Martin Dugard, author

Martin Dugard, author

From Running--State of the Sport by Amby Burfoot and George Hirsch

April 14, 2026 · 55 min

About this episode

Martin Dugard discusses his journey in writing and coaching, focusing on the history of running and marathon culture.

Marty Dugard began writing for Runner's World in the late 1980s, gained more notice as the best-selling coauthor of Bill O'Reilly's "Killing" series of books--Lincoln, Kennedy, Jesus, etc--and now has returned to running with The Long Run. It's a epic, fast-moving history of running (and especially marathon running) from roughly 1970 to Joan Benoit's victory in the 1984 Olympic Marathon, with a few throwbacks to Pheidippides, Bill Bowerman, and others. You'll meet the people and moments that shaped running as we know it today. Dugard isn't just a writer of historical non-fiction. He's been deeply immersed in running and running culture since his teen years. For the last 15 years, he has been coaching high school cross-country teams in California, several of which have won state championships. For more on Dugard, you can follow his regular blogs at MartinDugard.com WHERE TO FIND "RUNNING: STATE OF THE SPORT" Use your smartphone to download our podcast from Apple, Spotify, Pandora, or YouTube Podcasts. Once you've selected your favorite app, search for "running state of the sport." With your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you can also listen direct…

People in this episode

Hosts: Amby Burfoot, George Hirsch

Guest: Martin Dugard

Topics covered

  • running history
  • marathon running
  • coaching
  • sports culture
  • Olympic Marathon

Keywords

  • running
  • marathon
  • history
  • coaching
  • Olympics
  • sports

Sponsors

Marathon Handbook, RunLongRunHealthy.com

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Runner's World, Bill O'Reilly

Books & works: Killing series, The Long Run

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