Martin Dugard — NYT Bestselling Author Behind 12 Million Books Sold on the 50-Year Revolution That Built the Sport You Run and Why Running Is the Fastest-Growing Sport Nobody's Talking About

Martin Dugard — NYT Bestselling Author Behind 12 Million Books Sold on the 50-Year Revolution That Built the Sport You Run and Why Running Is the Fastest-Growing Sport Nobody's Talking About

From THE RUNNING EFFECT PODCAST by Dominic Schlueter

April 20, 2026 · 53 min

About this episode

Martin Dugard discusses the evolution of running as a sport and the historical figures who shaped its growth.

JOIN MY TEAM & SUPPORT A GREAT CAUSE: https://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/en/teams/5Nrld5?join=1 Martin Dugard has spent his whole life at the intersection of running and history, and The Long Run is where they finally collide. Dugard is a #1 New York Times bestselling author with over 12 million copies sold, a three-time Raid Gauloises adventure racer, a co-holder of the global circumnavigation speed record, and a cross country coach who has built California state championship programs from scratch over two decades. And he's earned every word of this book. In the 1970s, running was a fringe sport. What happened in between is one of the greatest untold stories in sports history, and Dugard just wrote the book on it. The Long Run drops April 14, and he joins the show to break down exactly how Frank Shorter's 1972 Olympic gold, Steve Prefontaine's counterculture fire, Joan Benoit Samuelson's 1984 Olympic breakthrough, and Grete Waitz's nine New York City Marathon victories turned a niche obsession into a global movement. But this isn't just a history lesson. He gets into the coaching philosophy behind the 1970s greats, what today's running boom has in common with the first…

People in this episode

Host: Dominic Schlueter

Guest: Martin Dugard

Topics covered

  • running history
  • coaching philosophy
  • Olympic achievements
  • running culture
  • sports evolution

Keywords

  • running
  • history
  • Olympics
  • coaching
  • sports
  • Martin Dugard
  • Frank Shorter
  • Steve Prefontaine
  • Joan Benoit Samuelson
  • Grete Waitz

Sponsors

Wings for Life World Run

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: New York Times

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