The Front Runner

”[An] elegant biography… O’Meara’s loving portrait also celebrates Prefontaine’s legacy off the field, most notably his campaign against the Amateur Athletic Union’s rules disqualifying athletes who attempted to monetize their success. Nimble and comprehensive, this is a stirring tribute to a generational runner gone too soon.” – Publishers Weekly

“Well-crafted…Sidestepping the deification of his subject, Mr. O’Meara humanizes Prefontaine in his vexing contradictions, buoyant spirit and brutal competitiveness.” – Wall Street Journal

“In this electric, superbly drawn portrait, Brendan O’Meara strips away the mythology surrounding Steve Prefontaine through over a hundred interviews with those who knew him best. Charting Prefontaine’s fierce ascendence to the pantheon of American sport, O’Meara reveals the complex soul behind the brash facade–a rough-and-tumble kid from Oregon who revolutionized distance running and left an indelible mark on athletic history.” – NEAL BASCOMB, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Mile and The Winter Fortress

“Pre to me was always an overhyped pretty boy who would have been forgotten if he hadn’t died young–or he was, until I read The Front Runner, Brendan O’Meara’s astonishingly detailed and humanizing account of a legend hidden by his own star power. It’s sports journalism at its finest, a book so well-researched that everyone who thinks they know Pre is in for a big surprise.” – CHRISTOPHER McDOUGALL, bestselling author of Born to Run

“O’Meara delivers all the goods on a legend who chased far more than medals on the track. More fighter than runner, Steve Prefontaine was a seventies heavyweight who deserved this brilliant account of a life cut tragically short. A masterclass in the relentless pursuit of perfection.” – IAN O’CONNOR, five-time New York Times bestselling author

“The Front Runner is not just a biography of Steve Prefontaine. It’s a primer for anyone who wants to understand singular greatness, taken all too soon.” – SETH WICKERSHAM, ESPN senior writer and New York Times bestselling author

“Steve Prefontaine may have been impossible to catch up with in person, but Brendan O’Meara manages to do so on the page, capturing the fragility and ferocity of the world-class runner in all his contradictory record-breaking glory. Sports fans will appreciate how the special culture of the state of Oregon as a breeding ground for championship runners comes in for more than a cameo. The Front Runner is a deeply researched, painstakingly crafted elegy worthy of its legendary subject.” – MADELEINE BLAIS, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Queen of the Court

“As The Front Runner demonstrates, in surging prose worthy of the notoriously aggressive track star, Prefontaine was indeed a larger than life figure, one of those preternaturally confident human beings who promises big and almost always delivers. If there was a Mount Rushmore of swagger, Prefontaine would be on it.” – Literary Hub

Brendan O’Meara is the founder and host of the Creative Nonfiction podcast. As a sportswriter, he’s covered a wide swath of events including the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes, as well as several local and professional sports for Trail Runner Magazine, Bleacher Report and the Associated Press. His essays and craft pieces have appeared in Writer’s Digest, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction Magazine, and Longreads. He lives in Oregon.