When Running Made History, by Roger Robinson

Running Book Reviews with Alan and Liz

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When Running Made History is a book based on the authors memory of historic running events that he witnessed throughout his life, starting with the 1948 Olympic games in London when he was 9 years old and his uncle brought him to watch some track events. The book borders on being a historic reference about running because a lot of facts were added about each event and the circumstances at the time. Chapters are titled with a date and location in chronological order from the 1948 London Olympics to October 2016 when Roger saw the first woman over 65 run under 20 minutes for the 5k. Readers will marvel at how many historic moments the author witnessed throughout his life!
Roger Robinson is a true fan of the sport of running. He was born in England but has moved to several countries throughout his life to run and even ended up marrying another famous runner! Roger was an elite runner in the 1960’s and 1970’s running cross country worlds on several occasions including for the English team in 1966, and the New Zealand team in 1977. He then went on to be a high-level master’s athlete and running a master record for the marathon in Vancouver in 1981. Of course, you are all interested in knowing that he ran a time of 2:18:44. He also set other records including an over 50 marathon record. Roger got a PHD in literature from Cambridge University; he went on to a lectureship at the University of Canterbury, was a professor of English at the University of Wellington, was an announcer at big running events, and became a great running writer. He has authored and co-authored several other books including: Running in Literature, and 26.2 Marathon Stories with Katherine Switzer (his wife).
If you would like to follow Roger's work, he writes for Runner's World and the Podium Runner website: https://www.podiumrunner.com
If you are interested in getting a copy of When Running Made History is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/Running-History-Professor-English-Robinson/dp/0815611005
Big thank you to the publisher, Syracuse University Press, for providing a review copy of the book, and to author, Roger Robinson, for speaking with us.

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