stride down the packed streets of the 1982 Boston Marathon, perhaps the greatest long-distance race of the 20th century. The morning of April 19 both men arrived at the starting line, one with a farming history, the other with a winning history. From the gun, a pack was formed with many of the top athletes in the world, Dick and Salazar being included. As the race moved on, the two continued to battle through the 90-degree weather, pulling away from any other elite that remained in the field. Towards the back half of the race, neither man was able to break the other, so the winner was not certain. In the end, it came down to a kick; however, the grand effort shown by each man proved that they both were winners.
I picked this book up because I myself run quite a bit, so I assumed I would enjoy it. What I didn’t know is that it wasn’t just details about a race, but about how it impacted each of the men's life. Every mile or so the book goes into depth explaining a life experience, which kept it interesting. Dick and his life on a farm, Salazar and his family relations, etc. As for the race itself, it was very engaging. Descriptions of Heartbreak Hill, screams from the crowd almost 2 feet from the runners, and thousands of feet pounding the streets, all gave me the image of itself in my head. Personally, I recommend this book and others like it including The Perfect Mile, and Triumph, both with themes similar to Duel in the Sun.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Word count: 337
For a bit over 2 hours Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley ran stride for stride down the packed streets of the 1982 Boston Marathon, perhaps the greatest long-distance race of the 20th century. The morning of April 19 both men arrived at the starting line, one with a farming history, the other with a winning history. From the gun, a pack was formed with many of the top athletes in the world, Dick and Salazar being included. As the race moved on, the two continued to battle through the 90-degree weather, pulling away from any other elite that remained in the field. Towards the back half of the race, neither man was able to break the other, so the winner was not certain. In the end, it came down to a kick; however, the grand effort shown by each man proved that they both were winners.
I picked this book up because I myself run quite a bit, so I assumed I would enjoy it. What I didn’t know is that it wasn’t just details about a race, but about how it impacted each of the men's life. Every mile or so the book goes into depth explaining a life experience, which kept it interesting. Dick and his life on a farm, Salazar and his family relations, etc. As for the race itself, it was very engaging. Descriptions of Heartbreak Hill, screams from the crowd almost 2 feet from the runners, and thousands of feet pounding the streets, all gave me the image of itself in my head. Personally, I recommend this book and others like it including The Perfect Mile, and Triumph, both with themes similar to Duel in the Sun.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Word count: 337
December 9, 2017
Being new to the sport of running, I am continuing to try to learn about the past accomplishments. I have heard about Alberto Salazar through other books of current day athletes, and I have seen him pop-up in a lot of these books as a coach and a legend, so I picked up this book to try to learn a little bit about American marathon history.
The story takes us through the 1982 Boston marathon and the duel between Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar. I had no idea who Dick Beardsley was, so I wasn’t sure what to except. I was presently surprised about the depth and detail of the book. The entire narrative focuses around the ‘82 race, but it also goes into the the after effects of their battle. Both runners decline as does their personal life in a similar pattern. While one goes down the path of addiction and the other depression, they both come out on top.
Overall, it was a really good story, and I enjoyed the perspective change from one runner to the other. The only complaint I have is that it was sometimes repetitive discussing the same thing multiple times.
Favorite Quotes:
“Many athletes could run fast, but only a man of valor could run fast and long, bending pain to his purpose.”
“As in Puritan New England, grace was not blithely attained. A believer — a runner — earned it by losing toenails and training down to bone and muscle, just as the Puritans formed calluses in their knees from praying. No one made a cent from their strenuous efforts. The running life, like the spiritual life, was its own reward.”
“The marathon was such a long, hard way to go. Anything could happen over 26.2 miles. The sport did not lend itself to prude or poses.”
The story takes us through the 1982 Boston marathon and the duel between Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar. I had no idea who Dick Beardsley was, so I wasn’t sure what to except. I was presently surprised about the depth and detail of the book. The entire narrative focuses around the ‘82 race, but it also goes into the the after effects of their battle. Both runners decline as does their personal life in a similar pattern. While one goes down the path of addiction and the other depression, they both come out on top.
Overall, it was a really good story, and I enjoyed the perspective change from one runner to the other. The only complaint I have is that it was sometimes repetitive discussing the same thing multiple times.
Favorite Quotes:
“Many athletes could run fast, but only a man of valor could run fast and long, bending pain to his purpose.”
“As in Puritan New England, grace was not blithely attained. A believer — a runner — earned it by losing toenails and training down to bone and muscle, just as the Puritans formed calluses in their knees from praying. No one made a cent from their strenuous efforts. The running life, like the spiritual life, was its own reward.”
“The marathon was such a long, hard way to go. Anything could happen over 26.2 miles. The sport did not lend itself to prude or poses.”
December 31, 2021
Being a runner from Minnesota, I have always known about Dick Beardsley. Likewise, being a runner, I know about the Boston Marathon. And Alberto Salazar. However, this is the first time I've read anything about the epic race the Beardsley and Salazar had in the 1982 Boston Marathon. The descriptions of the race were mixed in with the personal stories of Beardsley and Salazar, and it was all quite riveting. As far as the race commentary, I felt as though I was there watching or even running alongside them. As far as each of their personal histories, I really had no idea. No idea that Salazar was Cuban and always felt like he had something to prove. No idea that Beardsley was the son of two alcoholics and ended up seriously addicted to pain medication after his running career ended due to a farm accident. This is a great book for anyone interested in significant people and events in running history.
Also, I was lucky to meet Dick Beardsley this fall. He autographed my book and we chatted for 5-10 minutes. He was such a joy and was so positive and full of energy. That experience made reading this book even more meaningful.
Also, I was lucky to meet Dick Beardsley this fall. He autographed my book and we chatted for 5-10 minutes. He was such a joy and was so positive and full of energy. That experience made reading this book even more meaningful.
February 27, 2018
Being a "citizen runner" (Brant's phrase) myself, I'm drawn to running books and I enjoy reading them for inspiration in my own races. This book has great descriptions of running and I could easily put myself in the racers' position (not their pace, of course), but it was the non-running parts of this book that kept me interested and prompted the most thought. To see two great competitors find greatness in a race, only to faulter elsewhere is a unique reminder about how even healthy pursuits can become the opposite when they're pursued to extremes. Not that either racer's life was ruined by running (in fact, quite the opposite), but when the opportunity for running disappeared, it left a vacuum each man struggled to fill in his own way.
Although I found the pacing of the book a little awkward, oddly enough, I generally liked it and found myself even more enthralled by the non-running descriptions. At just over 200 pages, it's a quick read that not only helped me better appreciate a sport I love, but also understand the deeper struggles of athletes that I now admire.
Although I found the pacing of the book a little awkward, oddly enough, I generally liked it and found myself even more enthralled by the non-running descriptions. At just over 200 pages, it's a quick read that not only helped me better appreciate a sport I love, but also understand the deeper struggles of athletes that I now admire.
July 21, 2024
Read this book over the course of a couple months and just never felt compelled to push through it in one sitting, despite it being a short book. I found the writing choppy and disjointed. It seemed like the author had very little original content as he was frequently quoting directly from their autobiographies for large portions of the book. The writing on the race itself was so minimal. It barely broke down the difficulty of the Boston course itself and the heat of the day which provide so much context for the ultimate decay and depression each of their bodies undertook as a result of the race. Both athletes were never the same physically and if I didn’t know much of the background and story before starting this book, I would have left clueless aside from a few stories about their personal lives, which I could have read from their respective auto/biographies.
This would have been a 1 but the book was wrapped up quite nicely, and the storyline of them fighting a greater darkness was appealing.
This would have been a 1 but the book was wrapped up quite nicely, and the storyline of them fighting a greater darkness was appealing.
November 25, 2024
I read Kara Goucher's book and, noting her praise for this book featuring her old coach, picked up Duel in the Sun. The so-called Duel in the Sun, the 1982 Boston Marathon, is undoubtedly the greatest American distance race ever run. This book does it some justice, but the book feels dusty and old-timey. Rather than being published in 2006, it reads more like a 1999 or earlier piece. The writing is boring compared to modern sports books, and the excitement of the race is almost completely lost.
I find it odd that the author withholds who won the race, and then skims over it to the extent that the engaged reader may have to flip back a page to check that nothing was missed. I picked the book up not remembering who won, so having it delivered in such a way 24 years after the race was a bit weird.
Not my first pick for running books but a solid second-tier choice.
I find it odd that the author withholds who won the race, and then skims over it to the extent that the engaged reader may have to flip back a page to check that nothing was missed. I picked the book up not remembering who won, so having it delivered in such a way 24 years after the race was a bit weird.
Not my first pick for running books but a solid second-tier choice.
August 27, 2020
Grew on me and also, I'm a sucker for a good running story but beyond that, although the writing was nothing extraordinary, it was well-constructed and did a nice job of highlighting the ironies that can be present in two entirely different people who went through an almost identical experience. I threw up on the course, near Heartbreak Hill and watched this race, a year after running Boston for my first time, in 1981. Also, my opinion of Salazar was altered (positively) by this story. I have always been a Bill Rodgers fan and saw Alberto as arrogant - the way a Red Sox fan views the Yankees. I feel much differently now and it's a good reminder that everyone you meet has a story that is rarely obvious.
June 15, 2021
A really well-researched book about the 1982 Boston Marathon. Dick Beardsley and Alberto Salazar were two world class distance runners with potentially bright futures and ran side-by-side right to the finish line, but the race wound up pretty much ending their careers. Beardsley started suffering career-ending injuries shortly afterward that eventually led to an addiction to pain killers, while Salazar burned out from overtraining and began suffering from depression. The author’s style is a little disorienting — chapters bounce from play-by-play descriptions of the race to their lives before and afterward and alternate perspectives between the runners — but it’s overall a really interesting and well-done story.
January 30, 2018
Succinct, incisive, and brilliant in its economy. Brandt tells an epic story in an imaginative way, without any fluff whatsoever.
If you are a distance runner who enjoys the sports' history, this book is the one.
After completing the book you will know Salazar and Beardsley about as well as possible from a distance (pun). What drove them and what occurred in their lives after Boston '82 is one incredible story.
The only resason I hesitate in giving this book 5 stars is that I was looking for more details on the immediate minutes after the race ended. For example, how their recovery went that afternoon and how they related to each other once crossing the finish line (if at all).
If you are a distance runner who enjoys the sports' history, this book is the one.
After completing the book you will know Salazar and Beardsley about as well as possible from a distance (pun). What drove them and what occurred in their lives after Boston '82 is one incredible story.
The only resason I hesitate in giving this book 5 stars is that I was looking for more details on the immediate minutes after the race ended. For example, how their recovery went that afternoon and how they related to each other once crossing the finish line (if at all).
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