PEACE RACE Well-known author will attend race

Hal Higdon has written 24 books about running.
By JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
YOUNGSTOWN -- An internationally-known writer and runner and a specialist in the field of running is coming to Sunday's 30th annual Peace Race.
Hal Higdon, the longest-contributing writer for Runner's World, has written 24 books about running and 33 in all. He will attend Sunday's race and awards ceremony afterward at the Downtown YMCA, and also will also be available for an autograph session at the Second Sole running store Saturday between 2-5 p.m.
Higdon, a native of Chicago, Ill., who now lives in Michigan City, Ind., enjoyed his greatest running successes as an over-35 masters competitor. He still holds the American masters record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase of 9 minutes, 18 seconds, which he set at the 1975 World Masters Championships.
He held the American masters 5-kilometer record of 14:59 that he set at London's Crystal Palace in 1972 for 24 years. It was broken by Minnesota's Steve Plasencia in 1997.
Higdon also competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials eight times.
Runner, writer, pioneer
Higdon, who attended the University of Chicago's Laboratory School (U-High) and Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., has been running and writing for half a century, and is a pioneer in road racing and marathoning.
He participated in his first marathon at Boston in 1959 when only 150 runners competed, and five years later placed fifth at Boston in a personal-best 2:21.55. He has run in more than 111 marathons, with four overall victories and numerous age-group firsts.
Higdon sparked an increase in the number of runners in the Boston Marathon and throughout the nation by writing an article for Sports Illustrated in 1963 entitled, "On the Run from Dogs and People," which was expanded into a 1971 book by the same name.
The Boston Marathon field increased from the 150 runners in 1959 to 38,000 at the 1996 Centennial Boston Marathon, when Higdon ran his 100th marathon -- and his 18th at Boston.
Freelance writer since 1959
Higdon has been a freelance writer since 1959, covering subjects as varied as politics for the New York Times Magazine, science for National Geographic, business for Playboy and aviation for Air & amp; Space Smithsonian.
Some of his published books are "The Crime of the Century " (about the Leopold and Loeb case), and "The Horse That Played Center Field" (a children's book made into an animated TV special by ABC).
His most successful books include "Run Fast, Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide," and "Boston: A Century of Running." Most recently he combined with cartoonist Dana Summers to produce a children's e-book (available on the Internet) titled "Run, Dogs, Run!" Higdon is writing his 35th book, "The Runner's World Guide to Masters Running," scheduled for publication by Rodale Press in the spring of 2005.
More information about Higdon and his publications is available online at www.halhigdon.com.
kovach@vindy.com