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Bill Donahue is a writer for Outside, Harper’s, Wired, The New York Times Magazine, and more…

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June 29, 2015October 10, 2017 by Bill Donahue

Rise of a Running Nation

Lon Myers was the greatest American runner of the nineteenth century and also a Sephardic Jew. In 1882, he ran a series of three one-on-one footraces against England’s best runner, Walter George, at the Polo Grounds, in New York City.

Runner’s World
Edited by Christine Fennessy. Illustrations by Bruce Emmet.

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February 11, 2011October 10, 2017 by Bill Donahue

Fixing Diane’s Brain

Diane Van Deren overcame epilepsy and then became a top ultramarathoner. Did her brain surgery help improve her pain tolerance, or is she just tough?

Runner’s World
Republished in Best American Sports Writing 2012.
Edited by Charlie Butler. Photograph by Evan Hurd.

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August 1, 2008May 27, 2021 by Bill Donahue

Wonder Boy

At the age of four, slum kid Budhia Singh ran 40 miles without stopping in the blistering heat of his native India. Then, afterwards, his childhood only grew stranger.

Runner’s World
Edited by Peter Flax. Photo by J. Carrier.
Republished in Going Long: The Best Stories from Runner’s World.

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