The first biography of the legendary track coach, and founder of Nike, who had an unparalleled impact on the sport of running.

During his tenure as track coach at the University of Oregon from 1949 through 1972, Bill Bowerman won 4 national team titles, trained dozens of milers to break the 4-minute barrier, and his athletes set 13 world and 22 American records. Single-handedly he helped turn the college town of Eugene, Oregon, into the running capital of the world.

In Bowerman: and the men of Oregon, Kenny Moore, a world-class marathon runner and one of Bowerman's Oregon men, tells the story of his mentor and hero, drawing on years of taped interviews and the full cooperation of the Bowerman family and Nike, the company that Bowerman helped to found through his invention of the waffle-soled running shoe.

Whether providing a fresh look at the tragic siege at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, where Bowerman coached the track and field team; offering a close-up view of the coach's relationship with runner Steve Prefontaine (subject of the movie Without Limits, co-written and co-produced by Moore); or exploring Bowerman's role as a Nike innovator, this illuminating portrait is compelling reading throughout — ample evidence of why Bowerman's widow, noting how well the author understood her husband, said: "If anyone should write Bill's life story, it's Kenny Moore."

"There's hardly a more perfect Bowerman biographer than Kenny Moore, who brings both Sports Illustrated writing chops and an intimate knowledge of Bowerman's coaching style to the task." Seattle Times

No man has affected more runners in more ways than Bill Bowerman. During his 24-year tenure as track coach at the University of Oregon, he won four national team titles and his athletes set 13 world and 22 American records. He also ignited the jogging boom, invented the waffle-sole running shoe that helped establish Nike, and coached the US track and field team at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games With the full cooperation of the Bowerman family and Nike, plus years of taped interviews with friends, relatives, students, and competitors, two-time Olympic marathoner Kenny Moore - himself one of Bowerman's champion athletes - brilliantly re-creates the legendary track coach's life.

Moore, a marathon runner and one of Bill Bowermans Oregon men, tells the story of his mentor and hero, drawing on years of taped interviews and the full cooperation of the Bowerman family and Nike, the company that Bowerman helped to found.

Kenny Moore who trained with Bill Bowerman at the University of Oregon, is a world-class marathon runner, two-time Olympic athlete, and a former senior writer for Sports Illustrated. He cowrote and coproduced the movie Without Limits, based on the life and tragic early death of Hall of Fame runner Steve Prefontaine. Moore lives in Eugene, Oregon.