“Running with the Buffaloes” is the best running book that I have ever read, 5/5 stars. That’s it, it’s that good, pick up a copy, and you will not be disappointed. Ok, Ok, I will give you a review.

“Running with the Buffaloes” chronicles the 1998 Cross Country season at the University of Colorado. The book begins with the early team cross country training camp, up in the mountains of Colorado, and concludes with the NCAA Cross Country Championships. Heading into the 1998 eason, CU was one of the top cross country teams in the country and also had one of the top runners in the country in Adam Goucher.

The author, Chris Lear, was a former All American from Princeton and a 4:09 High School Miler. Thus, he is a former standout runner who could relate to the University of Colorado CC team. He also had full access to the team and since he wrote the book a year or two out of college, this allowed him to get a solid perspective of the team that an older author or non-runner would have been unable to obtain. However, Chris is not just a runner, his prose is exceptional.

“Running with the Buffaloes” does an excellent job showing the dedication of the CU runners, who were putting in 100 miles per week. Chris Lear also writes about a few of the runners who are simply hoping to make the team and overall does a good job of discussing the entire Men’s team. Lear focused heavily on Adam Goucher, as he hopes to win the individual NCAA CC Title, however this should be expected that the top runner on one of the top teams in the nation gets a bit more coverage.

Lear also details Coach Mark Wetmore, who is an interesting guy himself, pony tail and all. Coach Wetmore uses the Lydiard training method, focusing on high mileage and during the season several of his runners develop runners, leading many to question if Wetmore is running the boys to hard. Coach Wetmore is a Coach who values what his team thinks, but ultimately knows that he is the Commander and Chief and that the team should heed his advice.

One of my favorite parts of the book is after the death of CU runner Chris Severy, the team wants to do something to honor his death; the idea of wearing a black patch on their uniforms is mentioned. Coach Wetmore tells the team that ultimately it is their decision, but that they shouldn’t wear a patch just because it’s the societal norm. The team ultimately takes Wetmore’s advice and runs the way that they have been taught all season long.

Coach Wetmore comes off as a master tactician, a coach that studies his runners and devises a plan to improve all season long, training through some of the early meets. He is not a “raw raw” kind of a guy, or a Coach that is going to blow you away with a pre-race speech. He is simple, methodical and wants to get down to business. I would have liked this guy as a Coach.

“Running with the Buffaloes” almost has a surreal feeling to it. You have the top runner, Adam Goucher, getting defeated in an early race and coming back to win the National Championship. Then you have the tragic death of CU’s number two runner, Chris Severy, and the team responding by coming back and taking third at the national championship, which was better than their ranking going in. It’s amazing, because if Goucher finishes fifth that year or the team doesn’t crack the top ten at Nationals, the book probably looses a lot of its luster.

I’ll leave you with a great excerpt from the book, a quote from Coach Mark Wetmore:

“In football, you might get your bell rung, but you go in with the expectation that you might get hurt, and you hope to win and come out unscathed. As a distance runner, you know you’re going to get your bell rung. Distance runners are experts at pain, discomfort, and fear. You’re not coming away feeling good. It’s a matter of how much pain you can deal with on those days. It’s not a strategy. It’s just a callusing of the mind and body to deal with discomfort. Any serious runner bounces back. That’s the nature of their game. Taking pain.”

“Running with the Buffaloes” is a masterpiece that all runners will enjoy. When I first read it, about a year and half ago, it was when I had a stress fracture and my foot was in a boot. It was horrible, because all I wanted to do was go bust out a long run on Magnolia Road or out at Teller Farms.