Coach Jack Heath: Browning Ross: Father of American Distance Running makes multiple "Best Running Books" Lists

Thursday, April 12, 2018

Browning Ross: Father of American Distance Running makes multiple "Best Running Books" Lists

2 Time Olympian Browning Ross coached cross-country and track at Gloucester Catholic High School (NJ) from 1972 to 1998. He also coached both sports at Woodbury and Woodrow Wilson High Schools (NJ), and at Rutgers University and St. Joseph's University.

Olympian Browning Ross and Dave Williams (Gloucester Catholic and Georgetown great) at the Penn Relays

Ross was an All American in the Steeplechase and Cross-Country while running for Jumbo Elliott at Villanova University. He was an 8 time National Champion Runner after his graduation and was also the first US International Cross-Country Team Coach. Ross started the Road Runners Club of America (RRCA), and founded the first National Running Magazine "The Long Distance Log."

Browning Ross was an advocate for running opportunities for everyone in an age when only elite men were encouraged to run. He was briefly suspended by the AAU for permitting women to run in one of the thousands of races he directed.

A gold medal winner at the 1951 Pan Am Games, and a 10 time winner of the Berwick Run for the Diamonds, Browning was able to inspire and influence thousands of runners personally as well as the millions of runners who never met him but profited from the "Running Boom" he was largely responsible for starting through his pioneering efforts.

Browning passed away on April 27, 1998 after officiating the Penn Relays, one day after his 74th birthday.

Browning Ross's biography, "Browning Ross: Father of American Distance Running" has made a number of "Best Running Books" lists including:

"One of the 10 best running books of the year." Runners World Magazine:https://www.runnersworld.com/books/best-books-for-running

"A great book." Running Journal: http://running.net/read_new/holiday-gifts-avid-runner

RunBlogRun: http://www.runblogrun.com/2017/09/browning-ross-the-father-of-american-distance-running-by-jack-heath-a-runblogrun-book-review.html

"3 Running biographies to read." Run Ohio Magazine: http://runohio.com/index.php/features/1475-keeping-track-3-books-

"10 books every passionate runner should read and remember." Just Run: https://www.justrunlah.com/2018/02/23/10-books-every-passionate-runner-should-read-and-remember/

"Awesome Father's Day Gifts for Dad's Who Run":
https://runnerclick.com/fathers-day-awesome-gift-ideas-for-a-runner-dad/

"This book is a treasure." Runners Gazette: www.runnersgazette.com

"Well written and thoroughly documented, Heath's book does Ross justice." South Jersey Times/ SJ.com:http://www.nj.com/south-jersey-voices/index.ssf/2017/08/bob_3.html

"Meticulously researched and richly sourced." Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/phil_anastasia/browning-ross-american-distance-running-gloucester-city-20170902.html

Also:

Rutgers Magazine:https://magazine.rutgers.edu/alumni-notes/going-the-distance-0

Catholic Star Herald:

http://ramscrosscountry.blogspot.com/2017/09/catholic-star-herald-coach-pens-book.html

South Jersey Observer: https://southjerseyobserver.com/tag/browning-ross/

South Jersey Sports Digest: https://www.sjsportsdigest.com/news_article/show/829398

"Browning Ross: Father of American Distance Running" is available through Amazon, https://www.barnesandnoble.com/ and by special order at other bookstores.