TSP19: Books To Start Your Triathlon History Journey
I think all modern triathletes should be reading about the sport’s past. Especially the eighties stuff. To understand the history of the game. And decide where we should take it. So here’s a list of 12 books to start your triathlon history journey.
Some of the books are look-backs. And some are books from the early days of the sport. That will give you a cool feel for the era. Decide what you’re more into and go and get hold of some.
Here we go. In no particular order of favouritism or period.
Triathloning For Ordinary Mortals by Steven Jonas. 1986.
The Jonas reminds us of when preparing to complete a triathlon was a bit of an adventure. The advice within the book reflects this. There’s some fun anecdotes from Jonas’s athletic life. Like how he got into triathlon and his first event, The Mighty Hamptons in 1983. Overall, it’s just a good throw-back read in a modern triathlon world of gadgets, data and Type As.
Triathlon: The Sporting Trinity. By Aleck Hunter and Erik Kirschbaum. 1985.
The first British book about triathlon. I think.
Hunter was a newsagent from Dagenham and one of the founders of the BTA. His first triathlon was the Reading one in August 1982. That was organised by local gym owner Mike Ellis as a training race for the British athletes heading off to do the first Nice triathlon in November 1982.
Kirschbaum, from New York, was a recreational triathlete, German scholar and journalist. Who sometimes wrote for Tri-Athlete magazine. Like the Jonas, The Sporting Trinity has plenty of old school yet still very relevant training ideas. Mainly aimed at beginners. However, the highlight of this book for me is the information, photos and results about the early years of triathlon in the UK and particularly the 1984 season.
Scott Tinley's Winning Triathlon by Scott Tinley with Mike Plant. 1986.
The first of two Scott Tinley books on my list. He’d already won the Hawaii Ironman twice before its publication. But he wouldn’t win again.
This book is a mixture of training and racing tips and stories from the early days of triathlon. I really like the part about triathlon before 1978, the interview with Tom Warren, Tinley’s history of transitions, the story of Team J David and finally his hopes for the future of the sport.
The Triathlon Training And Racing Book by Sally Edwards. 1985.
Edwards was the 5th woman to finish the Hawaii Ironman, a winner of the Western States 100, author of a pile of training books, one of the founders of Tri-Fed and the former owner of the Fleet Feet chain of running shops.
In The Triathlon Training And Racing Book, Edwards conducts in-depth interviews with 10 of the best triathletes of the early-80s to find out how they got started, how they train and what drives them.
I really enjoyed the sample training weeks, the detailed background information about the athletes and learning about some lesser-known athletes like Ardis Bow, Kurt Madden and Linda Buchanan.
Dave Scott's Triathlon Training by Dave Scott with Liz Barrett. 1986.
More of a pure training manual than Tinley’s book. It’s light on anecdotes and heavy on training theory; pulling from Scott’s background in exercise physiology. It was also the first triathlon book I bought. At the end of 1988 from Foyles on Charing Cross Road in London.
There’s technique photos, intensity charts, sessions and season plans. What I read inside in 1988 drove my training for the next few years. My favourite chapter is the one on strength training. After reading it I bought some free weights and started getting my puny body into shape.
The Triathletes by Jeff Cook. 1992.
There’s not many third person narratives out there and this is the first of three on my list. It’s also great to see a book that focuses purely on women’s racing. Cook follows Paula Newby-Fraser, Kirsten Hanssen, Julie Wilson and Jan Ripple through the entire 1989 season.
Starting with the Australasian swing, onto Nice, the USTS races and eventually Kona. There’s also cameos from some of my favourite 80s athletes such as Erin Baker, Colleen Cannon, Beth Mitchell and Karen Smyers.
From a year that is mainly remembered for Mark Allen’s Avignon / Kona double. It’s refreshing to see the season, which was also my first in the sport, from a different angle.
Iron Will by Mike Plant. 1987.
Throughout the 1980s, the late Mike Plant was a triathlon journalist, photographer and race announcer. He was, of course, based out of San Diego; the triathlon capital of the world at the time.
Iron Will is essentially the story of the Hawaii Ironman from the Nautilus Triathlon days in Honolulu, to the move to Kona and ending with the 1986 race. The first Hawaii Ironman to offer prize money.
Growing up with the triathlon in the 1980s I craved stories from Kona. But the only way to get them was in rare import magazines. Reading Iron Will recently has filled in plenty of knowledge gaps for me.
Iron War by Matt Fitzgerald. 2011.
This is the story of the 1989 Hawaii Ironman Men’s Race. Dave Scott and Mark Allen raced side by side for nearly 8 hours before the winner was decided in the last 2 miles.
I believe Matt got little or no cooperation from Dave or Mark. And I think this makes the book stronger, as he really had to dig into the secondary sources and speak to periphery characters.
My favourite parts of the book are not the retelling of the race itself but the anecdotes from before and after. A few years ago Dave and Mark collaborated with Scott Zagarino on their own version of the story that can be found at 1989thestory.com.
Can You Make A Living Doing That? by Brad Kearns. 1996.
Brad Kearns was a professional triathlete from 1986 until 1995. Mainly on the US circuit but also in Europe, Asia and Australasia from time to time. Can You Make A Living Doing That? has plenty of anecdotes from his 10 years of highs and lows on the tour.
From his first trip to Nice in 1986. To be the first person to use Scott DH bars in a multi-sport event in early-1987. Followed by an overall USTS win in 1991. And then the gradual unwinding of his pro-triathlon career.
It has a self-published feel, is honest and endlessly entertaining. I’ve read it a few times and my copy is even signed by Brad himself. My favourite parts are the stories of his adventures training out of LA and Auburn rather than the popular spots like Boulder and San Diego.
Triathlon: A Personal History by Scott Tinley. 1998.
For me this is the most complete triathlon history book out there. Either in print or in electronic format.
Why? Because it’s a big book, with loads of photos and Tinley has been in the sport since nearly the beginning. He’s also a natural story-teller and has all the right connections to put together this type of reference text.
Read it cover to cover or dip in and out of your favourite eras. I really like the stories of the early San Diego scene.
25 Years Of The Ironman Triathlon World Championship by Bob Babbitt. 2003.
This is a big, hardback coffee table style book. Babbitt combines with other writers. That includes Mike plant, author of Iron Will. And essentially goes through the history of the race year by year.
Some of the write ups originally appeared in Competitor Magazine. Owned by Babbitt and photographer Lois Schwartz. Blog post here. The photos are incredible and there’s also plenty of tangential stories. Like the history of the Timex Ironman watch. That I looked at in TSP6.
Mark Allen's Total Triathlete by Mark Allen with Bob Babbitt. 1988.
This is the second triathlon book that I ever bought. I got it at the specialist triathlon shop Total Fitness in Swindon in the Autumn of 1989. I also bought a Tri-Pro short sleeved wetsuit.
Most importantly, that day I picked up the new Phil Collins album But Seriously on cassette, in Our Price on Swindon High Street. This album was the soundtrack to my first few readings of the book. TMI maybe.
It’s a quick, easy read with chapters on Allen´s early life, how he got into triathlon and some memorable races. Then the book tells the story of The Grip's 1987 season. This book was a huge influence on me as a young triathlete. I’ve probably read it about 20 times.
For some reason I like to buy books in 3s. Whether online or in a brick and mortar shop. I always seem to come away with three books. So here’s some recommendations of trilogies to buy from books on the list:
I’d say your starter bundle should be Iron Will, Total Triathlete and Iron War. To be read in that order. Will, Total, War.
Then make sure you get hold of the early training books. The Dave Scott, then Scott Tinley’s Winning Triathlon and finally The Sporting Trinity. Again. Tackle them in that order.
Links:
The Amateurs by David Halberstam
Assault on Lake Casitas by Brad-Alan Lewis
True Blue by Dan Topolski with Patrick Robinson
A Good Walk Spoiled by John Feinstein
The Green Road Home by Michael Bamberger
The Greatest Game Ever Played by Mark Frost
Brad Kearns
Competitor Magazine
TSP6: The Timey Ironman Watch
