My Best Race

żFifty runners, from passionate amateurs to the world's elite, share the races they'll never forget. Every runner has a unique reason for competing: racing for the challenge, the achievement, the health benefits, or something more personal. But whether they are twenty-mile-a-day elite marathoners or twenty-mile-a-week recreational runners, each of them can invariably point to a singular performance as "the best race i ever ran." MY BEST RACE is a collection of those singular performances. Fifty runners, from Olympians to courageous disabled athletes to middle- of-the-packers, share personal accounts of what they consider the best race they ever ran...and why. Contributors include: JEFF GALLOWAY: A top marathoner sacrifices his place on the Olympic marathon team by pacing his friend to the final qualifying spot. TRISHA MEILI: The woman once known only as "The Central Park Jogger" crosses the finish line in the race she founded to benefit disabled athletes, fourteen years after being left for dead from a brutal attack. ED EYESTONE: The unheralded runner comes out of nowhere to beat a previously undefeated state champion in a high school cross- country race, giving him the confidence to eventually become a four-time NCAA champion and two-time Olympian. With excitement, laughter, tears, and worn tread, fifty runners recount their inspiring races and personal achievements.