Ever Forward

ON THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS BOSTON MARATHON WIN, FORMER USA RUNNER’S WORLD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AMBY BURFOOT SHARES THE LESSONS THAT HAVE STUCK WITH HIM.

- Amby Burfoot

MY WIFE DOESN’T LIKE IT WHEN I tell people I was lucky to win the 1968 Boston Marathon. She thinks I should play up the endless 190km training weeks. And yes, they were important. All top runners train hard. But you never know if you’re going to have a good day or not.

16 April this year marked 50 years since my win, and I ran Boston again; though this race didn’t have a shred of luck involved, just gritty determination and accumulated wisdom. Both got me, at age 71, to the Boston finish for the 24th time [in 4:53:22 – Ed.] – and what I’ve learned may help you, too, run healthy and long.

Aim High. But Respect the Process

Winning Boston was fantastic – a peak life experience. We should all aim to do our best whenever possible. But that won’t happen every day. I’ve probably run 1 000 races, and I didn’t win 980 of them. But those 980 provided many of my most exciting running moments. Sprinting to a personal record in the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan. Running with my muscle-bound, minimally aerobic son into the Panathinakon Stadium in the 2010 Athens Marathon. The Comrades Marathon. The Hood to Coast Relay. Free fun runs near my home.

Every run presents a new adventure, full of great gifts. We don’t have to ‘win’ to receive them – but we have to get out the door.

Find a Lifetime Running Friend

When I started running in 1962, I couldn’t find anyone to join me. Then I met John, three years younger and quite a bit slower, but he always said yes when I suggested a 10-kay. John had a wondrous, even temper, though he’d whimper if I pushed the pace. “How come when we ‘run as we feel’, we always run the way you feel?” he’d ask.