Running Throughout Time, by Roger Robinson

Running Through Time aims to tell key stories about the history and evolution of running. A comprehensive book of every story that makes up running history would be massive, so this book tries to pick stories that were not told as often or not told correctly. It starts with the story of the marathon and how it became the 42.2km distance we know today, and ends with Alison Roe from New Zealand and her inspiring but short professional running career. All the stories chosen in this book have influenced how we experience our sport today, including the inclusion of women.

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). Since the last time we spoke with Roger he was busy, not just writing this book, but also with his own running: He broke the 80+ Wellington record for the 5000m in a time of 26:45.15 in November 2021.

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 Running Throughout Time, it is available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Running-Throughout-Time-Robinson/dp/1782552413     

Big thank you to the publisher, Meyer and Meyer Sport, for providing a review copy of the book, and to author, Roger Robinson, for speaking with us.