Sports fans flock to New York to watch baseball, and the same can be said for football in Pittsburgh. Some cities are known for multiple sports, like Boston with the Red Sox and Celtics.
Hagerstown might not be widely known for distance running today, but during the 1980s, the city produced a surprising number of elite runners.
Andy Mason — a sportswriter of 23 years for The Herald-Mail who now contributes to LocalNews1.org — explores that era in his new book, “Hagerstown vs. The World: A True Running Story.”
Mason, an accomplished runner himself with 13 finishes at the Boston Marathon and five more at the JFK 50 Mile, takes a deep dive into the small city that became a distance-running hotbed.
Mason’s cast of characters includes runners like Buzz Sawyer, the “godfather” of Hagerstown running who established the JFK 50 Mile in 1963, and “mad scientist” coach Greg Shank, who guided 10 runners to 12 Olympic Trials. Mike Spinnler, a JFK 50 Mile finisher at just 12 years old who later went on to win the race in course-record time in 1982, is featured, as are star runners like Chris Fox, Jeff Scuffins and Terry Baker.
Those who have watched “The Last Dance” on Netflix, a documentary about the Chicago Bulls, will be familiar with the storytelling style of Mason. Instead of chapter names, significant dates in Hagerstown running history are used, and Mason jumps from the past to the present in a compelling way that not only ties all of the profiled runners to the city of Hagerstown, but also to one another.
While Mason’s book spotlights distance running, it reads more like a sprint. Each chapter is succinct and is presented in a way that can be enjoyed by runners and readers of all levels. The running junkie will appreciate Mason’s close attention to detail with specific race times and placements, while the casual reader can skim right through those numbers and not miss a step.
To enhance the read even more, we recommend following the Facebook page for Mason’s book, which bears the same name. Here, Mason provides even more historical context in the form of photos and videos, often with commentary provided on the posts by the runners themselves.
If you’re looking for a crisp read this summer, give Mason’s book a try. In the time it takes most of us to run a marathon, one can complete this read and truly appreciate how the city of Hagerstown became a national “hub” for distance running.
The book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats.
