Ambrose Burfoot
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Ambrose Joel Burfoot (born August 19, 1946) is an American former
marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...
er whose peak competitive years came in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the winner of the
1968 Boston Marathon The 1968 Boston Marathon took place on Friday, April 19, 1968. It was the 72nd time the Boston Marathon was organized. The race featured 1,012 official entrants, with 890 starting the race. This was the final edition of the Boston Marathon run on ...
. After retiring from competition, he became a running journalist and author. Burfoot was editor-in-chief at ''
Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a global magazine and website for runners of all abilities. It has additionally developed experiential formats, including a digital membership program, called Runner's World+. It is published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylva ...
'' for many years, and both writes for the magazine and serves as its editor-at-large.


Competition

Amby Burfoot grew up in
Groton, Connecticut Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...
, where he started running at Fitch Senior High School. His high school coach, John J. Kelley ("Kelley the Younger"), was the 1957
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
winner and two-time U.S. Olympic marathoner (1956 and 1960 Olympics), and his influence led Burfoot to take up the marathon while still a collegian. In his senior year at
Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the Methodi ...
, where Burfoot was the roommate and teammate of Bill Rodgers, Burfoot won the
Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by eight cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was ins ...
. An injury caused by running a
steeplechase SteepleChase Records is a jazz record company and label based in Copenhagen, Denmark. SteepleChase was founded in 1972 by Nils Winther, who was a student at Copenhagen University at the time. He began recording concerts at Jazzhus Montmartre, ...
race in a collegiate track meet later that spring prevented Burfoot from being fully prepared for that year's Olympic Trials marathon. Burfoot's influence on Rodgers, who went on to win the Boston Marathon four times, provided a link in a four-athlete Boston tradition starting with John A. Kelley ("Kelley the Elder") and continuing through Kelley the Younger, Burfoot, and Rodgers. In the
Fukuoka Marathon The is an IAAF Gold Label international men's marathon race held in Fukuoka, Japan. It was previously known as the Fukuoka International Open Marathon Championship between 1947 and 2021, when it was announced the race would be discontinued on i ...
in
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in December 1968, Burfoot ran a personal best time of 2:14:28.8, which was one second from the
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
marathon record at the time. At its peak, Burfoot's training often included high mileage weeks of done at a relatively slow pace. As of 2015, he had run the
Manchester Road Race The Manchester Road Race is a 4.737 mile (7.623 km) footrace held annually on Thanksgiving Day in Manchester, Connecticut. Race proceeds are donated each year to Muscular Dystrophy research and about 18 other local charities. Beginning prom ...
53 times in a row besting the streak of barefoot runner, Charlie "Doc" Robbins. In the process, he won Manchester nine times. Burfoot also continues to run the Boston Marathon at five-year intervals, marking his 1968 win. He ran the
2013 Boston Marathon The 2013 Boston Marathon was the 117th running of the annual marathon race in Boston, United States, which took place on April 15, 2013. Organized by the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.), it hosted the second of the World Marathon Majors to ...
but was stopped three-quarters of a mile from completion after a terrorist attack near the finish line. He has run Boston each year since returning for 2014, in what Burfoot calls "the most glorious marathon ever because of the great people of Boston."


Achievements

*All results regarding marathon, unless stated otherwise


Journalism

In 1978, Burfoot joined Bob Anderson as East Coast editor for Anderson's publication, ''
Runner's World ''Runner's World'' is a global magazine and website for runners of all abilities. It has additionally developed experiential formats, including a digital membership program, called Runner's World+. It is published by Hearst in Easton, Pennsylva ...
'' magazine. In 1984, he covered the first Olympic marathon that women were allowed to participate in, when
Joan Benoit Samuelson Joan Benoit Samuelson (born May 16, 1957) is an American marathon runner who was the first women's Olympic Games marathon champion, winning the gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She held the fastest time for an American wo ...
came into the Olympic Stadium ahead of the field and surprised media to win gold. In 1985, when ''Runner's World'' was bought by
Rodale, Inc. Rodale, Inc. (), was an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, with a satellite office in New York City. The company was founded in 1930. In 2017, it was acquired ...
they moved from Mountain View,
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to
Emmaus, Pennsylvania Emmaus ( ) is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 11,652. Emmaus is located in the Lehigh Valley, the third-largest metropolitan area in Pennsylvania and 68th-largest metrop ...
, he was named the executive editor. In 1992, ''Runner's World'' published Burfoot's article, "White Men Can't Run," about the dominance of African athletes and athletes of African descent in professional
athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...
. The article was later republished in ''The Best American Sports Writing''.


Personal life

As of 2018, Burfoot stated he was running a week, whilst in his prime was running a week. He described his diet as built around fish, fruit, salads, oatmeal, nuts, protein shakes and 6–8 eggs most weeks with the occasional hamburger. He is not a teetotaller.


Selected publications

*Burfoot, Amby, ''Runner's World Complete Book of Running'' (1999) Rodale, *Burfoot, Amby, ''The Principles of Running: Practical Lessons from My First 100,000 Miles'' (1999) Rodale Press; 1ST edition ; New Ed edition (2003) *Burfoot, Amby, ''The Runner's Guide to the Meaning of Life: What 35 Years of Running Has Taught Me About Winning, Losing, Happiness, Humility, and the Human Heart'' (2000) Rodale Press; 1ST edition *Burfoot, Amby, ''Runner's World Complete Book of Beginning Running'' (2005) Rodale Press, *Burfoot, Amby, ''First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rulebreakers, and Visionaries Who Changed the Sport Forever'' (2016) Rodale Books, *Burfoot, Amby, ''Run forever: Your Complete Guide to Healthy Lifetime Running'' (2018) Arena Sport,


See also

*
List of winners of the Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon, one of six World Marathon Majors, is a race which has been held in the Greater Boston area in Massachusetts since 1897, making it the oldest annual marathon in the world. The event is held on Patriots' Day, which was April 1 ...


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burfoot, Ambrose 1946 births Living people American male marathon runners People from Charlottesville, Virginia People from Groton, Connecticut American magazine editors Wesleyan University alumni Rodale, Inc. Boston Marathon male winners 20th-century people from Connecticut 21st-century people from Connecticut Journalists from Connecticut 20th-century American sportsmen