Yasso Bart - My Life on the Run: The Wit, Wisdom, and Insights of a Road Racing Icon

BART YASSO

with KATHLEEN PARRISH

FOREWORD BY AMBY BURFOOT,

Editor at Large, Runner's World Magazine

TO MY MOM,

Rose Marie Yasso,

AND LATE BROTHER,

George B. Yasso,

FOR SHOWING ME THE WAY

Bart and his mother, Rose Marie Yasso at Trevi Fountain during Rome Marathon, 2001

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PART ONE - My Life

Chapter 1: 3

Chapter 2: 15

Chapter 3: 31

Chapter 4: 45

Chapter 5: 59

Chapter 6: 75

Chapter 7: 91

Chapter 8: 101

Chapter 9: 113

Chapter 10: 121

Chapter 11: 131

Chapter 12: 139

Chapter 13: 153

Chapter 14: 165

Chapter 15: 177

Chapter 16: 187

Chapter 17: 197

PART TWO-On the Run

Chapter 18: 209

Chapter 19: 223

Chapter 20: 255

Writing a book is similar to running a marathon-it takes a lot of hard work, stamina, and belief in oneself. There are hills and straightaways, days of headiness and exhaustion and a sprint to the finish. It also takes encouragement and support from family and friends, and I'd like to thank those who helped make this literary journey possible.

To my late brother, George, for encouraging me to take up road racing and for his steady guidance throughout my life. Without him, there wouldn't be a book.

To my wife, Laura, for her patience, understanding, encouragement and editing help throughout the process, especially when I hit the wall at page 200.

To my mom and dad, Rose Marie and the late George F. Yasso; siblings Anne Marie, Gerry, Spud, and Mimi; sisters-in-law, lean, Amy, and Cinda; brother-in-law James Freed; and my nieces and nephews. You guys are the greatest.

To the Rodale family, who have made me feel like a part of their family during my 21 years at Runner's World.

To Runner's World publisher Andy Hersam, editor in chief David Willey, associate publisher Sue Hartman, and editor at large Amby Burfoot for their belief and enthusiasm in the book. This project would not have been possible without their support. Because of their expertise and care, Runner's World is one of the most successful fitness publications in the world.

To Rodale director of fitness and health Budd Coates for helping me take my running to the next level.

To all my colleagues at Runner's World, present and past, who share my passion for a healthy life through running. Our love for the sport is reflected in the pages of the magazine each month. To past Runner's World colleagues, George Hirsch, Vern Walther, Bob Wischnia (Wish), Jane Serues, and Claudia Malley. We spent countless hours traveling to races together for the magazine. We ran lots of miles, shared smiles and ate tons of good food, thanks to George Hirsch whose affinity for a good meal was rivaled only by his enthusiasm for running. George knew at dinner where we would be eating breakfast the next day.

To Kevin Smith, Rachelle Laliberte, Cristina Negron, Tish Hamilton, Charlie Butler, and Kathy Reinhard for their keen eye and editorial expertise.

To Neal Novak, Fred Reichenbach, and the entire Lehigh Valley Half Marathon committee. I consider having turned a local race into a nationally renowned half marathon in the backyard of Runner's World one of my proudest accomplishments. I could not have done it without the dedication of the race committee.

To Dave McGillivray, race director of the Boston marathon, and the hardest working person in the running industry.

To my agent, Stephen Hanselman of Level 5 Media, for making it happen.

Many thanks and appreciation go to the following people for having a positive influence on my life: Bob Babbitt, Dick Beardsley, Marty Eddy, Paula Fahey, Jerry Friesen, Joe Gaffney, Jeff Galloway, Jack Gescheidt, Thom Gilligan, Jay Glassman, Karl and Sara Glassman, John Q. Griffin, Ryan Hall, Nick Herman, Joe Henderson, Shay Hirsch, Nancy Hobbs, Ron Horn, Steve Jones, Scott Jurek, Don Kardong, Dean Karnazes, Khalid Khannouchi, Gail Kislevitz, Dave and Linda Kresge, Mike Kresge, Bob Larsen, Dottie Lessard O'Conner, Greg Meyer, Billy Mills, Mojave the Cat, Paul Perrone, Rob Powers, Larry Rawson, Mike Reilly, Sarah Reinertsen, Steve Repasch, Roger Robinson, Bill Rodgers, Tracey Russell, Bill Serues, Frank Shorter, Kathrine Switzer, Jeffrey Timm, Grete Waitz, and Tom and Tammy White.

Bart Yasso, chief running officer at Runner's World (left), and Amby Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and editor at large, Runner's World

For the past 20 years, I have worked side by side at Runner's World magazine with Bart Yasso-fact-checking historical running events, doing clinics at various marathons, running workouts together, collaborating on training articles, and just gassing on about our favorite races, runners, movies, and vegetarian restaurants. From this observation post, I can honestly say that few others, if any, have done as much as Bart to personify and inspire Runner's World's mission-or to unite all parts of the national and international running communities. Most important, it has been a privilege and a pleasure to have this association with Bart. He makes everything easy-and fun.

The exercise physiologists who poke and prod runners in basement laboratories often speak of something called running economy, which can vary widely from one individual to the next. Some runners burn a lot of oxygen while running at a steady pace. Others-generally the best distance runners-burn relatively little oxygen. These lucky few have a superior running economy.

In this sort of treadmill test, Bart wouldn't score very well. He's an awkward, ungainly, knock-kneed runner, if you must know the truth. He doesn't win marathons so much as brute-force himself through the 26.2-mile distance. However, Bart's skill and economy in so many other areas are where he tops the charts. I'm thinking particularly of his talents at an expo booth, in race directing, and in organizing running adventures.