Arturo Barrios holds the distinction of being one of the world’s greatest runners over the course of the last quarter century. In 1986, Barrios, recently graduated from college, burst on to the international racing scene by winning 13 of the 14 races that he entered in his first year competing at the international level. Soon thereafter Barrios set world records in the 10,000 meters, the 20,000 meters and the one hour run. His world record in the 10,000 meters stood intact from August 18, 1989 until July 5, 1993. In 1991, Barrios became the first man to ever run the half-marathon distance in under one hour.
Michael Sandrock combines 22 years of experience as an award-winning sport journalist with over 30 years of running expertise. His two books, Running with the Legends and Running Tough, mark Sandrock as an expert in the field of sports literature. He currently covers running for the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, Colorado and has written for Running Times, Runner’s World, Marathon & Beyond, and Trail Runner. An accomplished runner himself, Sandrock holds varsity letters in cross country and track from the University of Colorado, and a personal best of 2:24:00 in the marathon. Sandrock is the founder of One World Running, a non-profit organization that donates new and used shoes to underprivileged athletes around the world.