Best Efforts

Kenny Moore's work in Sports Illustrated was transcendent in the hey day of the running boom. With so much crap written about running then and now -- mystic spirituality, training legends, hero worship, self-centered ideology -- Mr. Moore has written the truth about serious runners. As one of America's great distance runners himself, he knows his subjects, and writes with authority and some sympathy. Mr. Moore's recurring theme: great runners train and race on the edge of breakdown and despair, with a chance at fleeting glory. Some of these pieces are achingly beautiful. Now, a message for running fanatics -- if you keep this book and Once a Runner on your nightstand, you will never miss a workout. If you have any motivation in you, this book will reinforce it and let you understand it with clarity. Enjoy.

Kenny Moore is a gifted writer of Track and Field and he was a gifted athlete in his own right. 4th at the Munich Olympics, Moore actually knew and competed against the great Ron Clarke, Steve Prefontaine and a number of the longer distance runners. In a series of chapters focusing on famous individuals, he writes of their trials and accomplishments as competitors along with the post career trials of their life. Notable is Clarke, the great record holder and every day competitor who went for it in every race but met misfortune at the Olympics. John Akibu, the great 400-meter hurdler, who is one of the most dominating athletes in the world yet he is handcuffed by the African boycott of the Montreal Olympics and unrest in his native Uganda. The book contains terrific write-ups on John Walker, the ailing 1500 gold medallist, Prefontaine and Mary Decker among others. Pre always made good copy and Moore trained and competed with him. My favorite story is of Moore's own Munich race. Moore gives you a participants view of the marathon and a feel for his body that spasms at the wrong time costing him a medal as he desperately tries to regroup finishing a frustrating fourth when he was in close contention for a silver. A must for any fan of T & F, a well-written book by a man who understands competition at such a high level

Kenny Moore is the real deal. Fourth in the Munich Olympic marathon doesn't happen by accident. This is a collection of pieces about various elite athletes Moore has met over the years. Moore's insights are fascinating. "Best Efforts" gives you a glimpse of the minds of the elites. The piece on Ron Clarke, who would always take the race out hard because he thought it was dishonest to do anything else, is especially intriguing. I also enjoyed the articles on Mary Decker, the Experiment, and John Akii-Bua. Moore's writing about his own life experiences as a child, training under Bowerman and alongside Pre, and then in the Olympics, is equally enthralling.

With the graceful style, which has become Kenny Moore's trademark, "Best Efforts" reveals the compelling stories of such reknown Track & Field maga-stars such as Bill Rogers, Ron Clarke, Sebastain Coe, Eamonn Coghlan, Mary Decker -- and of course the legendary duo of Bill Bowerman and Steve Prefontaine. Through the lense former Olympic Marathoner, and Sport Illustrated writer, Moore delivers the essence of these notable characters. Anyone who seeks out the rationale of why certain athletes inspire others and lead towards greatness, "Best Efforts" is a must read.