Clarence DeMar

Long before the days of running apps, designer running shoes and online marathon training programs, three-time Olympian Clarence DeMar self-coached his way to seven Boston Marathon victories- a record that remains unbroken today. More than one hundred years since winning his first marathon, Clarence “DeMarathon” DeMar is still known as one of the greatest American distance runners of all time. Marathon, DeMar’s 1937 memoir, is a simple and honest reflection of the life of this working-class family man who experienced national fame during the depression era. A student of his sport and an athlete far ahead of his time, DeMar would average 100 miles per week while closely monitoring his body’s response to nutritional changes. Among the first elite athletes to experiment with vegetarian and alkaline-based diets, DeMar shares his experience-based perspective on nutrition, sleep, mileage and even foot-strike- topics that are still heavily debated in the running community today. The fashion and technology surrounding the sport may certainly have changed over the years, but the feat of running 26.2 miles has remained. Perhaps this is why modern day runners find DeMar’s Marathon memoir to be as pertinent and informative today as it was in 1937.