BOOK REVIEW: CHRIS LEAR'S SUB 4:00

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

By Parker Morse

Sub 4:00 will be available in stores beginning in July 2003.

The subtitle to Chris Lear's new book, Sub 4:00 (Rodale: $22.95, July) is a bit misleading. "Alan Webb And The Quest for the Fastest Mile" suggests a book about Webb's high school campaign to be the fourth high-schooler under the wonderfully symmetrical standard for the mile, or perhaps revelation of Webb's new campaign for a world record at that distance.

Actually, Lear's book chronicles Webb's first (and, ultimately, only) track season in the NCAA, presenting the myriad complications and expectations which were part of the reward for successful completion of Webb's very public high school quest. It is the story of an athlete and coach trying to mesh two different, but successful, training systems in the face of media scrutiny and their own high expectations for results.

Webb, even before he ran his sub-four miles, committed to attend the University of Michigan and run for coach Ron Warhurst. Part of Ann Arbor's appeal was the possible training partners, including Michigan alum Kevin Sullivan and U.S. stars Paul McMullen and Tim Broe. Webb's roommate would be Nathan Brannen, the second-fastest high school miler in North America. Track fans and sportswriters across the country hitched forward to the edge of their seats in anticipation of what Webb and Warhurst would do next.

Sub 4:00 picks up the story after Webb's impressive frosh cross country season, just about when the honeymoon period ended. The book begins with Webb injured and teammate Brannen the fastest non-finalist at the indoor track championships. From there, Webb's spring becomes a spiraling wreck of injured training partners, disappointing performances and rumors of his departure for a pro career.

Despite Lear's skill at managing an extensive cast, fans of his previous book, Running with the Buffaloes (Lyons Press, 2000) should not pick up Sub 4:00 expecting Running with the Wolverines. While Buffaloes told the story of a team pulling together in tough times behind a heroic winner, Adam Goucher, Sub 4:00 is a deeper examination of how the USA develops its talented young runners. Lear raises, without judgment, issues of coaching style and the athlete-coach relationship, the lessons the NCAA teaches well, and the damage it can do.

Webb, a star age-group swimmer before he turned to running in high school, logically sees the work he does as a step towards being competitive with the best in the world. Coming from a sport with a proven record of developing young talent directly from regional clubs to Olympic medal stands, Webb's frustration with the NCAA is striking; rather than continuing on a path of steady improvement, he is losing a year in disruption and injury as he attempts to adjust to an entirely different style of coaching. On the other hand, Warhurst's own right-hand man, Kevin Sullivan, himself just two spots from the medal stand in Sydney, is a walking example of Warhurst's ability to develop milers. Even as Webb left Ann Arbor, Nick Willis of New Zealand entered Michigan, and 2001 NCAA Champion Bryan Berryhill started training under Warhurst.

Sub 4:00 doesn't attempt to resolve these differences, but it doesn't paper over them, either. In fact, Lear wound up with an atom of the entire problem, a single dorm room with one roommate for whom the system was apparently not working (Webb) and the other for whom it was (Brannen, who won the NCAA indoor 800m title the following year).

There's a lot more of Lear himself in Sub 4:00. While in "Buffaloes" he was nearly invisible, a shadow only noticed when mentioned by another character, he takes fewer pains to stay behind the curtain in this book. It's not a dramatic difference. Lear's own improvement as a writer in the years between books allows him to stay so closely focused on the story that the reporter's microphone is not a distraction. The wealth of colorful detail that made "Buffaloes" an exceptional document of a season remains in "Sub 4:00," but it works for the story rather than simply filling space.

One striking similarity between Sub 4:00 and Buffaloes remain. While Colorado coach Mark Wetmore came under fire for what appeared to be a high injury rate for his athletes during the season detailed in Buffaloes, Sub 4:00 underlines the point that injuries are something that happen (and happen often) at the level of training required to be the best in the NCAA. Not a single runner in Sub 4:00 makes it through the book without time in the pool.

Webb's departure from Michigan for a pro contract at the end of the 2002 season sparked an uproar in the track community, and message-board mavens question the wisdom of that move every time he steps on the track to race. Sub 4:00 doesn't answer the question of whether he chose correctly, but it provides a wealth of context for the choice he made.

Parker Morse is the former online editor for Runner's World. He now writes for candy in Northampton, Massachusetts.