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Book Review: “Running with the Buffaloes” by Chris Lear

Posted July 16th, 2007 at 9:00 AM by Paul Petersen

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Books, Cross Country, Track & Field, Special Features, TFS Reviews

running with the buffaloes book cover Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run for an NCAA cross country powerhouse? Have you ever wanted an inside look into the minds and workouts of a D-I national contender? “Running with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University of Colorado Men’s Cross-Country Team“, by Chris Lear, brings all of those perspectives, and much much more.

“Running with the Buffaloes” chronicles the 1998 Colorado University cross country season, day-by-day, workout -by-workout, race-by-race. The book takes you through the intense three-month season via an easy-to-read narrative that flows smoothly amidst team activities. Each day of the season fills its own short chapter, which not only makes the book consumable for people with short attention spans (like me), but also makes it hard to put down!

While reading the book, I kept thinking, “Okay, just one more chapter. I want to read how this next race comes out. I want to read about this next workout. Maybe two more chapters…” The book was so engrossing that I accidentally finished it in a couple of sittings!

My favorite elements of “Running with the Buffaloes” were the descriptions of the team’s training, their physical and emotional battles, and their unity and togetherness through a season of setbacks, turmoil, and tragedy. As a former collegiate XC runner, I found myself relating strongly to many of the runners and events in the book. I felt like I was right there with the team, and it brought back a lot of memories and feelings from my own high school and college XC days.

Furthermore, the book served to inspire me. The training regimen imposed by Coach Mark Wetmore was very difficult by anyone’s standards, but the faith of his runners and the results of dedication to the training plan spoke for themselves. The book has directly impacted me in that it’s increased my motivation and caused me to step up my own training!

“Running with the Buffaloes” took me by surprise, and has quickly become one of my favorite running books. Its story of dedication, heartache, and triumph is powerful, engrossing, and real. I highly recommend it to all fans of running, regardless of whether they have any sort of cross country background.

The Final Sprint: “Book Review: ‘Running with the Buffaloes’ by Chris Lear” at Of Marathons and Maps said:

[…] Read the full article at The Final Sprint!� […]
July 16th, 2007 at 10:37 am
University Update - Colorado University - Book Review: “Running with the Buffaloes” said:

[…] University of Texas Link to Article colorado university Book Review: “Running with the Buffaloes” » Posted at The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication on Monday, July 16, 2007 [ running with the buffaloes book cover]Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run for an NCAA cross country powerhouse? … more. “Running with the Buffaloes” chronicles the 1998 Colorado University cross country season, day … with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University View Entire Article » […]
July 16th, 2007 at 11:06 am
University Update - Colorado University - Book Review: “Running with the Buffaloes” by Chris Lear said:

[…] University of Texas Link to Article colorado university Book Review: “Running with the Buffaloes” by Chris Lear » Posted at The Final Sprint (TFS) | The Internet’s Premier Running, Fitness, and Nutrition Publication on Monday, July 16, 2007 [ running with the buffaloes book cover]Have you ever wondered what it’s like to run for an NCAA cross country powerhouse? … more. “Running with the Buffaloes” chronicles the 1998 Colorado University cross country season, day … with the Buffaloes: A Season Inside with Mark Wetmore, Adam Goucher, and the University View Entire Article » […]
July 16th, 2007 at 1:11 pm