Customer Reviews

Harriers: The Making of a Championship Cross Country Team

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is a true account of cross-country seasons at Salem HS written by two gifted students on the team. This is a participant's view of a team that over the course of two years develops from a very competitive region team to a team that wins State. The book is well detailed on cross-country in the sense that the student authors appropriately make the point that no matter how good the top runners are on a team, and they have several excellent runners, winning a championship depends on where your 5th man finishes. The other nice emphasis, as the authors nicely describe, is how each individual develops in training and in actual races. You get a nice feel for cross-country racing as the authors give a personal perspective on what it is like to prepare for race day, how they determine their race plans (preference for pace or going out with the leaders), the effect of the course terrain and the weather and what it is like on those days that you feel great and those when you know you don't have it.

The story is fascinating reading not only how the four stars improve and compete among themselves but they authors also write a healthy description of the competition for the 5th, 6th and final varsity spot. And as the authors well describe, the 6th and 7th man do make a difference particularly when the 5th man falters. The book spends most of its time on cross-country with short references to track but the authors note that all three of the top runners run the two mile close to 10 flat with their top runner breaking out with a 9:40 prior to the second CC season. I would have liked to have known more about their post CC workouts as the school seemed to produce some very good talent with depth. The team's top runners were very talented and placed very high in their region and state yet they were beat by some outstanding individuals at the big meets. Thus they were in a very competitive state division. Besides the dedication of the athletes, the coaching is impressive along with how the runners adapted to the workouts. For example, in a quality distance run, the runners occasionally wear heart monitors in order to maintain a specific effort for a specific period of time. In another technical note, their advanced coach uses a GPS to determine where the true mile splits on race courses are to help his team with their pace during races. The school also features an outstanding booster club that is pretty unique for HS distance runners. The book also captures the difficulties of success, such as over training injuries or too much success or praise's effect on a young runner. And, a nicety of the book is capturing the coach's efforts to tailor a workout appropriate for particular athletes as some require more recovery than others. And there is suspense, a great finish marred by technical officiating failures that leave you guessing what will happen and what is fascinating is that it is a true story. A satellite story is the development of the girls' team that features two outstanding athletes and the girls eventually rival the boys in regards to success at the State meet. There is also the cross-country/track coach's greatest fear, exemplified in Runner's World editorials by Marc Bloom, that soccer may steal your best runner as it almost does in this story. The book is ideal for young high school aspiring runners and in fact it could be used as a HS coach's recruitment tool. This book is an excellent view of cross-country from the trenches or from the ground.

This the true story of a high school cross country team in Salem Ohio that grows from "also rans" to champions (with a lot of controversy in between). The story is quite compelling. The fact that it was written by two of the athletes on the team will stun you. It is extremely well written. I would have never guessed it was the product of two high school students.

In my estimation it becomes the third volume of the cross country trilogy which started with "Running with the Buffaloes" and continued with "God on the Starting Line". It offers a unique perspective of the high school runner. It is the season seen through there eyes. It rings true with their hopes, dreams, disapointments and triumphs. I'm not sure anyone has written so clearly about the "feeling" of racing.

This a very well written little gem of a book.

Highly recommended for cross-country runners and their coaches.

As a runner I enjoyed the detailed descriptions of all the championship races. The authors gave execellent insights into the moods and outside interests that can cause chaos on any team.

As a coach, the book held my interest since the writers were runners on the Salem XC team. However, more detailed descriptions of the training during the season would have made the book more interesting.

As a writer, I was amazed at the quality of writing these high school authors exhibited. Excellent job! Their personal insights into the runner's feelings and moods were top notch.

This is a book about a high school cross country season written by two of the team members.

As I read it I had to go back a couple of times to verify that the authors were actually recent high school students. It is an amazing effort. While it may lack the polish of professional writing it more than makes up for it by it's realism. A professional writer may have made certain events sound more exciting than they really were but as I read it, I found myself silently thanking the authors for simply "telling it like it is".

I am glad I found this book. Despite the young age of the authors it in not only a book for teens. It is a book for teens or adults to enjoy and learn from. Great value for money.

Residing in Ohio, the chronicle of the travails and triumphs of the Salem High School cross-country team has extra meaning; the scoring error in the state championship meet which spoiled a solid season was a controversial issue chronicled in the sports media throughout the Buckeye State.

And that is where the story could have ended, but is only the beginning. The hard work to climb the hill back to the top the following season is the compelling story from team members and cousins Paul and Joe Shivers.

The story is geared to high-school readers and could be used by coaches as a teaching tool. Champions are not made simply from reaching the finish line in first place; they are shaped by adversity and never giving up.

This is an inspirational story that is played every late-summer and fall out on turf courses throughout the nation.

Personally, I found that this book wasn't very inspiring and was written quite amateurishly. The only reason I finished it was that it was given to me as gift. If you are looking for and inspiring running book I would highly recommend Bowerman and the Men of Oregon: The Story of Oregon's Legendary Coach and Nike's Cofounder.

If you are an avid runner you will enjoy this book. Style a little juvenile.

I just finished reading this book and found it fascinating.

Living in Western Australia, High School Cross country team running was not something I had ever been familiar with, and that made this book even more appealing to me.

It appears to be aimed at a younger reader but the authors are very mature in their writing and learning about the ins and outs of being part of a running team was really interesting. There are also parts of the book that cover the girls team too.

A really great read.

Good read - enjoyable, quick. As a parent cross country supporter, I found it insightful to get the kids' perspectives.

This is a great quick read. I had my Girls XC team read it before the season and it really helped with getting all of them on the same page.