#189 - Martin Dugard - The Long Run | How a Decade Made Marathons Cool & Changed the World Forever 🏃‍♂️📚🔥

#189 - Martin Dugard - The Long Run | How a Decade Made Marathons Cool & Changed the World Forever 🏃‍♂️📚🔥

In 1970, 127 people ran the New York City Marathon. 55 finished. No women crossed the line.

Within six years, thousands were running — and the world's relationship with fitness had changed forever.

Martin Dugard is a #1 New York Times bestselling author known for the Killing Series with Bill O'Reilly and The Taking Series. Martin's newest book, The Long Run: The Decade That Made Marathons Cool, turns his legendary research skills on the sport that quietly revolutionized how America — and the world — thinks about health, aging, and human potential.

In this conversation, Martin traces the running boom from JFK challenging the nation to walk 50 miles, to Steve Prefontaine making running cool, to Frank Shorter's 1972 Olympic win that millions watched live for the very first time.

We also go deep on the writing life — consistency over inspiration, 1,000 words a day, and what 20+ years of coaching high school runners taught him about showing up. And he closes with one of the most powerful passages he's ever written — about his wife's cancer battle and why he now runs toward life instead of away from it.

This one hits!

📚 The Long Run: The Decade That Made Marathons Cool — Available April 14, 2026 🌐 martindugard.com

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Views expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views of the host.