ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For more than 35 years, I have had the pleasure and benefit of collaborating with Scott Murr. Our unending conversations have enriched my understanding of human performance. Scott and I have not only shared thousands of runs, together, we have made many presentations, conducted clinics, published research, and coauthored four books. We have been fortunate to share many gratifying experiences.

In 2003, Scott and I, along with Ray Moss, established the Furman Institute of Running & Scientific Training, which led to the publication of Run Less Run Faster in 2007. A revision of the book was published in 2012. Dr. Moss, now retired, was a coauthor of the earlier editions. We appreciate the support and encouragement given to us by Rodale for those earlier editions.

Scott and I have relied on our longtime running partner, editor, and collaborator on all of our projects—my brother, Don. I would not have considered a revision of the book without his willingness to partner again in its development. As in the first two editions, his editing and preparation of tables were an immense contribution.

Amby Burfoot has not only been invaluable to FIRST for his guidance and wisdom, he has been a personal inspiration. Amby is among the world’s most knowledgeable people about running. It’s a treat to visit with him and learn about the many facets of running. As any serious runner knows, he is incredibly talented, but you would absolutely never know that from talking with him. He is an intellectual who communicates well with the common man. His contributions to the running world are surpassed by no one. We are truly grateful for having the opportunity to be his friend.

Much of what we have learned for this revision has come from our FIRST Running Retreats. Those retreats have been enhanced by several FIRST Retreat faculty members. Mickey McCauley, Furman University assistant track coach, has been with FIRST since its inception.

As a senior at Furman University, Jill Lucas did an independent study project under my supervision that led to the creation of the FIRST Running Retreat. During her independent study, I recognized both her organizational skills and enthusiasm for running. After graduating from Furman, Jill earned graduate degrees in exercise physiology. Dr. Jill Lucas is now an exercise science professor at the University of Lynchburg. She has been a major contributor to our Running Retreats since their inception.

Dr. Phil Gregory, Furman Sports Medicine physical therapist, provided the descriptions of injuries and treatments in Chapter 11. He lectures and performs gait analyses at our Running Retreats. We continue to learn about injury prevention and treatment from his expertise.

Robert Gary, two-time Olympian in the steeplechase, and head coach of Furman’s men’s and women’s cross-country and track teams, graciously provided the foreword for this book. Recently, Robert served as the head coach of the USA men’s track and field team at the 2019 World Championships in Doha.

In 2006, I received a cold call from Barrett Neville, at the time a New York City book agent, asking if I had considered writing a book. He had read an article in the Wall Street Journal about our FIRST Training Programs. Barrett encouraged and guided us through the process of preparing a book proposal and shopping it to publishers. We have had a long, positive relationship with him. We appreciate how he made what most authors consider a perplexing process an easy and smooth one for us.

After Penguin Random House (PRH) purchased Rodale Books in 2018, we did not know what that would mean for Run Less Run Faster (RLRF). We were pleased when, soon after the sale, we heard from PRH, expressing support for the continued promotion of the 2012 edition and an interest in a third edition. We greatly appreciate all the efforts of Danielle Curtis in clarifying the formal rights to RLRF between Rodale and PRH. We are grateful for her persistent pursuit of a third edition of RLRF. Danielle contributed valuable recommendations and keen editing. We thank her and PRH for this opportunity.

We rely on our dependable and ever-pleasant administrative assistant, Lonita Stegall, for communications with FIRST clients and the preparation of materials for our presentations and clinics.

We have been fortunate to interact with runners from all six inhabited continents. It’s been a joy to learn about their challenges and successes. Those interactions have shaped our ideas and our programs. We continue to strive to develop programs and offer services to promote running as a healthy, safe, and fun activity.

Bill Pierce