
The Front Runner
The Life of Steve Prefontaine
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Narrated by:
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Roger Wayne
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By:
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Brendan O'Meara
About this listen
"Sports journalism at its finest, a book so well-researched that everyone who thinks they know Pre is in for a big surprise.” —Christopher McDougall, bestselling author of Born to Run
On the 50th anniversary of American Track and Field icon Steve Prefontaine’s tragic death comes an essential reappraisal of his life and legacy, a powerful work of narrative history exploring the forces and psychology that made Prefontaine great and separating the man from the myths.
In the fifty years since his tragic death in a car crash, Steve Prefontaine has towered over American distance running. One of the most recognizable and charismatic figures to ever run competitively in the United States, Prefontaine has endured as a source of inspiration and fascination—a talent who presaged the American running boom of the late 1970s and helped put Nike on the map as the brand’s first celebrity-athlete face.
Now on the anniversary of his untimely death, author Brendan O’Meara, host of the Creative Nonfiction podcast, offers a fresh, definitive retelling of Prefontaine’s life, revisiting one of the most enigmatic figures in American sports with a twenty-first-century lens. Through over a hundred and fifty original interviews with family, friends, teammates, and competitors, this long-overdue reappraisal of Prefontaine—the first such exhaustive treatment in almost thirty years—provides never-before-told stories about the unique talent, innovative mental strength, and personal struggles that shaped Prefontaine on and off the track. Bringing new depth to an athlete long eclipsed by his brash, aggressive running style and the heartbreak of his death at twenty-four, O’Meara finds the man inside the myth, scrutinizing a legacy that has shaped American sports culture for decades.
What emerges is a singular portrait of a distinctly American talent, a story written in the pines and firs of the Pacific Northwest back when running was more blue-collar love than corporate pursuit—the story of a runner whose short life casts a long, fast shadow.
©2025 Brendan O'Meara (P)2025 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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For the Glory
- Eric Liddell's Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr
- By: Duncan Hamilton
- Narrated by: Nicholas Guy Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Many people will remember Eric Liddell as the Olympic gold medalist from the Academy Award-winning film Chariots of Fire. Famously, Liddell would not run on Sunday because of his strict observance of the Christian Sabbath, and so he did not compete in his signature event, the 100 meters, at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was the greatest sprinter in the world at the time, and his choice not to run was ridiculed by the British Olympic committee, his fellow athletes, and most of the world press.
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The challenge of a life lived for God's Glory
- By David on 06-30-16
By: Duncan Hamilton
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26 Marathons
- What I Learned About Faith, Identity, Running, and Life from My Marathon Career
- By: Meb Keflezighi, Scott Douglas
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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When Meb Keflezighi - the first person in history to win both the Boston and New York City marathons as well as an Olympic marathon medal - ran his final marathon in New York in 2017, it marked the end of an extraordinary distance-running career. Meb's last marathon was also his 26th, and each of those marathons has come with its own unique challenges, rewards, and outcomes. In 26 Marathons, Meb takes listeners on those legendary races, along every hill, bend, and unexpected turn of events that made each marathon an exceptional learning experience, and a fascinating story.
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Another Great Book by Meb!
- By jda9ball on 04-16-19
By: Meb Keflezighi, and others
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Hollywood High
- A Totally Epic, Way Opinionated History of Teen Movies
- By: Bruce Handy
- Narrated by: Alex Mortensen
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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From a longtime Vanity Fair writer and editor, a delightfully entertaining, intelligent, and illuminating history and tribute to teen movies—from Rebel Without a Cause to Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and on to John Hughes, Mean Girls, The Hunger Games, and more.
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Impeccably researched
- By kim on 06-25-25
By: Bruce Handy
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Out of Thin Air
- Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia
- By: Michael Crawley
- Narrated by: Raj Ghatak
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Why does it make sense to Ethiopian runners to get up at three a.m. to run up and down a hill? Who would choose to train on almost impossibly steep and rocky terrain, in hyena territory? And how come Ethiopian men hold six of the top 10 fastest marathon times ever? Michael Crawley spent 15 months in Ethiopia training alongside (and sometimes a fair way behind) runners at all levels of the sport, from night watchmen hoping to change their lives to world-class marathon runners, in order to answer these questions.
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couldn't stop listening
- By Anonymous User on 05-21-21
By: Michael Crawley
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Running to the Edge
- A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed
- By: Matthew Futterman
- Narrated by: René Ruiz
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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In the dusty hills above San Diego, Bob Larsen became America's greatest running coach. Starting with a ragtag group of high school cross country and track runners, Larsen set out on a decades-long quest to find the secret of running impossibly fast, for longer distances than anyone thought possible. Running to the Edge is a riveting account of Larsen's journey, and his quest to discover the unorthodox training secrets that would lead American runners (elite and recreational) to breakthroughs never imagined.
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Well worth the listen
- By cfinedell on 04-01-20
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Relentless Forward Progress
- A Guide to Running Ultramarathons
- By: Bryon Powell
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 6 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Marathons have become too easy for some runners. What was once the pinnacle of achievement in a runner's life is now a stepping stone for extraordinary adventure in ultramarathoning. The number of ultrarunners - those running distances of 50k (31 miles), 50 miles, 100k (62 miles), or 100 miles - is growing astronomically each year. To date, there has been no practical guide to ultramarathoning. Now, Bryon Powell has written Relentless Forward Progress, the first how-to manual for aspiring ultrarunners.
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Good for those with zero running knowledge
- By Anonymous User on 04-10-18
By: Bryon Powell
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A Runner’s High
- My Life in Motion
- By: Dean Karnazes
- Narrated by: Andrew Eiden
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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New York Times best-selling author and ultramarathoning legend Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits, from running in the shoe-melting heat of Death Valley to the lung-freezing cold of the South Pole. He’s raced and competed across the globe and once ran 50 marathons, in 50 states, in 50 consecutive days.
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Skip the Audible Version- Trust Me
- By Nathan on 05-01-21
By: Dean Karnazes
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Racing the Rain
- A Novel
- By: John L. Parker Jr.
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Quenton Cassidy's first foot races are with nature itself: the summer storms that sweep through his subtropical neighborhood. Shirtless, barefoot, and brown as a berry, Cassidy is a skinny, mouthy kid with aspirations to be a great athlete. As he explores his primal surroundings along the Loxahatchee River and the nearby Atlantic Ocean, he is befriended by Trapper Nelson, "the Tarzan of the Loxahatchee", a well-known eccentric who lives off the land.
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I just finished reading it again!
- By Jonathan on 01-11-16
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In the Spell of the Barkley
- Unravelling the Mystery of the World's Toughest Ultramarathon
- By: Michiel Panhuysen
- Narrated by: Rupert Holliday-Evans
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Welcome to the Barkley Marathons, a fever dream of an ultra event, inspired by a prison break, heralded by a conch blast, paid for in cigarettes and socks, and completed only by a select few. A race in which competitors haul themselves up mountains, through extreme weather conditions, beyond pain and exhaustion, mile after mile. Completed 60 miles? That’s just the fun run. In the Spell of the Barkley is a story of sporting obsession, exploring what drives individuals to challenge themselves at the limits of what is possible – and what it takes to succeed.
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3/5 - a fun run but not a finish.
- By C. Oestreich on 12-19-23
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Opening the Gates of Hell
- Operation Barbarossa, June–July 1941
- By: Richard Hargreaves
- Narrated by: Philip Pope
- Length: 23 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Opening the Gates of Hell is based on over a decade’s research in archives and sites across Europe. It is a ground-breaking examination of the start of the Nazi–Soviet conflict, a narrative history not just of the fighting, but also the impact on civilians, the atrocities committed by both sides and ethnic cleansing carried out by the inhabitants of the regions invaded. This fascinating history tells the stories of bravery, cowardice, misery and horror through the eyes of those who were there including ordinary soldiers, generals, leaders, politicians and civilians on both sides.
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The New Rules of Marathon and Half-Marathon Nutrition
- A Cutting-Edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond "The Wall"
- By: Matt Fitzgerald
- Narrated by: Gregory Abbey
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Every year, roughly 2 million people participate in marathons and half marathons in the United States, and, no matter what level they are, every one of these runners has likely hit “The Wall,” running out of muscle fuel in the final miles and slowing down precipitously. In The New Rules, renowned fitness journalist and training coach Matt Fitzgerald cuts through the myths, distilling the most up-to date science to help runners overcome the universally experienced nutritional barriers that prevent success in the marathon and half marathon.
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Great Content, NO tables in PDF
- By Chicagoland on 10-05-23
By: Matt Fitzgerald
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1861
- The Lost Peace
- By: Jay Winik
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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1861: The Lost Peace is the story of President Lincoln’s difficult and courageous decision at a time when the country wrestled with deep moral questions of epic proportions.
By: Jay Winik
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Skipper
- Why Baseball Managers Matter and Always Will
- By: Scott Miller
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Skipper takes on an ambitious Moneyball-esque premise: a deep dive into the ongoing struggle for control that often takes place behind the scenes between Major League Baseball managers and the ownership groups, and now, their data analysts. In a culture still attempting to come to terms with the Digital Age, there’s a bigger story behind the evolution of authority of managing inside the major leagues.
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A Grand Slam for Baseball Lovers
- By Allie on 06-09-25
By: Scott Miller
Great book
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All the color I’ve always wanted
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Best book on Steve Prefontaine that I have read!
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