The Most Inspiring Running Stories of All Time
Need motivation? Check out some of the best features we’ve ever published.
Bret, Unbroken
By Steve Friedman (June 2013)
His brain and body shattered in a horrible accident as a young boy, Bret Dunlap thought just being able to hold down a job, keep an apartment, and survive on his own added up to a good enough life. Then he discovered running.
A Second Life
By Charles Butler (March 2009)
Matt Long had life by the horns—until the day he got crushed by a 20-ton bus. Though the once unstoppable firefighter and Ironman suffered horrific injuries, he somehow survived. Then he had to do something even harder: learn to live again. So Long took on another impossible challenge. He decided to run a marathon.
Secrets of the Tarahumara
By Christopher McDougall (December 2004)
They run like no other people in the world, but their ways are worth imitating. If you can find them.
The King of Pain
By Steve Friedman (April 2010)
No one knows how to push through a bad patch better than Scott Jurek, one of the greatest ultramarathoners in history. But recently, Jurek has endured a string of painful setbacks that have him questioning everything—even if he wants to keep running.
Redemption of the Runningman
By Dan Koeppel (August 2012)
Was it the greatest hoax in running history? Or did Robert Garside, on his third attempt, really run around the world?
Life and Limb
By Bruce Barcott (October 2008)
How far would you go to preserve your life as a runner? Would you cut off your own leg? That’s exactly what Tom White did. This is his story.
Sole Sisters of ’72
By Charles Butler (November 2012)
In 1972, only six women entered the NYC Marathon, but what they did at the starting line would change racing forever. The untold story of a momentous day.
Pure Heart
By Amby Burfoot (February 2008)
Running was his love, and Ryan Shay used it to chase an Olympic dream as passionately as any athlete has. That pursuit ended tragically in fall 2007—but an even deeper love lives on.
The Wall
By Michael Heald (June 2015)
To the Oregon State Penitentiary inmates who are allowed to run and race, it’s much more than a metaphor.
Welcome to Marathon
By Stephen Rodrick (September 2004)
Yes, that Marathon. Home of the 26.2-mile epic, where beauty—and the truth about the race’s original route—are both in the eye of the beholder. Opa!
Ultra: Mirna Valerio
By John Brant (August 2015)
Is it possible to be fat and fit? Healthy and happy as well as heavy? At 250 pounds, distance runner Mirna Valerio provides an inspiring example.
Life of a BQ Squeaker
By Tish Hamilton (May 2013)
Most runners will never qualify for Boston. A gifted few will make it easily. Then there are those—like me—who, well, eek their way in. This is our story.
In Chariots They Ran
By John McLaughlin (February 2012)
In the late 1970’s, an idealistic producer struck out on his own to create a different kind of movie—a movie about self-sacrifice and moral courage, as embodied by two historic British runners. The result was Chariots of Fire.
Running From Trouble
By By Ian Chillag with additional reporting by Adam Buckley Cohen (February 2009)
They were homeless drug addicts and ex-cons. She was a scrappy young woman who made them think they could literally outrun their demons. But a half marathon? That just sounded crazy.
A Moment of Silence
By Steve Friedman (September 2006)
At 4:15 most mornings, John Moylan knew exactly where he'd be—on a run, doing the roadwork that would get him through the day ahead. Then came 9/11, and suddenly his routine stopped. Reviving it would be his toughest battle.
Chasing Justice
By Kenny Moore (January 2004)
Twenty-five years after running stride for stride with Ethiopian champion Mamo Wolde in the Olympic Marathon, the author began another, more urgent race: to get his ailing fellow Olympian out of prison where he’d languished without being charged or tried—for nine years.
The Pre Thing
By Michael Heald (April 2013)
He wasn’t always the fastest. Nor was he the most decorated. So four decades after his death, why is Steve Prefontaine still the most influential American runner ever?
Missing
By John Brant (January 1998)
A runner begins her afternoon workout and vanishes without a trace. Her husband spends his every minute and hour organizing a search effort. But he won’t take a lie-detector test. What happened to Amy Wroe Bechtel?
Born to Run Back
By Jennifer Kahn (January 2012)
Julius Achon ran and ran, away from civil war in Uganda all the way to an NCAA title and the Olympics. But on a visit home, when he saw 11 starving orphans huddled under a bus—well, he wasn't going to run away from that.
After the Fall
By Steve Friedman (October 2009)
Think you know the story of Zola Budd? Think again. Even if you remember how the barefoot prodigy broke world records, became a symbol of South Africa's oppression, and was blamed for Mary Decker's Olympic nightmare, her story has more heartbreak, more hard-fought redemption, and considerably more weirdness than the legend.
Drew covers a variety of subjects for Runner’s World and Bicycling, and he specializes in writing and editing human interest pieces while also covering health, wellness, gear, and fitness for the brand. His work has previously been published in Men’s Health.
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