Amby Burfoot


Ambrose Joel Burfoot is an American former marathoner whose peak competitive years came in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was the winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon. After retiring from competition, he became a running journalist and author. Burfoot was editor-in-chief at Runner's World for many years. He currently serves as the editor-at-large for Marathon Handbook.
𝕏 exerscience

Competition

Amby Burfoot grew up in Groton, Connecticut, where he started running at Fitch Senior High School. His high school coach, John J. Kelley, was the 1957 Boston Marathon winner and two-time U.S. Olympic marathoner, and his influence led Burfoot to take up the marathon while still a collegian. In his senior year at Wesleyan University, where Burfoot was the roommate and teammate of Bill Rodgers, Burfoot won the Boston Marathon. An injury caused by running a steeplechase 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 and continuing through Kelley the Younger, Burfoot, and Rodgers.
In the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan in December 1968, Burfoot ran a personal best time of 2:14:28.8, which was one second from the American 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 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 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 magazine.
In 1984, he covered the first Olympic marathon that women were allowed to participate in, when Joan Benoit Samuelson 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. they moved from Mountain View, California to Emmaus, Pennsylvania, 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. The article was later republished in The Best American Sports Writing.
Burfoot authored the popular Run Long Run Healthy newsletter until January 2025 when he passed it over to Brady Holmer.

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 Rodale,
  • Burfoot, Amby, The Principles of Running: Practical Lessons from My First 100,000 Miles Rodale Press; 1ST edition ; New Ed edition
  • 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 Rodale Press; 1ST edition
  • Burfoot, Amby, Runner's World Complete Book of Beginning Running Rodale Press,
  • Burfoot, Amby, First Ladies of Running: 22 Inspiring Profiles of the Rebels, Rulebreakers, and Visionaries Who Changed the Sport Forever Rodale Books,
  • Burfoot, Amby, Run forever: Your Complete Guide to Healthy Lifetime Running Arena Sport,