Bookworm: "14 Minutes" by Alberto Salazar and John Brant

While much of the press on Alberto Salazar's incredible new autobiography, "14 Minutes," has been focused on Salazar's much known faith and his brush with death, that spawned the title of the book (spoiler: he was pronounced dead for 14 minutes), I took away a different set of realizations. Those nuggets of information from the man himself were the confirmations of many rumors that had been floated in circles and message boards for years, but were never really confirmed to the public.

Here are a few of those:

1. Salazar had a hand in the hiring of Vin Lananna
While there's no real confirmation that he was against Martin Smith, he did present to the athletic director that Rupp would attend the University of Portland, unless certain things changed. Most importantly, he had Phil Knight's blessing, to the tune of "I guess you'll just have to fix it." He then goes on to state that after this was remedied, that "Galen joined the Ducks fold, and soon Oregon's distance-running tradition was restored." That certainly can not be argued with, as since Rupp came aboard, Oregon won the NCAA Cross Country title twice and has produced stars like Rupp, Andrew Wheating and Matt Centrowitz.

2. Salazar was not happy with Alan Webb's insubordination
As many distance fans recall, Salazar's goal with Webb was to rebuild him from the ground up; a goal that in his mind, would require Webb to "spend an entire year away from world-class competition." As Salazar puts it "Alan grew impatient and wanted to run some major meets. I told him let's hit some singles and doubles before we swing for a home run, but Alan resisted." Salazar's attention to detail is notorious and while it may not work for all, it certainly has produced World class results.

3. Salazar faced much ridicule for his stance on Prozac
In the mid 90's, many recall that Salazar said that Prozac helped him run faster and break through a plateau. People took issue with this, including a competing Adidas Elite team at the 1994 Hood to Coast Relay, who had a sign on one of their vehicles reading "We Don't Run on Prozac." Salazar was happy to help his Nike team to victory and has always stood by his taking of Prozac ("only for a few months") to help battle depression, which ultimately helped him run better, due to his elevated mood.

4. Salazar was the liaison for Michael Johnson and the Dream Team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Being "Charles Barkley's bodyguard" is one of Salazar's favorite jobs, as one of his first duties with Nike after his professional career was tending to Michael Johnson and the Dream Team in Barcelona, the Olympiad in which Johnson faltered (only to return in 1996 to dominate) and Barkley and the boys ripped through the international competition, in the first year where pros would compete for the US team.

Salazar graced the cover of Sports
Illustrated during his 3-peat of NYC

5. Salazar won his first of three New York City Marathon titles while still attending the University of Oregon
While many people likely knew this already, this was news to me. It was exciting when Luke Puskedra ran an excellent half at Houston this year, but the idea of an American collegian running a competitive World Class Marathon now seems almost unimaginable.

Much of the information that is discussed in this excellent book is confirmation of Salazar's incredible drive and work ethic, and no question is left unanswered. He discusses his upbringing from elementary school on and talks of the Nike Altitude house, his missteps with Dathan Ritzenhein's form, his coaching of Rupp and the Gouchers and his relationship with Coach Bill Squires and Bill Rodgers. "14 Minutes" is a must for any distance fan. A very quick and informative read form one of the best coaches (and runners) of our time.

Learn more about the book at http: 14minutesbook.com and pick up a copy of the book at Amazon.com

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Film Major: "There is No Finish Line: The Joan Benoit-Samuelson Story"

Joan Benoit-Samuelson is one of those people that truly amazes me. And after watching "There is No Finish Line: The Joan Benoit-Samuelson Story," it appears I'm not the only one. From Alberto Salazar to Bill Rodgers to Nike Co-Founder and Chairman, Phil Knight, everyone is equally in awe of how Samuelson has continued to run incredibly over a span of five decades.

"There is No Finish Line" was produced by the late Geoff Hollister and directed by Erich Little, both of whom served the same respective roles on the extremely popular, "Fire on the Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story." The delivery is very similar to "Fire" and the only disappointment is the fact that the film is only 48 minutes long. At the end, you will want to hear more.

The film shows Samuelson's burst onto the international scene at the Boston Marathon in 1979, running 2:35:15, and then winning the first ever Women's Marathon at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, with admiring accounts from many people who are idols in their own right in the running world. Then the film talks about on thing I was aware of (her continued dominance into her 50's), and one thing I wasn't (her passion for environmentalism).

1984 Olympic Gold Medalist in the
 inaugural Women's Marathon

As noted in one of my earlier race reports, I tangled with Samuelson at Falmouth in the Summer of 2010. At the time, I was 31 and pretty fit (for me) and she was 53! I had no problem besting Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers that day, but Samuelson personified the title of the film in the way she ran this race. I heard the roar of the crowd when she rolled up on me about a mile and a half into the race. I immediately tucked in and dueled with her up and down the hills, for the next mile and a half, before she left me in the dust on the flats. I distinctly remember another competitor running along side her and stepping in front of her stride. She barked at him something along the lines of "watch the *** out." Maybe she cursed, maybe not. But I distinctly remember the guy moving over three feet and me being totally intimidated. She later went on to run 2:47:50 at the Chicago Marathon that Fall on a day where it was very hot and very uncomfortable. Once again, totally impressed.

The side I wasn't aware of about Samuelson was her dedication to the environment. Like running, she has a passion for her native Maine, where she has started the very popular and continuously growing Beach to Beacon 10k. One of her favorite causes is Friends of Casco Bay, which aims to improve and protect the environmental health of Casco Bay. She's involved in much more in her everyday life and you can check out more of the causes that she champions on the links section of her website.

If you didn't know much about Samuelson, this is a great place to start. And if you did, you'll still learn something new. To get more back story, you'll also want to check out her 1987 book, "Running Tide," or her 1995 book, "Joan Samuelson's Running for Women," which you can pick up very cheap on Amazon.com.

Get more information and buy the DVD at Amazon.com or download digitally at iTunes here. Follow Joan Benoit-Samuelson on Twitter here.

Check out the trailer below:


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Thanks to our sponsor (the above film) "There is No Finish Line: The Joan Benoit-Samuelson Story," for sponsoring the blog this week. If you're interested in sponsoring writing about running (and other great sites like TrackFocus, Track Superfan, Paul Merca and the House of Run podcast) in the future, check out The Relay Network. You can also support the site by buying something on Amazon.com through this link