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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
On the mark ... get set, go, August 6, 2004
The Perfect Distance is an extremely fascinating look at one of the most intriguing athletic rivalries of the last generation. In the early 1980s, the drama represented by the races -- both real and virtual -- between Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett were on par with the more or less contemporary rivalries between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier, between Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.
As author Pat Butcher -- a fair middle distance runner in his own right -- points out, as with all great rivalries, the battles between Mr. Coe and Mr. Ovett attracted attention as much because of the athletes' personalities as because of their prodigious talents. Mr. Coe -- now Lord Coe -- was the refined and cultured middle class boy, compared to Mr. Ovett, the muscular and brash son of market trader.
Based on his world record for 800 meters that lasted for an amazing 16 years and his successful defense of his 1500-meter title at the Los Angeles Olympics, Mr. Coe was probably the most successful of the two. But such comparisons are really not relevant with a rivalry like this one. These two men traded world records -- some of which stood for mere hours before the other crushed them half a continent away -- in a way that entranced any sports fan in the early 1980s. Each won the other's specialty at the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and Mr. Ovett once won 45 races in a row over nearly three years, a record unlikely to ever be duplicated at the highest level.
As a high school and university-level middle distance runner at that time, the battles between these two great athletes had no small influence on me, which is why I decided to buy this book the moment I saw it. But the thing that pushes this volume over the top is the way Mr. Butcher interprets the men's dominance.
Why has the drama of the middle distance never approached the pitch it had during Mr. Coe and Mr. Ovett's best years? Mr. Butcher points the finger at the two champions themselves.
As someone who closely followed the sport 20 or more years ago, I was amazed to find that Messrs. Coe and Ovett raced each other only seven times in the 15-year span during which they were both active, and four of those were in Olympic finals. In addition to avoiding serious competition outside the biggest of races, they pioneered the use of professional pacemakers in world record attempts, a still-used strategy that harvested them a combined 17 world records but also turned the middle distances into a mechanical and predictable exercise that has virtually eliminated serious competition outside of the world championships and the Olympics.
In the end, The Perfect Distance forced me to reconsider my romanticized view of the careers of these two great champions, which is in itself significant. It is an original effort, compellingly written, with an insider's understanding of the sport. And yet it remains accessible to the casual sports fan looking for some insights into what might be the most thrilling era in track and field since Roger Bannister and John Landy chased the magical four-minute-mile a generation earlier. Very nice.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deep Biography of Coe and Ovett at the Height of Britain's Middle D, September 16, 2006
This is a very detailed and rich biography not only of Ovett and Coe but of history of the mile particularly from the British view point. As the author notes, the emergency of Ovett and Coe strides right into British middle distance runners dominating the world scene in the late 70s and early 80s with Cram, Elliott and Moorcroft. The Ovett and Coe duo are so different in racing styles, personalities and family life as Ovett emerges from blue collar roots with a very strong guarded mother and wonderful grand parents while Coe comes from a more upper class conservative family coached by an efficient and strong willed father. Butcher captures both athlete's abilities in detail with Ovett's amazing ability to run the sprints and high jump at early age to running events aside from 800 and 1500 to the 5K ,cross country and even jumping into a half marathon. Coe develops slightly slower but run as if a greyhound taking the pace to avoid contact with his 119 pounds particularly dominating the 800 while he and Ovett trade the 1500 and mile back and forth. The differences in mental and emotional make up between the two men is captured well in an excellent photograph of the two after a surprise loss to a relative unknown in a championship 800 where Coe literally looks crushed while Ovett has dangled his arm around Coe while looking off with chin up as in "well another day". The comparison between the Hagg and Anderson (includes interviews) and Ovett and Coe are well done as Ovett and Coe dominates the English sports news. Americans may require a little more patience as the author does discuss the world's best milers that include Walker, Bayi, Wessingham along with the US's Scott and Maree but the focus is on the English with running clubs and their depth of great runners at that time. Also, unlike Coorder Nelson's great book on Jim Ryan, this book has more depth into the history of middle distance running and the athletes' personal lives. Amusing that the author identifies Kenny Moore as an excellent writer but identifies him as a fourth place marathoner at the Montreal games when it was actually at Munich and he confuses the details of the New York and Boston Marathon's of Rosy Ruiz into one race. The book also contains some interesting British humor and phrases. I wish there was a more detail on the races in Moscow particularly the 1500 as Coe steals one from Ovett to avenge his 800 upset. It is quite tragic that Ovett became so ill at the LA Olympics that he became hospitalized but continued to compete and make he finals in both the 800 and 1500. He literally looks like death going into the last lap of the 1500. And Coe comes back from devastating illness to get in world class shape after being written off to be the only man to win successive Olympic 1500 titles. This was a glorious time for Track & Field when these two men from the same country seesawed world records back and forth almost weekly.
As the author notes, these two were such amazing competitors even the Falkland Islands were bumped in Britian foir the news of what Coe and Ovett did the night before.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Owett and Coe, July 13, 2006
Very good book, well written, not boring at all, interesting information not only about the lifes of the two runners subject of the book but also of the sport of running in general those days in Europe. I am a "serious" runner a serious reader and also a writer myself. As such, I collect all sorts of books about running. Many are forgetable, this is not the top of the line but very good and worth reading
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