My Book Report

This one is called "Jogging", it was published in 1967, was written by William J. Bowerman a track coach and W.E. Harris a heart specialist, both gentleman are from Oregon. The official price on the top right corner says $1.00 although a non-running friend only paid $0.25 for it at a flea market. Oh how times have changed! Running has come a long way since this book was written over 40 years ago. Yet still, much as stayed the same. Parts of this little book were hilarious to read and I imagine as the years go on and I check back, it will be even more so.

The book included many photos and here are just a sample! I look at the outfits from head to toe and can’t imagine the uncomfortableness they must have felt. The sport was certainly not about fashion, but then again, maybe they thought they "were all that"!

The writers talk about "What’s In It For You?" and their points are timeless:

improves the heart and lungs
you look and feel better
helps you loose weight
builds endurance and confidence
jog alone or with others

Other points they discuss shows where times have changed:

no special equipment
it’s free
jogging is thrifty
no food fads
any informal outfit is appropriate
wear a light sweater over a t-shirt

I shared this book with my running friends who got just as many laughs out of it as I did and each one of them returned it to me with their own funny comments written on little yellow sticky notes stuck to the pictures! They made me laugh even more!