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RYC-Rating:

A few weeks ago, I happened to be walking around Manhattan with my wife – something we don’t get to do enough now that we have a kid. As usual, I perused the running section at Strand Books, my favorite used book store. I found a few items including, Duel in the Sun, by John Brant. It is the amazing story of two of the greatest American marathoners (Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley) from the early 80’s and their incredible duel at the 1982 Boston Marathon.

Although I was well aware of Salazar’s running career, I only recognized Dick Beardsley’s name and sadly not much else. Since I began running after both Salazar and Beardsley’s competitive running careers ended, I only knew them via race results and periodic quotes in magazines or books. Now, I feel as though I REALLY know them. The author invites you into their head which enables you to understand their source of confidence, doubt, frustration, and elation.

Without revealing all the exciting details, their 1982 Boston Marathon turned out to be the peak of their careers and a major turning point in their lives -they both struggled with their post professional running life. John Brant structured the book so that the chapters alternate between a narrative of their duel and their pre and post Boston Marathon life. I found the organization to work really well. I also found that if you don’t know who wins, or even if you do, after reading of their struggle you’ll be so much more attached to these guys and routing for both of them as they press towards the finish line.

I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in running history or the mental and emotional side of competitive running. If you are looking for Salazar or Beardsley’s training methods or snippets from their training journals, this book isn’t for you. In fact, that is exactly what this book isn’t. Overall, most people would enjoy this book because it is such a great story. When I finished it this morning, I wanted more so I turned to the web and found two videos about the Boston Marathon’s greatest race and embedded them below - don’t watch them until after you’ve read the book, SPOILER!

If you want to discuss the details of this book, check out the RYC Book Club message board.

1982 Boston Marathon TV Broadcast

Dick Beardsley speaks about the Duel in the Sun

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