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Amazing Racers: The Story of America's Greatest Running Team and its Revolutionary Coach
The inspiring, untold story about a group of remarkable athletes and their groundbreaking coach who live and train in startling ways—and are redefining running excellence in the United States.
What would one call taking teens with no evident running talent and challenging them with boundless hill training combined with mantras from rock ‘n’ roll, techniques from Kenya, philosophy from Australia, and turning them into champions? Is it revolutionary? Or a risky rebellion against running—and teenage—norms?
Coach Bill Aris has heard both, but one thing is indisputable. Everything Aris does with his runners—male and female alike—is new and extraordinary, and he has created a new American running dynasty. The cross-country runners of Fayetteville-Manlius, or F-M, in upstate New York have dominated high school running for 15 years, sweeping boys’ and girls’ titles at the Nike Cross Nationals championships (NXN) in 2014 in an unprecedented achievement.
The girls’ team, empowered by Aris’ unique, unwavering brand of gender equity, has won 11 of the last 13 NXN titles, some by margins of over 100 points. The boys’ team has the best cumulative national record of NXN podium performances. F-M domination has shocked the sport for its defiance of accepted running principles and limitations. One year at NXN, the F-M girls defeated the all-star field of top teams by an average of 59 seconds per girl in the 5k race.
Another year, the girls ran faster than their teenage Kenyan counterparts, who competed in the Portland, Oregon event as an international showcase. Across the country, coaches awed by F-M and unaware of the team’s methods and discoveries, whispered, “How do they do it?”
From adopting long-forgotten “Stotan” creeds—combining the rigors of a Spartan and stoic lifestyle—to delving into teenage developmental psychology and gender-blindness in training, Amazing Racers is a must read for millions of runners and the millions more who strive for better performance.
What would one call taking teens with no evident running talent and challenging them with boundless hill training combined with mantras from rock ‘n’ roll, techniques from Kenya, philosophy from Australia, and turning them into champions? Is it revolutionary? Or a risky rebellion against running—and teenage—norms?
Coach Bill Aris has heard both, but one thing is indisputable. Everything Aris does with his runners—male and female alike—is new and extraordinary, and he has created a new American running dynasty. The cross-country runners of Fayetteville-Manlius, or F-M, in upstate New York have dominated high school running for 15 years, sweeping boys’ and girls’ titles at the Nike Cross Nationals championships (NXN) in 2014 in an unprecedented achievement.
The girls’ team, empowered by Aris’ unique, unwavering brand of gender equity, has won 11 of the last 13 NXN titles, some by margins of over 100 points. The boys’ team has the best cumulative national record of NXN podium performances. F-M domination has shocked the sport for its defiance of accepted running principles and limitations. One year at NXN, the F-M girls defeated the all-star field of top teams by an average of 59 seconds per girl in the 5k race.
Another year, the girls ran faster than their teenage Kenyan counterparts, who competed in the Portland, Oregon event as an international showcase. Across the country, coaches awed by F-M and unaware of the team’s methods and discoveries, whispered, “How do they do it?”
From adopting long-forgotten “Stotan” creeds—combining the rigors of a Spartan and stoic lifestyle—to delving into teenage developmental psychology and gender-blindness in training, Amazing Racers is a must read for millions of runners and the millions more who strive for better performance.
- GenresSportsNonfiction
336 pages, Paperback
Published September 8, 2020
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September 9, 2019
Before this book, I hadn't heard of Fayetteville-Manlius High School's cross-country team, nor of their dominance at the Nike Cross Nationals championships for more than a decade. Advance promotions spoke of a compelling story of "unflinching love" (Amby Burfoot), "gender blindness in training" (from the jacket blurb), and "selfless race tactics" (Shelf Awareness, a book industry site I use at work). So when my hold arrived, I dove right into it. I regret not having been tough enough to run cross-country as a teen; the mindset required to do it and do it as well as one can will always interest me.
But I'm not a fan of Coach Bill Aris and his "Stotan" philosophy. "Stotan" is a compound word derived from "stoic" and "Spartan," and I can see its appeal in a world where everyone, and media-enmeshed young people in particular, seems a slave to a culture of unhealthy consumption and individualism and shallow imagery. The author puts it this way in chapter three: "Cross-country running is everything but 'right now'....it is: train hard today and every day for weeks and months, and after that you might run a good race and you might be happy....(Aris) encouraged the young runners to find delight and satisfaction every day in hard work and teamwork so that, while experimenting to establish their autonomy, they could find their reward in the right now. At Fayetteville-Manlius, there was no such thing as immediate gratification or delayed gratification...just gratification."
In practice, this meant grueling training runs in the dark, in the upstate New York winter, with anxious parents waiting in the parking lot until well after quitting time to pick up their young athletes. It meant foregoing sweets and other forbidden foods (PB&J sandwiches come up frequently as an approved food) and activities that might interfere with the Stotan ethic of "clean living." It meant racing after nights spent throwing up or on hurt feet or other injuries (often the kids wouldn't tell the coach of the injury/illness, and I was never sure if this was out of fear that he would pull them from the race or out of fear that he would think they wanted to be pulled from the race; it was never suggested that maybe they should just....not have run the race while sick or injured).
Clearly, the author knows his sport and spent lots of time interviewing the people involved in the FM program over the years. Every team from the first group of boys in 2004 through the 2014 boys and girls teams that swept the NXN gets at least one chapter of excruciating detail (an editor with some teeth would have been effective here). There are many quotes from the kids (lots like this: "Clean. Whole. Stotan. We lived for each other, for that moment, for the team"). But the kids are hard to distinguish from one another. Few deviate from the party line (and even the author himself never questions the appropriateness of the Stotan commitment). References to "conflicts" on the team never came with specifics. And though it is clear that many of the athletes love Coach Aris, it's not clear that all of them do, and I didn't understand why there weren't interviews with kids who didn't make the cut (because I feel there must have been some of those) or with parents (I can recall only one instance where a parent is quoted).
The argument against including such details may be that the point is to share the secret of why this team does so well, not to air gossip or give a platform to any naysayers, however justified. I get that. My problem with this book is that while it bills itself as being about love and teamwork and doing hard things for their own sake, and about how teenagers can be taught to believe in and work for something bigger than they are, really, beneath all of that, it is a book about a coach who wants to win and is willing to use the force of his personality and erudition to get kids to fall in line with that. Coach Aris says he requires a standard of humility and selflessness from his athletes, but he also requires that they win. One of his favorite quotes is "Normal has nothing to do with excellence." And in that, I believe, he's no different from any other modern coach who brings an inappropriate level of intensity and humorlessness to high school sports.
I do worry that my problems with "Amazing Racers" stem from still not being tough enough myself. Running well is hard, and improving at it, no matter how talented or un-talented you are, requires hard work. It doesn't hurt to eat as healthily as possible and sleep rather than party. But I knew all of that before this book. What I learned after reading it is that there are still high-school coaches working today who wouldn't care a whit about me at that age given that I still had some growing up to do. Such coaches aren't interested any kid who needs to learn something from athletics other than how to subsume themselves and any other interests they have to certain adults' desire to win. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to win, but it's not as important in high school as learning how to maintain good, balanced health, both physically and emotionally, and how to compete and keep competing as you age, without despair, whether you win or lose.
I will always regret not being a cross-country runner in high school. But I don't regret not having been on a team run by a coach like this guy.
But I'm not a fan of Coach Bill Aris and his "Stotan" philosophy. "Stotan" is a compound word derived from "stoic" and "Spartan," and I can see its appeal in a world where everyone, and media-enmeshed young people in particular, seems a slave to a culture of unhealthy consumption and individualism and shallow imagery. The author puts it this way in chapter three: "Cross-country running is everything but 'right now'....it is: train hard today and every day for weeks and months, and after that you might run a good race and you might be happy....(Aris) encouraged the young runners to find delight and satisfaction every day in hard work and teamwork so that, while experimenting to establish their autonomy, they could find their reward in the right now. At Fayetteville-Manlius, there was no such thing as immediate gratification or delayed gratification...just gratification."
In practice, this meant grueling training runs in the dark, in the upstate New York winter, with anxious parents waiting in the parking lot until well after quitting time to pick up their young athletes. It meant foregoing sweets and other forbidden foods (PB&J sandwiches come up frequently as an approved food) and activities that might interfere with the Stotan ethic of "clean living." It meant racing after nights spent throwing up or on hurt feet or other injuries (often the kids wouldn't tell the coach of the injury/illness, and I was never sure if this was out of fear that he would pull them from the race or out of fear that he would think they wanted to be pulled from the race; it was never suggested that maybe they should just....not have run the race while sick or injured).
Clearly, the author knows his sport and spent lots of time interviewing the people involved in the FM program over the years. Every team from the first group of boys in 2004 through the 2014 boys and girls teams that swept the NXN gets at least one chapter of excruciating detail (an editor with some teeth would have been effective here). There are many quotes from the kids (lots like this: "Clean. Whole. Stotan. We lived for each other, for that moment, for the team"). But the kids are hard to distinguish from one another. Few deviate from the party line (and even the author himself never questions the appropriateness of the Stotan commitment). References to "conflicts" on the team never came with specifics. And though it is clear that many of the athletes love Coach Aris, it's not clear that all of them do, and I didn't understand why there weren't interviews with kids who didn't make the cut (because I feel there must have been some of those) or with parents (I can recall only one instance where a parent is quoted).
The argument against including such details may be that the point is to share the secret of why this team does so well, not to air gossip or give a platform to any naysayers, however justified. I get that. My problem with this book is that while it bills itself as being about love and teamwork and doing hard things for their own sake, and about how teenagers can be taught to believe in and work for something bigger than they are, really, beneath all of that, it is a book about a coach who wants to win and is willing to use the force of his personality and erudition to get kids to fall in line with that. Coach Aris says he requires a standard of humility and selflessness from his athletes, but he also requires that they win. One of his favorite quotes is "Normal has nothing to do with excellence." And in that, I believe, he's no different from any other modern coach who brings an inappropriate level of intensity and humorlessness to high school sports.
I do worry that my problems with "Amazing Racers" stem from still not being tough enough myself. Running well is hard, and improving at it, no matter how talented or un-talented you are, requires hard work. It doesn't hurt to eat as healthily as possible and sleep rather than party. But I knew all of that before this book. What I learned after reading it is that there are still high-school coaches working today who wouldn't care a whit about me at that age given that I still had some growing up to do. Such coaches aren't interested any kid who needs to learn something from athletics other than how to subsume themselves and any other interests they have to certain adults' desire to win. I don't think there's anything wrong with wanting to win, but it's not as important in high school as learning how to maintain good, balanced health, both physically and emotionally, and how to compete and keep competing as you age, without despair, whether you win or lose.
I will always regret not being a cross-country runner in high school. But I don't regret not having been on a team run by a coach like this guy.
May 3, 2022
Fascinating read about Fayetteville-Manlius's high school cross country national domination. I was inspired, envious, and sometimes appalled. It's inspiring to see high schooler's work so hard and selflessly toward excellence, but I had to wonder about the overall general concerns that exist in the sport like overtraining leading to physical debilitation, mental breakdowns, and eating disorders. These issues were only moderately addressed and reading between the lines you could glimpse these things are a legitimate concern.
This book was heavy on very detailed descriptions of races, especially the second half, probably exceeding an extent that most would be interested in. I was a bit annoyed at the theme of women's equality but there still existing descriptions from both the author and Aris in regards to the female athletes being little, flowering, blooming, their sexual awakening, and being mysteriously emotional (this last one being exceptionally notable as there were many scenes of the boy athletes and Aris having excessive emotional outbursts, as that is what happens to most people regardless of gender). But I guess we are all a product of our culture.
This book was heavy on very detailed descriptions of races, especially the second half, probably exceeding an extent that most would be interested in. I was a bit annoyed at the theme of women's equality but there still existing descriptions from both the author and Aris in regards to the female athletes being little, flowering, blooming, their sexual awakening, and being mysteriously emotional (this last one being exceptionally notable as there were many scenes of the boy athletes and Aris having excessive emotional outbursts, as that is what happens to most people regardless of gender). But I guess we are all a product of our culture.
June 20, 2019
I’ve been looking for a really good book about distance running for a very long time. And unfortunately, I’m still looking.
While Bloom writes competently and the subject matter had potential, there simply wasn’t enough here to justify an entire book. It gets very repetitive about a quarter of the way in and stays that way. This would have made a great long form article, but it’s very thin on content for a book of its length.
I was somewhat curious to compare the training methods of the best cross country team in America with that of my own former team (dominant in the area but not nationally relevant). It would seem that we did a lot more interval training and logged a lot less mileage, but there were some similarities. And weirdly, it seems we both listened to a lot of Pink Floyd.
It’s an interesting topic and Bloom does what he can with the material he has to work with, but this wasn’t the riveting tome on distance running that I keep trying and failing to find.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
While Bloom writes competently and the subject matter had potential, there simply wasn’t enough here to justify an entire book. It gets very repetitive about a quarter of the way in and stays that way. This would have made a great long form article, but it’s very thin on content for a book of its length.
I was somewhat curious to compare the training methods of the best cross country team in America with that of my own former team (dominant in the area but not nationally relevant). It would seem that we did a lot more interval training and logged a lot less mileage, but there were some similarities. And weirdly, it seems we both listened to a lot of Pink Floyd.
It’s an interesting topic and Bloom does what he can with the material he has to work with, but this wasn’t the riveting tome on distance running that I keep trying and failing to find.
*I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*
December 8, 2024
Was very excited by the prospect of a story following a high school cross country team but quickly found myself rather bothered by the blanket glorification of coaching methods that at times felt like an a gross, presumptuous, and unhealthy overreach into the lives of inherently vulnerable young people.
The author's focus on results robbed many of the characters earning those results on their humanity and their individualism. The kids are the ones who run the race, and kids, by definition, is what they are when they are in their teenage years, whether they are enlightened are not.
I felt the author glossed over the negative things that happened to the athletes, particularly the female athletes, in the wake of their wholeheartedly immersing themselves in Aris's training regimen as well as submitting to his overall life philosophy.
While there are merits to the F-M Stotan system and Aris was next to none in the results he evinced from his squads between '04 and '19, Aris is undeniably a flawed figure.
I admire Bloom for taking on this project and was enthralled at times but wish he had been more critical and nuanced in his account.
The author's focus on results robbed many of the characters earning those results on their humanity and their individualism. The kids are the ones who run the race, and kids, by definition, is what they are when they are in their teenage years, whether they are enlightened are not.
I felt the author glossed over the negative things that happened to the athletes, particularly the female athletes, in the wake of their wholeheartedly immersing themselves in Aris's training regimen as well as submitting to his overall life philosophy.
While there are merits to the F-M Stotan system and Aris was next to none in the results he evinced from his squads between '04 and '19, Aris is undeniably a flawed figure.
I admire Bloom for taking on this project and was enthralled at times but wish he had been more critical and nuanced in his account.
May 14, 2025
I find problematic this type of training were doesn't matter how hard you push your body, specially on youg people
August 5, 2025
What led me to the book was a comment I heard on injuries plaguing a couple of college female runners, which in that discussion was being blamed on over training by their specific high school coaches (even though the most well known examples I was aware of involve women who allege over training, body shaming, etc... occurring at the professional and collegiate level instead, eg, Mary Cain, Kara Goucher, several former University of Oregon runners). One commenter brought up this book and mentioned how Coach Aris had "figured it out", how to specifically train not only high school boys but also girls to an extremely high level, taking into account issues unique to their physiology.
That's not quite what I found in this story, but first let me say this was still a great read. The author is very talented. In telling this story of an incredibly talented and successful high school cross county program, he provided a complete story by going beyond the expected interviews of their coach, the athletes, their families, etc... he also weaved in the stories from runners and coaches from from several other schools as well. And as he got into the "Stotan" philosophy, which is the crux of story, he meaningfully added relevant information from well known and respected philosophers, psychiatrists and psychologist, as well as other authors, even novelists. The story is just plain well written and flows very well, much better than most sports books I have read, and I have read many, on a wide variety of sports. This is one of the best.
Second, the story itself is incredible, and that itself made this a good read. A high school cross county team, which had to that point only seen moderate local success, transformed by their new head coach into a national powerhouse, almost overnight, mostly as the result of his new and unique training methods. Which focused on both mind and body by incorporating elements of stoicism taken from an Australian coach utilized successfully in a small scale with adult runners, decades previously. The subsequent results for these kids is well described by the author. From 2004, where the story really begins, to 2018 where it ends (though really the 2015-2018 seasons are summed up in just a few pages at the end) the Fayetteville/Manlius (FM) High School cross country program had a boys and/or girls team at the prestigious Nike Cross Nationals, aka NXN), every year. During that fifteen year period, the girls team won this unofficial high school team "national championship" eleven times, along with a second place and a fourth place. The boys team wasn't nearly so successful, but did win in 2014 (along with the girls that year) and had several additional podium finishes. It's an incredible story.
However, the book didn't exactly deliver what I was looking for, and there are some things about the story itself that I found troubling. First, the author beats the reader over the head telling us how Coach Aris and the FM team is unique in treating the girls with "equity", and "equality". Great, right? It is said several times in different ways how he treated the girls the same as the boys; same expectations for success and with the same firmness. Even the same extreme training, ie, extremely high mileage. And the Stotan philosophy which, while early on seemed unique, "kitchy", and interesting, quickly came to feel exploitative of young minds, more like indoctrination into Aris's personal philosophical views, perhaps to substitute for his strong religious views which he was prohibited from discussing. Very quickly what Aris, most of the team members, and even the author seemed to be so proud of, the Stotan ideals, felt cultish and toxic, as the kids seemed to compete for the coach's favor, of proving their Stotan-ness, one-upping each other, in some cases at the expense of teammates with whom they didn't get along, or whom didn't buy into this philosophy; even those who maybe just weren't as fanatical about it were apparently targeted. It felt like there was a lot of double-speak and delusion with this philosophy, where the kids convinced themselves they were acting selflessly, for the team when in some cases it was clear they were just as selfish and driven by ego as their coach, even as they tried to cover it by throwing out these dimestore philosphical ideals which the author kind of fawned over. It felt telling the boys team seemed to do best when they were full of simply good/great runners like the girls were almost throughout, and when the boys had a “superstar” runner (all of whom were the biggest Stotanites of them all) it felt like Aris catered to them at the expense of the rest of the team; otherwise, he seemed disinterested in the boys teams. But most problematic was the whole Stotan thing really came to feel like manipulation of kids by their coach to generate success for his ego, leading them to steamroll anyone who isn't on board, including teammates. The amount of peer pressure these kids put on each other and thus themselves felt overwhelming. There was also a cringy recounting of when Aris created a detailed strict contract boys had to sign before they were allowed to date one of his girl runners; this just felt creepy, not cute or funny like I think the author was going for.
Getting back to the issue of equity with the girls, it felt like there was more doublespeak on this topic. It felt like Coach Aris and the author wanted to use the buzzwords of equity and such, and even made comments that he trains them the same, treats them the same, but in the story it was clear that he didn't do so from the start, even when he eventually brought them on board with the Stotan way. There was acknowledgement of the dangers of girls overtraining, the risk of heavy mileage, osteoporosis, body image, eating disorders, etc..., the potential specific damage to their developing bodies that is more common and impactful to girls at those ages which was well known even at that time. Incidents where he noted the girls had more emotional and anxiety issues. But other than saying he and the girls were all comfortable talking about such topics as their menstration cycles with him, it seemed he still went on to simply train them with heavy, heavy mileage. That seems to be where the "equity" came in, he pushed them just as hard as the boys and mixed them together in training based on skill level, and he was as unrelenting on expectations. Really it felt like this was likely the reason for success, more so than the Stotan philosophy itself. The Stotan philosophy's benefits seemed to me that it kept the runners willing to go through with this grueling training regimen, and maybe also got them on a better diet and just healthier living lifestyle which likely role as well. But what the story seems to ignore is the likely connection between this training/philosophy and the pressure to perform it led to, to "not let the team down"; and the high number of injuries these girls suffered, both in high school as detailed in the story, and for some, soon after in college. And likely to conceal pain, even known injuries, probably leading to them getting much worse.
Frankly, there are many incidents in the book that felt very similar to what I've heard in the exposés by professional and college athletes of systems that broke their bodies down, they just didn't have such a charismatic coach as Aris (whose most admirable quality in the story was he wasn't a fat shamer and encouraged a clean healthy lifestyle) nor a cool philosophy like the Stotan thing. There are injuries in sports, sure, and the boys had their fair share and likely most also were due to the combination of extreme mileage and workouts along with suppressing pain and even hiding injuries due to the pressure to not let the team down. And sure, other teams had and have injuries too. But it felt like the FM runners, in particular the girls, were the walking wounded throughout the book, and often their relationships were toxic; they would parrot phrases like "holding each other and themselves accountable" to cover for cruelty and bullying. The interviews with the kids, many now young adults, they felt like former cult members still clinging to these beliefs. If felt extremist, in a "Straight Edge" or "Alpha" kind of way.
So in the end, I can't say I found Coach Aris's philosophy and coaching to be inspiring. You can't argue with the success, no question, but I found nothing healthy about this, either physically or mentally. What I found more interesting, was a chapter towards the end where a team from Minnesota finally beat the FM girls in the 2013 NXN, and it was briefly mentioned that this coach utilized low impact/high intensity cross training (spinning/swimming) along with low/moderate mileage (35 miles a week), whereas FM was running well over 70 miles a week and only utilized those low impact cross training tools for their oft injured athletes.
Nevertheless, it is great book on the sport of cross country, and the accomplishment of these athletes, they deserve their accolades. The coach... I hope he's since reflected and changed his methods. After all, he said towards the end, I have regrets but I don't have doubts. I haven't seen them on the podium at NXN since 2017, pretty sure they haven't even qualified for NXN since the return post Covid. Perhaps he has retired.
That's not quite what I found in this story, but first let me say this was still a great read. The author is very talented. In telling this story of an incredibly talented and successful high school cross county program, he provided a complete story by going beyond the expected interviews of their coach, the athletes, their families, etc... he also weaved in the stories from runners and coaches from from several other schools as well. And as he got into the "Stotan" philosophy, which is the crux of story, he meaningfully added relevant information from well known and respected philosophers, psychiatrists and psychologist, as well as other authors, even novelists. The story is just plain well written and flows very well, much better than most sports books I have read, and I have read many, on a wide variety of sports. This is one of the best.
Second, the story itself is incredible, and that itself made this a good read. A high school cross county team, which had to that point only seen moderate local success, transformed by their new head coach into a national powerhouse, almost overnight, mostly as the result of his new and unique training methods. Which focused on both mind and body by incorporating elements of stoicism taken from an Australian coach utilized successfully in a small scale with adult runners, decades previously. The subsequent results for these kids is well described by the author. From 2004, where the story really begins, to 2018 where it ends (though really the 2015-2018 seasons are summed up in just a few pages at the end) the Fayetteville/Manlius (FM) High School cross country program had a boys and/or girls team at the prestigious Nike Cross Nationals, aka NXN), every year. During that fifteen year period, the girls team won this unofficial high school team "national championship" eleven times, along with a second place and a fourth place. The boys team wasn't nearly so successful, but did win in 2014 (along with the girls that year) and had several additional podium finishes. It's an incredible story.
However, the book didn't exactly deliver what I was looking for, and there are some things about the story itself that I found troubling. First, the author beats the reader over the head telling us how Coach Aris and the FM team is unique in treating the girls with "equity", and "equality". Great, right? It is said several times in different ways how he treated the girls the same as the boys; same expectations for success and with the same firmness. Even the same extreme training, ie, extremely high mileage. And the Stotan philosophy which, while early on seemed unique, "kitchy", and interesting, quickly came to feel exploitative of young minds, more like indoctrination into Aris's personal philosophical views, perhaps to substitute for his strong religious views which he was prohibited from discussing. Very quickly what Aris, most of the team members, and even the author seemed to be so proud of, the Stotan ideals, felt cultish and toxic, as the kids seemed to compete for the coach's favor, of proving their Stotan-ness, one-upping each other, in some cases at the expense of teammates with whom they didn't get along, or whom didn't buy into this philosophy; even those who maybe just weren't as fanatical about it were apparently targeted. It felt like there was a lot of double-speak and delusion with this philosophy, where the kids convinced themselves they were acting selflessly, for the team when in some cases it was clear they were just as selfish and driven by ego as their coach, even as they tried to cover it by throwing out these dimestore philosphical ideals which the author kind of fawned over. It felt telling the boys team seemed to do best when they were full of simply good/great runners like the girls were almost throughout, and when the boys had a “superstar” runner (all of whom were the biggest Stotanites of them all) it felt like Aris catered to them at the expense of the rest of the team; otherwise, he seemed disinterested in the boys teams. But most problematic was the whole Stotan thing really came to feel like manipulation of kids by their coach to generate success for his ego, leading them to steamroll anyone who isn't on board, including teammates. The amount of peer pressure these kids put on each other and thus themselves felt overwhelming. There was also a cringy recounting of when Aris created a detailed strict contract boys had to sign before they were allowed to date one of his girl runners; this just felt creepy, not cute or funny like I think the author was going for.
Getting back to the issue of equity with the girls, it felt like there was more doublespeak on this topic. It felt like Coach Aris and the author wanted to use the buzzwords of equity and such, and even made comments that he trains them the same, treats them the same, but in the story it was clear that he didn't do so from the start, even when he eventually brought them on board with the Stotan way. There was acknowledgement of the dangers of girls overtraining, the risk of heavy mileage, osteoporosis, body image, eating disorders, etc..., the potential specific damage to their developing bodies that is more common and impactful to girls at those ages which was well known even at that time. Incidents where he noted the girls had more emotional and anxiety issues. But other than saying he and the girls were all comfortable talking about such topics as their menstration cycles with him, it seemed he still went on to simply train them with heavy, heavy mileage. That seems to be where the "equity" came in, he pushed them just as hard as the boys and mixed them together in training based on skill level, and he was as unrelenting on expectations. Really it felt like this was likely the reason for success, more so than the Stotan philosophy itself. The Stotan philosophy's benefits seemed to me that it kept the runners willing to go through with this grueling training regimen, and maybe also got them on a better diet and just healthier living lifestyle which likely role as well. But what the story seems to ignore is the likely connection between this training/philosophy and the pressure to perform it led to, to "not let the team down"; and the high number of injuries these girls suffered, both in high school as detailed in the story, and for some, soon after in college. And likely to conceal pain, even known injuries, probably leading to them getting much worse.
Frankly, there are many incidents in the book that felt very similar to what I've heard in the exposés by professional and college athletes of systems that broke their bodies down, they just didn't have such a charismatic coach as Aris (whose most admirable quality in the story was he wasn't a fat shamer and encouraged a clean healthy lifestyle) nor a cool philosophy like the Stotan thing. There are injuries in sports, sure, and the boys had their fair share and likely most also were due to the combination of extreme mileage and workouts along with suppressing pain and even hiding injuries due to the pressure to not let the team down. And sure, other teams had and have injuries too. But it felt like the FM runners, in particular the girls, were the walking wounded throughout the book, and often their relationships were toxic; they would parrot phrases like "holding each other and themselves accountable" to cover for cruelty and bullying. The interviews with the kids, many now young adults, they felt like former cult members still clinging to these beliefs. If felt extremist, in a "Straight Edge" or "Alpha" kind of way.
So in the end, I can't say I found Coach Aris's philosophy and coaching to be inspiring. You can't argue with the success, no question, but I found nothing healthy about this, either physically or mentally. What I found more interesting, was a chapter towards the end where a team from Minnesota finally beat the FM girls in the 2013 NXN, and it was briefly mentioned that this coach utilized low impact/high intensity cross training (spinning/swimming) along with low/moderate mileage (35 miles a week), whereas FM was running well over 70 miles a week and only utilized those low impact cross training tools for their oft injured athletes.
Nevertheless, it is great book on the sport of cross country, and the accomplishment of these athletes, they deserve their accolades. The coach... I hope he's since reflected and changed his methods. After all, he said towards the end, I have regrets but I don't have doubts. I haven't seen them on the podium at NXN since 2017, pretty sure they haven't even qualified for NXN since the return post Covid. Perhaps he has retired.
October 6, 2024
Update: this one continues to hold up with every reread 👍
Reread perhaps one of my very favorite sports bios. It's so gritty!!!!! A very well-informed account of the winningest high school cross country team, covering over a decade of their astounding success. The Fayetteville-Manlius girls XC team is peerless. Bill Arius is their sensei. Together, they achieve impossible victories by unheard of margins.
Reread perhaps one of my very favorite sports bios. It's so gritty!!!!! A very well-informed account of the winningest high school cross country team, covering over a decade of their astounding success. The Fayetteville-Manlius girls XC team is peerless. Bill Arius is their sensei. Together, they achieve impossible victories by unheard of margins.
September 28, 2019
for those obsessively keeping score at home, I actually read hard cover book. I've never read an ebook, but for some reason goodreads isn't giving me hard cover as an option among editions of this book.
With that important news out of the way.......this one is a real test of the reader's patience. Excruciatingly detailed account of a decade or so of remarkable success in HS cross-country for Fayetteville-Manlius in upstate NY, focusing on coach Bill Aris and his training methods ostensibly derived from those of the Australian 1960s coach Percy Cerutty.
Girls team has been especially dominant, though one year both the boys and girls won national titles. Main controversy of which i'm aware [not addressed with any critical analysis in this boosterish book] is whether Aris burns them out in high school thru overtraining to maximize short-term performance, with few of his runners becoming big successes in college or as pros. Not sure how I feel about that -- you can't tell what someone's talent level is independent of their HS results. If he's just getting the max out of young athletes sooner than another coach might, and they get to be part of a successful team along the way, that doesn't seem so bad. If they're actually burning out on running, getting injured at higher rates, etc. that would be different.
not enough for my taste of a focus on what does happen to them later. The athlete interviews are banal "coach was tough, but I really bought in to the team-first mentality by senior year" stuff.
Painfully overwritten in a surprisingly inconsistent way -- he'll go along for 5 pages or so writing straightforward race recaps or workout details, and then it's almost like an internal clock alarm sounds and he remembers that most people don't care about old high school x-c results, so he has to toss in a paragraph or two of George Sheehan-esque philosophizing about running as a crucible of character development for America's otherwise pathetically soft youth.
The kids also pass by in a blur. Might have been preferable to go Running with the Buffalos style, focusing on one season in detail and giving more back story on one set of kids.
Finally, if I never hear the portmanteau "Stotan" (Stoic + Spartan) again, I'll be ok. in the style of a very old-school Sports Illustrated profile [Tommy Lasorda says "outstanding" a lot -- let's be sure to quote his saying it many times in this article!], author uses this Coach Aris slogan roughly 10x per page.
With that important news out of the way.......this one is a real test of the reader's patience. Excruciatingly detailed account of a decade or so of remarkable success in HS cross-country for Fayetteville-Manlius in upstate NY, focusing on coach Bill Aris and his training methods ostensibly derived from those of the Australian 1960s coach Percy Cerutty.
Girls team has been especially dominant, though one year both the boys and girls won national titles. Main controversy of which i'm aware [not addressed with any critical analysis in this boosterish book] is whether Aris burns them out in high school thru overtraining to maximize short-term performance, with few of his runners becoming big successes in college or as pros. Not sure how I feel about that -- you can't tell what someone's talent level is independent of their HS results. If he's just getting the max out of young athletes sooner than another coach might, and they get to be part of a successful team along the way, that doesn't seem so bad. If they're actually burning out on running, getting injured at higher rates, etc. that would be different.
not enough for my taste of a focus on what does happen to them later. The athlete interviews are banal "coach was tough, but I really bought in to the team-first mentality by senior year" stuff.
Painfully overwritten in a surprisingly inconsistent way -- he'll go along for 5 pages or so writing straightforward race recaps or workout details, and then it's almost like an internal clock alarm sounds and he remembers that most people don't care about old high school x-c results, so he has to toss in a paragraph or two of George Sheehan-esque philosophizing about running as a crucible of character development for America's otherwise pathetically soft youth.
The kids also pass by in a blur. Might have been preferable to go Running with the Buffalos style, focusing on one season in detail and giving more back story on one set of kids.
Finally, if I never hear the portmanteau "Stotan" (Stoic + Spartan) again, I'll be ok. in the style of a very old-school Sports Illustrated profile [Tommy Lasorda says "outstanding" a lot -- let's be sure to quote his saying it many times in this article!], author uses this Coach Aris slogan roughly 10x per page.
March 11, 2025
I thought this book was very entertaining and informative, because even as a runner for over ten years, I had not heard of Fayetteville Manlius. I was captivated by the unique stories of each runner/team throughout the years, their training philosophy/team culture, and the remarkable success of the program. Marc Bloom did a great job of emotionally connecting readers to the characters, describing the sport of running, and providing background information so the reader was able to understand the story. However, as a runner I thought some details were over-explained and boring, making certain portions very dull and bland. I found the way Bloom described races with descriptive, action-packed details made the sport of running very engaging, which I found valuable because it is not seen as that by many people. Also, the way Bloom wrote about the team faced realistic mental, physical, and emotional struggles of running provided lessons about resilience, teamwork, sacrifices, and the power of confidence and belief that I found motivating and thought-provoking.
May 27, 2020
I read this just before my last track season of high school. As a runner, I found it very inspiring and many of the strategies employed by the F-M team on and off the course would be powerful to any high school team that could actually develop a culture to accept them (my team currently has a long way to go on this).
While it was a great book as a whole, there are a few criticisms. It does start off a little slow and I found the beginning of the story, specifically the parts about the boys' team, to be long and less exciting than the rest of the book. Also, I do not necessarily agree with the intensity of training for the high school level athletes just so they could be dominant on the national stage. It led to injury and an early peak in performance for many of the runners.
So, for those who are running/running history nerds like me, it is another great addition to the shelves of running. It will change perspective on the sport and how you view the value of a team.
While it was a great book as a whole, there are a few criticisms. It does start off a little slow and I found the beginning of the story, specifically the parts about the boys' team, to be long and less exciting than the rest of the book. Also, I do not necessarily agree with the intensity of training for the high school level athletes just so they could be dominant on the national stage. It led to injury and an early peak in performance for many of the runners.
So, for those who are running/running history nerds like me, it is another great addition to the shelves of running. It will change perspective on the sport and how you view the value of a team.
March 22, 2020
Finishing this book felt like a long-distance run in and of itself. It is 300+ very dense pages with small font. The story is a very interesting one but it left me feeling kind of divided. On the one hand, such an amazing coaching accomplishment to have, for a decade, consistently taken high school runners to the top of the sport through discipline and healthy living principles. And yet--the runners succeeded because they continued to push the bounds of their physical capacity in ways that caused stress fractures, amenorrhea, and eating disorders. Long-distance running can be such a life lesson about self-discipline and hard work, but it can also be highly addictive and isolating. This book highlights the positive of the team mentality but I continue to believe in the more important life lesson of finding a healthy balance.
June 23, 2021
A great book can enrage, provoke, inspire, and push you to ask questions of your own experiences. Bloom's work here, capturing the trials and tribulations of an undeniably legendary Boys and Girls XC team led by the brilliant and complex Coach Aris, made me shudder, shake, and fear for the young people under his tutelage. Although comprehensive and encyclopedic, I obviously wanted more about Mr. Newton and The Dukes of York, which this book is NOT about. However, I wondered about Aris's training methods and philosophies; his own relationships with his family; the $ at the heart of this work. What privilege it is to work with young people, to dedicate time to the cultivation of the soul! Mr. Newton's secret weapon was not 25 X 400's or one hour continual runs. It was love. He and Aris had that figured out.
January 23, 2021
Driven by the Stotan (Stoic + Spartan) philosophy of their coach, the girls' cross-country team at Fayetteville-Manlius high school nails the Nike Cross Country Nationals 11 out of 12 years in a row (and the boys' team does ok too!). The book details Coach Bill Aris's focus on fostering commitment, selflessness, and discipline in his young athletes. It sounds a little cultish, but the results are impressive--both in wins and maturity for the young men and women involved. Warning: the book is 320 pages of small print, so if you're not interested in the ins and outs of individual races, if might seem long. But if you love that kind of detail, you're in for a fascinating read.
November 29, 2025
I thought this was an excellent read (I’m a former high school XC runner, currently a high school assistant XC coach, and life-long runner).
I stumbled into this book at a used bookstore, and picked it up on impulse to read over Thanksgiving. I didn’t expect that a play-by-play of 10 years of boys and girls XC training and racing would be so interesting. I figured that I’d pick up some tips, but I found this to be a compelling story.
The author, Marc Bloom, writes very well and clearly has a deep background in, and love for, the sport. This shines through.
I stumbled into this book at a used bookstore, and picked it up on impulse to read over Thanksgiving. I didn’t expect that a play-by-play of 10 years of boys and girls XC training and racing would be so interesting. I figured that I’d pick up some tips, but I found this to be a compelling story.
The author, Marc Bloom, writes very well and clearly has a deep background in, and love for, the sport. This shines through.
August 2, 2020
Marc Bloom has been around for awhile, but first I've read anything from him in book format. Has a verbose style (in a good way). Interesting insights to a great HS cross country program. Also good insight into the minds/emotions of teenagers. I still think that these kids run too much and too hard, too soon. I don't argue with success; just wonder what long term effects are on body and soul.
December 1, 2024
Good writing, I’m impressed with all the details, and it was a compelling story. The author captured the essence of what it means to be part of a XC team and the flavor of every season. I will adopt some of Coach Aris’ method and approach into my coaching.
April 17, 2025
I adored this book. It told the story of the best high school XC program of the early 2000s and how they did it along with their trials and tribulations. Anyone interested in running or any distance running coach should read this.
August 13, 2019
Well written. Fast read. True to my experiences as a parent of an FM runner. Bloom was able to keep some suspense even though the outcomes of the races are well known to many.
September 20, 2019
As a huge fan of high school cross country racing, I found the story behind this successful New York team to be fascinating and inspirational.
October 18, 2019
This is a terrific book for anyone who is interested in high school running and excellence in coaching.
February 12, 2023
interesting yet a struggle to get through.
July 14, 2024
If you like running, then you would find this book very interesting. If you don’t like running, then you won’t want to read it. It was pretty good, but slow at times.
April 11, 2023
Marc Bloom is a great writer, and he brings attention to a sport that doesn't get the praise it deserves, with a vocabulary and bank of references that is truly impressive. What Marc casts the spotlight on, what high school athletes are accomplishing out on the trails and in the parks of our communities, would surprise many in America. I support any and all books that bring positive attention to their accomplishments.
That being said, the article "Is High School Running in Need of a Reckoning?' written by Margie Cullen and Anne Marshall-Chalmers, and published in Runner's World on 11/18/22 should be added as an addendum to the book. A number of lengths Aris's athletes went to were glorified, rather than seriously questioned. The book jumps from one championship to the next, without pausing to reflect on the toll that was taken on young high school athletes. Surgeries, eating disorders, and burnout are briefly touched on, then ignored as a new athlete steps into the spotlight/is the focus of the next chapter.
I do like that while the book became an homage to Aris, Bloom did seem to make an effort to focus the story on the athletes themselves, and not only the coach. In the process of trying to capture the team's historic run, spanning decades of excellence though, it does become more about the coach as the underlying constant, rather than the young runners though. My favorite chapters were those that chronicles the first years as national contenders, and the athletes and traditions that brought FM to national attention.
That being said, the article "Is High School Running in Need of a Reckoning?' written by Margie Cullen and Anne Marshall-Chalmers, and published in Runner's World on 11/18/22 should be added as an addendum to the book. A number of lengths Aris's athletes went to were glorified, rather than seriously questioned. The book jumps from one championship to the next, without pausing to reflect on the toll that was taken on young high school athletes. Surgeries, eating disorders, and burnout are briefly touched on, then ignored as a new athlete steps into the spotlight/is the focus of the next chapter.
I do like that while the book became an homage to Aris, Bloom did seem to make an effort to focus the story on the athletes themselves, and not only the coach. In the process of trying to capture the team's historic run, spanning decades of excellence though, it does become more about the coach as the underlying constant, rather than the young runners though. My favorite chapters were those that chronicles the first years as national contenders, and the athletes and traditions that brought FM to national attention.
April 23, 2023
The famous phrase, "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" - I generally do not agree with this phrase as talent can work hard too, but in this case Coach Bill Aris took many naturally untalented kids and managed to truly push them beyond what we thought the limit of "working hard" is to produce national champions.
I'm not a fan of Coach Bill Aris's approach to high school running, but it was interesting to read about - I think it's fair to say the "Stotan" philosophy brings out the full potential in an athlete, but sacrificing the experience of childhood/adolescence for 100 mile weeks. I am a somewhat accomplished runner, and I would not survive under this program. I would never even dream of coaching like this either. But I am also not a national champion.
I liked this book because I was familiar with FM, and elite HS distance running. There were probably 30+ name references that I recognized in this book. I think this book would be an absolute snooze if you've never heard of Fayetteville-Manlius, or at least Nike Cross Nationals.
I'm not a fan of Coach Bill Aris's approach to high school running, but it was interesting to read about - I think it's fair to say the "Stotan" philosophy brings out the full potential in an athlete, but sacrificing the experience of childhood/adolescence for 100 mile weeks. I am a somewhat accomplished runner, and I would not survive under this program. I would never even dream of coaching like this either. But I am also not a national champion.
I liked this book because I was familiar with FM, and elite HS distance running. There were probably 30+ name references that I recognized in this book. I think this book would be an absolute snooze if you've never heard of Fayetteville-Manlius, or at least Nike Cross Nationals.
October 12, 2019
Faster Running - Run Fast, Run a Lot, Be Young
I started this book in hopes of learning a secret to getting fast. After finishing the book, I realize there’s no secret, I just need to run about four times the miles I run now. It would also help to be twenty years younger. I’m oversimplifying a bit; a dialed in diet would certainly help. And these teams’ commitment to the team concept did seem extremely intense, and I think that’s valuable when pushing oneself. I’ve had good races in relays where I know the other team members are counting on me. But that’s the setup for all cross country teams - why are the F-M teams different? I’m not still not totally sure, other than the intensity they use in their training and strict diets. I think if I went that hard all the time I’d get injured. Again, that’s where being twenty years younger would help.
I started this book in hopes of learning a secret to getting fast. After finishing the book, I realize there’s no secret, I just need to run about four times the miles I run now. It would also help to be twenty years younger. I’m oversimplifying a bit; a dialed in diet would certainly help. And these teams’ commitment to the team concept did seem extremely intense, and I think that’s valuable when pushing oneself. I’ve had good races in relays where I know the other team members are counting on me. But that’s the setup for all cross country teams - why are the F-M teams different? I’m not still not totally sure, other than the intensity they use in their training and strict diets. I think if I went that hard all the time I’d get injured. Again, that’s where being twenty years younger would help.
January 11, 2020
While I agree the training strategies don't come across as "revolutionary" in a wide-reaching sense, at that specific school stotan ideals certainly were. And although "stotan running" created a label/banner for the cross country team to embrace, what really mattered was a strict coach that held students to high expectations (for the first time) and the team's studious follow through. Most important of all was the comradery that the coach's program facilitated. Runners wanted to succeed for the sake of the team over maverick personal glory - cross country being a team sport with team scoring.
Although Amazing Racers did not provide training secrets, other than train hard and diligently, the team's accomplishments were, in fact, amazing. I enjoyed the story and that's all I was looking for.
Although Amazing Racers did not provide training secrets, other than train hard and diligently, the team's accomplishments were, in fact, amazing. I enjoyed the story and that's all I was looking for.
February 4, 2021
Great Telling of X-Country Greatness
The access and candor that produce so many accounts over such a long timeframe make for an excellent story. This is not the story of a flash-in-the-pan or one-hit-wonder performance. This is a story of a system performing consistently over years. This is what high schoolers are capable of when their potential is believed in and drawn out. This book would have earned five stars except for the author unnecessarily inserting himself into the story. This story does not need the author's first-person appearances, especially in relation to his magazine. Thankfully, this tendency was intermittent.
The access and candor that produce so many accounts over such a long timeframe make for an excellent story. This is not the story of a flash-in-the-pan or one-hit-wonder performance. This is a story of a system performing consistently over years. This is what high schoolers are capable of when their potential is believed in and drawn out. This book would have earned five stars except for the author unnecessarily inserting himself into the story. This story does not need the author's first-person appearances, especially in relation to his magazine. Thankfully, this tendency was intermittent.
November 12, 2019
I like this book a lot. It is the story of the Fayetteville-Manlius HS cross country team and there coach Bill Aris. FM is the New York Yankees, New England Patriots, New Zealand All Blacks of high school cross country. Aris, withhold Stotan ideals has helped to mold these young people into a selfless, team oriented group that succeeds at the highest level. Marked it down a bit because of the excessive references to times and races that were a bit much, even for a cross country geek like me.
October 15, 2019
Book was okay for learning about the sport of cross-country running but not a great read as it got repetitive at times. I really didn't enjoy it all that much for that reason, but I did finish the book and I always give at least three stars for any book that keeps my attention until the end. Meaning it's at least okay overall.
October 27, 2019
As a casual distance runner, I had high hopes for this. While it was interesting that this coach was able to accomplish all of this with this teenagers, the author was a bit on the dull side. A slow read for me.
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