--- product_id: 144663294 title: "Amazing Racers: The Story of America's Greatest Running Team and its Revolutionary Coach" price: "$50.43" currency: USD in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/144663294-amazing-racers-the-story-of-americas-greatest-running-team-its store_origin: US region: United States of America --- # Amazing Racers: The Story of America's Greatest Running Team and its Revolutionary Coach **Price:** $50.43 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Amazing Racers: The Story of America's Greatest Running Team and its Revolutionary Coach - **How much does it cost?** $50.43 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/144663294-amazing-racers-the-story-of-americas-greatest-running-team-its) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The inspiring, untold story about a group of remarkable athletes and their groundbreaking coach who live and train in startling ways―and are redefining running excellence in the United States. What would one call taking teens with no evident running talent and challenging them with boundless hill training combined with mantras from rock ‘n’ roll, techniques from Kenya, philosophy from Australia, and turning them into champions? Is it revolutionary? Or a risky rebellion against running―and teenage―norms? Coach Bill Aris has heard both, but one thing is indisputable. Everything Aris does with his runners―male and female alike―is new and extraordinary, and he has created a new American running dynasty. The cross-country runners of Fayetteville-Manlius, or F-M, in upstate New York have dominated high school running for 15 years, sweeping boys’ and girls’ titles at the Nike Cross Nationals championships (NXN) in 2014 in an unprecedented achievement. The girls’ team, empowered by Aris’ unique, unwavering brand of gender equity, has won 11 of the last 13 NXN titles, some by margins of over 100 points. The boys’ team has the best cumulative national record of NXN podium performances. F-M domination has shocked the sport for its defiance of accepted running principles and limitations. One year at NXN, the F-M girls defeated the all-star field of top teams by an average of 59 seconds per girl in the 5k race. Another year, the girls ran faster than their teenage Kenyan counterparts, who competed in the Portland, Oregon event as an international showcase. Across the country, coaches awed by F-M and unaware of the team’s methods and discoveries, whispered, “How do they do it?” From adopting long-forgotten “Stotan” creeds―combining the rigors of a Spartan and stoic lifestyle―to delving into teenage developmental psychology and gender-blindness in training, Amazing Racers is a must read for millions of runners and the millions more who strive for better performance. 8 pages of color photographs Review: This is one of the best running books I have every read... - This is one of the best running books I have ever read, and I have a collection of about 300 other books on running. Marc Bloom is an amazingly gifted writer and there isn't another person in the world who could have captured the essence of Bill Aris and his teams of boys and girls who have achieved exceptional success in the sport of cross country. Bloom has inside knowledge on what it takes to be a great cross country coach and also has great depth in the history of the sport, so his book is fascinating, inspiring, and educational. His descriptive writing almost brought me directly into the scenes and I found myself concerned that mud and sweat might start splashing off the pages! Also the book was enhanced by Bloom's ability to connect up with current and past Fayetteville-Manlius runners to get honest and insightful input. His perseverance in reaching out to so many people, along with his wonderful interviewing skills are quite impressive. And I drooled with delight when I noticed an appendix with updates on all of the runners, as well as a bibliography section listing all of the books and articles used as resources. Wow! All in all, Marc Bloom wrote a masterpiece account of how Bill Aris was able to bring out the best in the hundreds of athletes he coached over many seasons. Runners, coaches of all sports, and anyone who needs to be inspired will find this to be a page-turning book. I am in the process of sorting out my own running library to contribute to a greater collection at a public university, however, I am keeping Amazing Racers for myself. I just can't let this amazing book go! Andriette Review: "You will remember this day the rest of your life when you were a kid and the world was perfect." - Coach Bill Aris and the boys and girls on his Fayetteville-Manlius Cross Country teams in upstate New York have had success that seems not just improbable but inconceivable. Starting in 2004, Nike has sponsored a National Championship Cross Country meet in Portland every year, with Regional qualifying meets earning the top 22 teams of each gender all-expense paid trips. In the 15 National Championship meets to date, the F-M boys have qualified 13 times, the most of any school, and have won once and been 2nd three times and in the top 5 7 times. That is mindboggling considering there are many thousands of high school teams which compete in Cross Country. And then there are the F-M girls. After failing to qualify the first two years, they have won 11 of the subsequent 13 National Championships and were 2nd and 4th in their non-winning years. And often when they won, the margin was almost incomprehensible. One year the F-M girls were almost a minute per athlete faster, on average, than the girls on the second best team in the country. And another year they totaled 27 points which means their top 5 girls would have beaten an all-star team comprised of the five best runners from all the other elite teams in the race. How is this possible? Marc Bloom, who has been THE authority on high school Cross Country for more than 50 years, does an excellent job of answering that question in this fascinating book. It seems clearly a labor of love for Bloom. As he points out at the start, there are no secrets in distance training methods. And F-M, unlike the legendary UCLA basketball teams of John Wooden that won ten NCAA Championships in 12 years, can't recruit great athletes from all over the country. His runners, as a rival girl runner stated, with wonderment, are just "regular girls" from the F-M school district. So the answer is much deeper than miles run and interval work-outs completed. It involves the total way the runners live their lives. It involves honesty and humility and selflessness and truth and caring for one another. As Bill Aris says, it involves building team unity, not through cookie bakes and sleepovers, but through suffering together. Accepting the hard pain of severe training and fierce racing because you are doing it with - and for - your teammates. Aris doesn't just wish or hope that high school kids want to live by high ideals and achieve high goals, he absolutely believes that, down deep, that is what they want for themselves. Bloom quotes one of his runners at the National Championships in Portland, who put it perfectly: "We act how we would want to see ourselves." ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #997,629 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #81 in Track & Field Sports #311 in Running & Jogging (Books) #1,223 in Sports Biographies (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 181 Reviews | ## Images ![Amazing Racers: The Story of America's Greatest Running Team and its Revolutionary Coach - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81FRuOvoHoL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This is one of the best running books I have every read... *by A***M on January 5, 2020* This is one of the best running books I have ever read, and I have a collection of about 300 other books on running. Marc Bloom is an amazingly gifted writer and there isn't another person in the world who could have captured the essence of Bill Aris and his teams of boys and girls who have achieved exceptional success in the sport of cross country. Bloom has inside knowledge on what it takes to be a great cross country coach and also has great depth in the history of the sport, so his book is fascinating, inspiring, and educational. His descriptive writing almost brought me directly into the scenes and I found myself concerned that mud and sweat might start splashing off the pages! Also the book was enhanced by Bloom's ability to connect up with current and past Fayetteville-Manlius runners to get honest and insightful input. His perseverance in reaching out to so many people, along with his wonderful interviewing skills are quite impressive. And I drooled with delight when I noticed an appendix with updates on all of the runners, as well as a bibliography section listing all of the books and articles used as resources. Wow! All in all, Marc Bloom wrote a masterpiece account of how Bill Aris was able to bring out the best in the hundreds of athletes he coached over many seasons. Runners, coaches of all sports, and anyone who needs to be inspired will find this to be a page-turning book. I am in the process of sorting out my own running library to contribute to a greater collection at a public university, however, I am keeping Amazing Racers for myself. I just can't let this amazing book go! Andriette ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ "You will remember this day the rest of your life when you were a kid and the world was perfect." *by G***H on September 16, 2019* Coach Bill Aris and the boys and girls on his Fayetteville-Manlius Cross Country teams in upstate New York have had success that seems not just improbable but inconceivable. Starting in 2004, Nike has sponsored a National Championship Cross Country meet in Portland every year, with Regional qualifying meets earning the top 22 teams of each gender all-expense paid trips. In the 15 National Championship meets to date, the F-M boys have qualified 13 times, the most of any school, and have won once and been 2nd three times and in the top 5 7 times. That is mindboggling considering there are many thousands of high school teams which compete in Cross Country. And then there are the F-M girls. After failing to qualify the first two years, they have won 11 of the subsequent 13 National Championships and were 2nd and 4th in their non-winning years. And often when they won, the margin was almost incomprehensible. One year the F-M girls were almost a minute per athlete faster, on average, than the girls on the second best team in the country. And another year they totaled 27 points which means their top 5 girls would have beaten an all-star team comprised of the five best runners from all the other elite teams in the race. How is this possible? Marc Bloom, who has been THE authority on high school Cross Country for more than 50 years, does an excellent job of answering that question in this fascinating book. It seems clearly a labor of love for Bloom. As he points out at the start, there are no secrets in distance training methods. And F-M, unlike the legendary UCLA basketball teams of John Wooden that won ten NCAA Championships in 12 years, can't recruit great athletes from all over the country. His runners, as a rival girl runner stated, with wonderment, are just "regular girls" from the F-M school district. So the answer is much deeper than miles run and interval work-outs completed. It involves the total way the runners live their lives. It involves honesty and humility and selflessness and truth and caring for one another. As Bill Aris says, it involves building team unity, not through cookie bakes and sleepovers, but through suffering together. Accepting the hard pain of severe training and fierce racing because you are doing it with - and for - your teammates. Aris doesn't just wish or hope that high school kids want to live by high ideals and achieve high goals, he absolutely believes that, down deep, that is what they want for themselves. Bloom quotes one of his runners at the National Championships in Portland, who put it perfectly: "We act how we would want to see ourselves." ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Fun Read and A Great Program *by G***E on December 26, 2020* I enjoyed this read, getting to know about a program that I'd only heard about. I enjoyed following their progress over the years and it's not often that a high school program gets a book written about them. As a high school cross country and track coach, I enjoyed following their mostly ups and downs and see how the program developed. It read as a great story and kept my attention. My only wish is that I could hear more details about the actual workouts they do to take some ideas away to use with my own program. What exactly are they doing that made them into this super program? What are the things they are doing that we aren't? --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.us/products/144663294-amazing-racers-the-story-of-americas-greatest-running-team-its](https://www.desertcart.us/products/144663294-amazing-racers-the-story-of-americas-greatest-running-team-its) --- *Product available on Desertcart United States of America* *Store origin: US* *Last updated: 2026-10-05*