The late Edward S. Sears, a retired aerospace engineer and avid runner, lived in Shawsville, Virginia.

“The author has completely revised and updated this superb book”—Athletics 2016: The International and Field Annual; “Blurbs and reviews of the first edition: By the nature of its far-flung and encompassing history of running, Ed Sears’ work is an excellent textbook of the lore, legend and history of running through the ages. I recommend this book as a resource for fans, coaches and aspiring runners.”—Jim Ryun, three time Olympian and former WR holder in the mile and 1500; “A lively and accurate account! I believe anyone reading this book will come away with the feeling they were there at the races and saw running history.”—Bill Rodgers, four time winner of Boston & New York Marathons; “well-researched and easily readable history...useful pictures”—Choice; “fascinating book...exhilarating...extremely well documented and a pleasure to read”—Olympic Review; “compelling biographical information...valuable historical and biographical information...recommend[ed]”—The Roanoke Times; “remarkable...rich in incident and character, much of it never seen in book form before...marvelous collection of rare illustrations...excellent index and bibliography...a book to treasure...fascinating”—Track Stats; “the definitive history of man’s urge to run both long and fast...great detail...[an] epic work...many...surprises await readers of this fine book...anyone interested in the evolution of the sport should run to their favorite bookstore--fast”—Road Race Management; “starts with running by pre-humans 5 million years ago, and ends with a look into the future of running...a valuable historic contribution”—Syracuse Post Standard; “an informative, enjoyable and completely definitive history of footracing...a sprint through history...crammed with wonderful short stories...magnificent photographs...thorough...great quotes, fascinating stories, superb illustrations...a wonderful jog down memory lane”—Athletics Weekly.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments viPreface 1Introduction 3I. Running and Human Evolution (7,000,000–50,000 bc) 7II. Running in the Ancient World (3,000 ­bc–ad 500) 15III. From the Middle Ages to Pedestrianism (ad 500–1800)IV. The Origin of Modern Running (1800–1850) 51V. The Glory Days of the Pros and the Rise of the Amateurs (1850–1900) 72VI. Organized Running Becomes a Worldwide Sport (1900–1950) 144VII. Drugs, the Rise of the Africans and the Running Boom (1950–2000) 212VIII. Running in the ­Twenty-first Century (2001–2015) 299Notes 315Bibliography 321Index 325

The late Edward S. Sears, a retired aerospace engineer and avid runner, lived in Shawsville, Virginia.

“The author has completely revised and updated this superb book”—Athletics 2016: The International and Field Annual; “Blurbs and reviews of the first edition: By the nature of its far-flung and encompassing history of running, Ed Sears’ work is an excellent textbook of the lore, legend and history of running through the ages. I recommend this book as a resource for fans, coaches and aspiring runners.”—Jim Ryun, three time Olympian and former WR holder in the mile and 1500; “A lively and accurate account! I believe anyone reading this book will come away with the feeling they were there at the races and saw running history.”—Bill Rodgers, four time winner of Boston & New York Marathons; “well-researched and easily readable history...useful pictures”—Choice; “fascinating book...exhilarating...extremely well documented and a pleasure to read”—Olympic Review; “compelling biographical information...valuable historical and biographical information...recommend[ed]”—The Roanoke Times; “remarkable...rich in incident and character, much of it never seen in book form before...marvelous collection of rare illustrations...excellent index and bibliography...a book to treasure...fascinating”—Track Stats; “the definitive history of man’s urge to run both long and fast...great detail...[an] epic work...many...surprises await readers of this fine book...anyone interested in the evolution of the sport should run to their favorite bookstore--fast”—Road Race Management; “starts with running by pre-humans 5 million years ago, and ends with a look into the future of running...a valuable historic contribution”—Syracuse Post Standard; “an informative, enjoyable and completely definitive history of footracing...a sprint through history...crammed with wonderful short stories...magnificent photographs...thorough...great quotes, fascinating stories, superb illustrations...a wonderful jog down memory lane”—Athletics Weekly.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments viPreface 1Introduction 3I. Running and Human Evolution (7,000,000–50,000 bc) 7II. Running in the Ancient World (3,000 ­bc–ad 500) 15III. From the Middle Ages to Pedestrianism (ad 500–1800)IV. The Origin of Modern Running (1800–1850) 51V. The Glory Days of the Pros and the Rise of the Amateurs (1850–1900) 72VI. Organized Running Becomes a Worldwide Sport (1900–1950) 144VII. Drugs, the Rise of the Africans and the Running Boom (1950–2000) 212VIII. Running in the ­Twenty-first Century (2001–2015) 299Notes 315Bibliography 321Index 325