Best Efforts: World Class Runners and Races

by Kenny Moore

"Best Efforts: Stories of Great Runners and Great Races" is an eclectic conglomeration of stories about runners written by Kenny Moore mostly during his Sports Illustrated years. Mr. Moore, a native Oregonian, ran for Bill Bowerman during his tenure as the University of Oregon's cross country and track and field coach. A late-blooming prep runner of modest accomplishments, Moore developed into a world-class distance runner, highlighted by his fourth place finish in the 1972 Munich Olympic Marathon. Moore, described as "the philosopher-marathoner" by the press before his second crack at Fukuoka, is driven to describe to us the body and mind of the men and women whose speed and triumphs, whose graceful aging and defeats we find so fascinating. And he does it better than anyone else.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

286 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Brian Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best running books I have read. Moore is just a great writer, which is hard to come by in the running world. Highly recommend!

[Joshua Coon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe I hadn’t read this, a classic. The way Moore writes each essay, it’s like you’re present, a fly on the wall to some of the most historic distance training and racing events.

[J.Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best Efforts is a very up-close look into the lives, training, and races of many of the greatest middle-distance and distance runners in history. Through personal visits, Kenny Moore gives us insight into the day to day routine of more than a dozen greats like Roger Bannister, Lasse Viren, Steve Prefontaine, Sebastian Coe, and many others. It also includes interesting details of some of Moore's own experiences in racing/marathons.

Although I enjoyed his Bowerman biography even more (one of my favorite books of all time), this book takes a special place on my bookshelf (and I have a signed copy from the author) with other running books like Pre, Born to Run, Bowerman, and Once a Runner.

Track enthusiasts, runners, and sports history buffs will all enjoy this book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This kind of running journalism doesn't exist anymore. Taking advantage of the running boom, Kenny Moore wrote a series of in-depth profiles of elite distance runners. What makes these stories great are that Moore writes from the perspective of a runner: he knows what it takes to be the best (he was 4th in the 1972 Olympic Marathon), so he's appreciative, but knowledgable. Great read for a runner. I wonder if non-runners could enjoy it as well?

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I discovered running it was the greatest thing I had stumbled into since I had started reading. And then I discovered that Kenny Moore actually wrote about running. Sweet.

[Casey Manos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Up there with The Men of Oregon for an insight into a previous generation of racers. Appreciated the many chapters on different athletes and got a lot of value out of it. Kenny Moore had a gift