A celebration of sports that follows the University of Colorado cross country team during one unforgettable NCAA season.
Running with the Buffaloes
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Colorado-based cross-country runner Lear follows the University of Colorado cross-country team, the Buffaloes, through its 1998 season, one with many high points but also marked by the tragic death of one of its team members in a bike accident. The University of Colorado's cross-country program is one of the best in the country and, unlike most major cross-country powers, relies mainly on locally born athletes. The book minutely details the training and coaching techniques used to produce a team that is a constant contender for the NCAA championship. At times, the author provides almost too much detail, but the reader must marvel at the dedication and self-motivation of these young men as they run more than 100 miles a week for nearly seven months. In 1998, Colorado won the individual NCAA cross-country championship and finished third in the team competition. Apart from instructionals, few books cover cross-country; this one will appeal to high school athletes and is recommended for both school and public libraries. William Scheeren, Hempfield Area H.S. Lib., Greensburg, PA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"Running with the Buffaloes" is to cross country what John Feinstein's "A Season on the Brink" is to college basketball. -- USA Today
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
People generally read books about running because they truly love running itself. But only a few such books provide even a fraction of the enjoyment of a simple run. The classic, Once A Runner by John L. Parker, comes to mind, but there aren't many others.
You can add Running With the Buffaloes to the short list. Lear was shrewd, talented and lucky in writing this book: shrewd because his main subject is Olympian Adam Goucher, the strongest and boldest American distance runner since Bob Kennedy; talented because he has a clear, interesting, energized writing style; and lucky because his nonfiction, real life drama has a happy ending after an all-out struggle.
The core of the book is a daily description of cross country practice at the University of Colorado in the fall of 1998. For most people, reading about cross country practice would seem to fall somewhere between drudgery and torture, but Running With the Buffaloes is actually thrilling. Goucher's intensity, his coach's counsel and depth, his opponents' strengths and abilities and his teammates' successes and failures all weave together in a completely gripping tale. Lear keeps his chapters short, resulting in a pace that moves urgently. He assumes a level of awareness about running that is refreshing. For once, reading about running is like talking to someone who cares as much as you do, someone who is excited and knowledgeable.
When the Colorado team returned to campus for fall classes in 1998, they had two goals: win the NCAA championship and have Goucher win the individual title. Championships are built deliberately, with passion and anxiety. Goucher faces this with more than a little Prefontaine running through his veins. Describing him and his teammates, the Colorado coach observes:
"In football, you might get your bell rung, but you go in with the expectation that you might get hurt, and you hope to win and come out unscathed. As a distance runner, you know you're going to get your bell rung. Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear. You're not coming away feeling good. It's a matter of how much pain you can deal with on those days. It's not a strategy. It's just a callusing of the mind and body to deal with discomfort. Any serious runner bounces back. That's the nature of their game. Taking pain."
In Running With the Buffaloes, Lear makes this wonderful, alive and memorable. Reading it, you are actually a part of every step, every run, every test and every triumph.
32 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The writing could be better, but Lear does provide a fairly unvarnished look at CU's nominally successful runners--a scrappy program with comparatively little scholarship money to pull in nationwide high school talent. And while many reviewers below have (gushingly) noted how inspirational this book is, I found it had some curious gaps.
For instance, very little is noted about the interactions of the runners outside of workouts. Cursory mention is made of get togethers, but what about the burden of being a full-time student? Romance? Drinking and drugs, of both the entertaining and performance enhancing variety?
Most interesting, yet unnoticed by the players themselves, is the very obvious reason for CU's relative lack of success: extreme overtraining.
Though he claims to think long and hard about what works and what doesn't, coach Mark Wetmore's dogmatic inflexibility and lack of insight is frankly stunning. It is crystal clear that he is overtraining his runners, both with volume and intensity, and builds his training around his senior star, Adam Goucher. Wetmore claims to be a Lydiard advocate, yet rather than focus on building the deep reserves of endurance Lydiard preached, it seemed to me that Wetmore emphasize a lot of lactate work and allows each workout to become a competition. Furthermore, as the book relates, no less than three of his runners came down with stress fractures over the course of 12 months. On a squad of 40, that amounts to an epidemic. Stress fractures are overuse injuries, folks, plain and simple.
One need only look at the post-collegiate careers of many of his stars for further evidence: the Gouchers (Kara particularly), the Torres twins, Dathan Ritzenheim. Though they would probably be loathe to admit so, none thrived until they found new coaches, left Colorado, and basically unlearned the terrible habits ingrained by Wetmore.
The most tragic case of all may be Adam Goucher. His spotty, stress fracture riddled career since graduating makes it clear that even under the guidance of Alberto Salazar, he has been unable to train smart. He seems unable to escape the obssessive and excessive work ethic encouraged in the CU program.
The other disturbing trend (and it's interesting that none of the other reviewers note it) reported is the racism displayed toward foreign runners. The resentment is curious. One runner refers to an African runner as a "fuzzy headed foreigner." In another instance, a CU runner actually yells at the white crowds at a finish line for cheering on an African. Goucher is miffed that Meb Keflezghi, by then a US citizen, is treated as the hometown favorite at a San Diego race. Interesting to see who went on to win a silver at the Olympics.
So--overall a decent but incomplete book, notable mostly for being the only one out there which goes behind the scenes. Interesting? Somewhat. Inspirational? I am scared to think who to.
For instance, very little is noted about the interactions of the runners outside of workouts. Cursory mention is made of get togethers, but what about the burden of being a full-time student? Romance? Drinking and drugs, of both the entertaining and performance enhancing variety?
Most interesting, yet unnoticed by the players themselves, is the very obvious reason for CU's relative lack of success: extreme overtraining.
Though he claims to think long and hard about what works and what doesn't, coach Mark Wetmore's dogmatic inflexibility and lack of insight is frankly stunning. It is crystal clear that he is overtraining his runners, both with volume and intensity, and builds his training around his senior star, Adam Goucher. Wetmore claims to be a Lydiard advocate, yet rather than focus on building the deep reserves of endurance Lydiard preached, it seemed to me that Wetmore emphasize a lot of lactate work and allows each workout to become a competition. Furthermore, as the book relates, no less than three of his runners came down with stress fractures over the course of 12 months. On a squad of 40, that amounts to an epidemic. Stress fractures are overuse injuries, folks, plain and simple.
One need only look at the post-collegiate careers of many of his stars for further evidence: the Gouchers (Kara particularly), the Torres twins, Dathan Ritzenheim. Though they would probably be loathe to admit so, none thrived until they found new coaches, left Colorado, and basically unlearned the terrible habits ingrained by Wetmore.
The most tragic case of all may be Adam Goucher. His spotty, stress fracture riddled career since graduating makes it clear that even under the guidance of Alberto Salazar, he has been unable to train smart. He seems unable to escape the obssessive and excessive work ethic encouraged in the CU program.
The other disturbing trend (and it's interesting that none of the other reviewers note it) reported is the racism displayed toward foreign runners. The resentment is curious. One runner refers to an African runner as a "fuzzy headed foreigner." In another instance, a CU runner actually yells at the white crowds at a finish line for cheering on an African. Goucher is miffed that Meb Keflezghi, by then a US citizen, is treated as the hometown favorite at a San Diego race. Interesting to see who went on to win a silver at the Olympics.
So--overall a decent but incomplete book, notable mostly for being the only one out there which goes behind the scenes. Interesting? Somewhat. Inspirational? I am scared to think who to.
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I was lucky enough to go to the second and third weeks of Green Mountain Running Camp in Lyndonville, VT. Both weeks I heard Chris Lear speak of Adam Goucher and I also heard my coach praise this book so I decided that I had to read it for myself. I have to say it truly captures the essence of distance running and the pain involved. It really inspired me to run my hardest on every run and proved to me that natural talent has nothing to do with success, it's how hard you train and how good your coaching is. I am lucky enough to have an excellent coach who has coached through 5 undefeated seasons and I can see that I have a chance to improve significantly if I just stick to it and believe in myself. Anyone who runs, especially anyone who runs cross country must read this book in order to fully appreciate what real champions are made of. You may think books like this would be humbling for people like me since the men consistently run 5:00 minute miles in workouts and I have yet to break 6, but instead it looks beyond the times to the personal accomplishments of these men. (long live chis severy in our minds)
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely an interesting read, and one of the classic running novels
I enjoyed reading Running with the Buffaloes. I'm an avid runner and it was interesting to get a peek inside such an elite level program. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Andrew
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good read for any runner
I enjoy running. I really enjoy the insight this book gives on what collegiate runners go through in a sport that is often overlooked especially in the football age.
Published 1 month ago by Corey Glover
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
Although the book seemed drawn out, it was interesting to see how they trained and what they endured in order to excel.
Published 2 months ago by Timothy S. Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very enjoyable read
I am former college distance runner, so I ate this up. It was well written and an easy read. If you are into endurance sports you will probably like it.
Published 2 months ago by Stuart J. Boyle
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good read
As a former DI X-C/track distance runner this book brought me back. Lear captures the team dynamics and the result is a nice story.
Published 3 months ago by Jeffrey McDonnell
5.0 out of 5 stars
loved it
great story about a college team who pushed on through tragedy and physical pain to have an inspiring season. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Gregory Forrest
4.0 out of 5 stars
Makes me wish I would've tried out for cross
I enjoyed this book. It really painted a picture of what it might be like to participate in an elite collegiate running program. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Minnesota Road Runner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Inspirational
Loved this book. It has a great mix of training tips, getting to know the characters and running philosophy. Some heavy issues are dealt with sensitively. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mike Haydon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must Read
As an old XC runner this was one of my favorite books of all time. I couldn't wait to read it at the end of the day and was sad when I finished the book.
Published 5 months ago by Martin Weir
5.0 out of 5 stars
great
The book is very in depth and easy to relate to being a runner. It is interesting learning about Wetmore's running philosophy and learning about all the different runners on the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Cal
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
1
book
cites this book:
- Acid test (French Edition) by Tom Wolfe on page 27, and page 96
- Cold Mountain: 100 Poems by the T'ang poet Han-Shan by Han-Shan on page 172
- New Jersey (Thirteen Colonies (Facts on File)) by Craig A. Doherty in Front Matter
- The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe on page 96
- Sub 4:00: Alan Webb and the Quest for the Fastest Mile by Chris Lear in Back Flap
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