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40 Years of Runner's World
Does anyone other than me
still remember Bob Anderson?
by Hal Higdon
Forty years seems like an eternity when you consider that a majority of today's runners had not been born by 1966. Only 540 entered the Boston Marathon that year, including (unofficially) the first woman, but the seeds of running's success already had firmly been planted.
Once a top-ranked runner, I was working as a freelance writer, not an easy profession, but I had begun to crack the major markets from Good Housekeeping to Playboy to the New York Times Magazine. Only rarely could I sell an article about running, because none of the best-paying markets cared about our sport. To a certain extent, that's true today.
In 1966 I received a letter from a high school runner in Overland Park, Kansas. He had begun a magazine about running and sought my help. I pulled from my files an article I had written for Sports Illustrated and offered it to him as a reprint. He published it in the second issue of Distance Running News.
The high school runner, Bob Anderson, had uncovered an unexploited niche. Another publication, Long Distance Log, edited by Olympian Browning Ross, had attracted maybe a thousand readers, but Ross only published race results. Anderson chose to publish articles about running and, most important, articles telling readers how to train. Soon, Anderson's magazine had surged past Ross's in circulation. Its popularity forced Anderson to drop out of college. He changed the name of his growing magazine to Runner's World.
Discovering Dr. Sheehan 
Baby-boomers began to embrace running and with it Runner's World. Realizing he needed help, Anderson sought to hire Joe Henderson, an editorial assistant at Track & Field News, based in California. Henderson refused to move East, so Anderson moved west, locating in Mountain View.
At the 1968 Olympic Games, I had introduced Henderson to a doctor friend of mine, George Sheehan. Security was lax then. Using my press credentials, I sneaked both Henderson and Sheehan into the Athlete's Village.
Henderson later recruited Dr. Sheehan to write for Runner's World. I continued to contribute articles and columns, pro bono at first because of my love of my sport. Then as circulation soared past 100,000, writing for the magazine became as profitable as writing for more mainstream magazines. It proved profitable too for Anderson, a millionaire before the age of thirty.
Shake-up in the magazine ranks
Success, however, bred discontent. Anderson and I clashed, a disagreement that seems trivial now. I abandoned Runner's World to join The Runner, a New York-based publication. Henderson left to edit a Nike-sponsored publication in Oregon. Anderson sold Runner's World in 1985 to Rodale Press, which also acquired The Runner, merging the two leading running magazines under one title. I returned as contributor as did Henderson, but not Anderson. At a 25th anniversary gala in New York, the publication's founder neither was invited nor mentioned during ceremonies.
As Runner's World enters its fifth decade, Bob Anderson has crafted a successful second career as a photographer and chief executive of Ujena, a swimsuit company. He frequently wins his (55-59) age group in California races.
The magazine certainly has grown and changed during my 40-year association with it. In 1966, there was a single woman running at Boston; in 2006, women have begun to dominate the sport. At a recent Running USA Conference, Chicago Fleet Feet store owner David Zimmer identified women as buying 54 percent of running footwear, 60 percent of apparel and controlling 80 percent of household purchases. Rodale vice president MaryAnn Bekkedahl cited Runner's World's circulation (615,000) and advertising revenue as being at all-time highs. When it comes to demographics--income and education--runners are atop the pyramid. "We have the youngest, most affluent and most active enthusiasts of the top participant sports: golf, snowsports, sailing and tennis," claims Runner's World's Andrew Hersam.
As one who was around for the beginning, it has been an amazing ride. I wonder what the next 40 years will bring?
Hal Higdon, a Contributing Editor for Runner's World, has authored nearly three dozen books including The Complete Diet Guide for Runners and Other Athletes.
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