Ambrose Joel "Amby" Burfoot (born August 19, 1946) is a former American

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

er whose peak competitive years came in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the winner of the 1968

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

. After retiring from competition, he became a running journalist and author. Burfoot was editor-in-chief at ''

Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a globally circulated monthly magazine for runners of all skills sets, published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Before its acquisition by Hearst, it was founded and published by Rodale, Inc. in E ...

'' for many years, and both writes for the magazine and serves as its editor-at-large.

Competition

Amby Burfoot grew up in

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...

, where he started running at

Fitch Senior High School Robert E. Fitch High School is a public high school located in Groton, Connecticut. History The original Fitch High School (now the former location of Fitch Middle School) was built in 1928 next to the Town Hall on Poquonock Road, and was funded ...

. His high school coach, John J. Kelley (The "Younger"), was the 1957

winner and two-time U.S. Olympic marathoner (1956 and 1960 Olympics,) and his influence led Burfoot to take up the marathon while still a collegian. In his senior year at

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

, where Burfoot was the roommate and teammate of Bill Rodgers, Burfoot won the Boston Marathon, but an injury caused by running a

steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

race in a collegiate track meet later that spring prevented him from being fully prepared for that year's Olympic Trials marathon. Burfoot's influence on Rodgers, who went on to win the Boston Marathon four times, provided a link in a four-athlete Boston tradition starting with John A. Kelley (The "Elder") and continuing through John J. Kelley and Burfoot to Rodgers. In the

Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on its ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

in December 1968, Burfoot ran a personal best time of 2:14:28.8, which was one second from the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

marathon record at the time. At its peak, Burfoot's training often included high mileage weeks of done at a relatively slow pace. Burfoot was a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

during his peak training years although this lifestyle had less to do with training than with what he felt was an ethical course of action. As of 2015, he had run the

Manchester Road Race The Manchester Road Race is a 4.748 mile (7.641 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning prompt ...

53 times in a row besting the streak of barefoot runner, Charlie "Doc" Robbins. In the process, he won Manchester nine times. Burfoot also continues to run the Boston Marathon at five-year intervals, marking his 1968 win. He ran the 2013 Boston Marathon but was stopped three-quarters of a mile from completion after a terrorist attack near the finish line. He has run Boston each year since returning for 2014, in what Burfoot calls "the most glorious marathon ever because of the great people of Boston."

Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise

Journalism

In 1978, Burfoot joined Bob Anderson as East Coast editor for Anderson's publication, ''

'' magazine. In 1984, he covered the first Olympic marathon that women were allowed to participate in, when

Joan Benoit Samuelson Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American woma ...

came into the Olympic Stadium ahead of the field and surprised media to win gold. In 1985, when ''Runner's World'' was bought by

Rodale, Inc. Rodale, Inc. (), was an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, with a satellite office in New York City. The company was founded in 1930. In 2017, it was acquire ...

and moved was moved from Mountain View,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Emmaus, Pennsylvania Emmaus ( ) is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 11,652. Emmaus is located in the Lehigh Valley, the third lar ...

, he was named the executive editor. In 1992, ''Runner's World'' published Burfoot's article, "White Men Can't Run," about the dominance of African athletes and athletes of African descent in professional

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

. The article was later republished in ''The Best American Sports Writing''.

Books

*Burfoot, Amby, ''Runner's World Complete Book of Running'' (1999) Rodale, *Burfoot, Amby, ''The Principles of Running: Practical Lessons from My First 100,000 Miles'' (1999) Rodale Press; 1ST edition ; New Ed edition (2003) *Burfoot, Amby, ''The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running Has Taught Me About Winning, Losing, Happiness, Humility, and the Human Heart'' (2000) Rodale Press; 1ST edition *Burfoot, Amby, ''Runner's World Complete Book of Beginning Running'' (2005) Rodale Press, *Burfoot, Amby, ''First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rulebreakers, and Visionaries Who Changed the Sport Forever'' (2016) Rodale Books, *Burfoot, Amby, ''Run forever: Your Complete Guide to Healthy Lifetime Running'' (2018) Arena Sport,

References

External links