RUNNING LEGEND AMBY BURFOOT DISCUSSES HIS TWO OBSESSIONS: RUNNING AND WRITING
“My obsessiveness has led me to some wonderful places.”—Amby Burfoot
With a resume that includes a Boston Marathon win, author of many great books, and editor-in-chief for Runner’s World, you would think that Amby Burfoot is ready to “call it a day.”
But this 70-something is still passionately pursuing “his projects,” taking advantage of life’s opportunities and inspiring those around him to do the same.
SHOW NOTES
(1:44) The story behind The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life…
(5:16) “The practices and skills that we utilize in running are the same that will lead us to success in education or career or family or other things.”
(9:55) Early life and how a cross-country “punishment” changed his trajectory…
(14:10) “He is the smartest, most transformational human being I have ever met in my life, and having him as my coach absolutely changed my life.” Amby on John J. Kelley…
(21:35) Running 110 miles a week, going to bed by 9, and winning the Boston marathon. What did training look like in college?
(26:32) The best memory from the Boston victory…
(29:39) “Overnight, I went from a hundred miles a week to 30 miles a week…” It was time to get serious about something else.
(33:11) A funny Olympic story…
(35:31) How writing and running found Amby.
(38:46) The growth of success of Runner’s World…
(41:45) Sharing the secrets of working through the “blank page challenge…”
(45:25) Word constraints, attention spans, and parallels…
(50:25) There’s power in collaborating…
(54:21) Amby shares what he’s working on now…
(56:36) “Go Be More curious, Go Be More adventurous. It doesn’t mean more in terms of running more. Cause I’ve run enough…” Sharing what Go Be More means to him…
If you liked this episode, check out our interviews with Runner’s World publisher George Hirsch and former Chief Running Officer Bart Yasso.
Recorded December 9, 2020.
Artwork photo courtesy of: Tomás Greally
References:
Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life by Amby Burfoot – Amazon
Run Forever: Your Complete Guide to Healthy Lifetime Running by Amby Burfoot – Amazon
First Ladies of Running by Amby Burfoot – Amazon
Guests:
Amby Burfoot – homepage
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