In honor of next week’s Boston Marathon, I’m running an updated review of The Last Pick: The Boston Marathon Race Director’s Road to Success, written by David J. McGillivray.
Now, I’m not a huge fan of book clubs, because books for me are an escape–which means I choose the ones I want and read them at the pace I want. So when my newly adopted small hometown had a “One Book, One Town” reading event where we were all supposed to read the same book, The Last Pick, I tried to ignore it. But when your 7-year-old tells you. “It’s our town now, too, Mom. You need to participate,” and then offers to buy you the book out of his allowance, what can you do? I caved. And I’m glad I did.
The Last Pick is the life story of Boston Marathon director Dave McGillivray. I’m sure you’re shrugging like I did: So what? Well, I found out so what. In the 1970s this guy was known as “the runner” who ran across the country from Medford, Oregon, to Medford, Massachusetts, to raise money for The Jimmy Fund. Perhaps the most interesting part for me was the flashback to what life was like before cellphones and computers: The stories about McGillvray getting lost, the difficulties of arranging press conferences and having to limit phone calls home due to the high cost of long distance.
Another point that made me think was the title, “The Last Pick.” This was based on McGillivray’s long history of always being the last pick when it came to sports because he was “vertically challenged.” This is what drove him to overachieve in long-distance running and triathalons. To this day, he still directs the whole marathon all day and then, after it’s done, runs the entire course himself. I find it interesting, especially now that my son is participating in pickup games, that when one gets picked on the playground can alter our entire life perception.
Top Shelf Bottom Line: It doesn’t surprise me that many entrepreneurs I meet are runners. For me, it’s an escape, and I tend to get my best ideas while running, although I prefer to compete in team sports (I always was a reluctant entrepreneur). However, what is fascinating is the uphill battle to turn the Boston Marathon into what it is today and the enormous drive it took to do it. Recommended for runners, Bostonians and anyone who ever had a moment in his or her life when he or she was “the last pick.”
This entry was posted on Monday, April 14th, 2008 at 6:31 am and is filed under Nonfiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.Leave a Reply
