Rating: 
Summary: An intriguing and insightful book
Review: A great read for anyone interested in Track & Field or runnng in general. This books brings to life the trials and tribulations of Webb and the Michigan track team in the spring of'02. What makes it especially interesting are the behind the scenes stories of Webb, his teammates and coach that Lear delivers, as only he can. Warhurst and Brannen also emerge as very intriguing characters. I can't wait to see how Webb and Brannen do in the years to come, as they are huge talents with speed to burn. Any competitve runner can tell Lear has been there before and writes like he is with Webb every step of the way. He has definitely developed a knack for capturing the emotion and drama of competition. A very impessive second book that was tough to put down.
Rating:
Summary: great book for track fans
Review: A great read for anyone interested in Track & Field or runnng in general. This books brings to life the trials and tribulations of Webb and the Michigan track team in the spring of'02. What makes it especially interesting are the behind the scenes stories of Webb, his teammates and coach that Lear delivers, as only he can. Warhurst and Brannen also emerge as very intriguing characters. I can't wait to see how Webb and Brannen do in the years to come, as they are huge talents with speed to burn. Any competitve runner can tell Lear has been there before and writes like he is with Webb every step of the way. He has definitely developed a knack for capturing the emotion and drama of competition. A very impessive second book that was tough to put down.
Rating:
Summary: An intriguing and insightful book
Review: A great read for anyone interested in Track & Field or runnng in general. This books brings to life the trials and tribulations of Webb and the Michigan track team in the spring of'02. What makes it especially interesting are the behind the scenes stories of Webb, his teammates and coach that Lear delivers, as only he can. Warhurst and Brannen also emerge as very intriguing characters. I can't wait to see how Webb and Brannen do in the years to come, as they are huge talents with speed to burn. Any competitve runner can tell Lear has been there before and writes like he is with Webb every step of the way. He has definitely developed a knack for capturing the emotion and drama of competition. A very impessive second book that was tough to put down.
Rating: 
Summary: Reaching the PRO's
Review: Alan Webb in this story strikes me as more a baby than a runner who has ran under 4 minutes in the mile. He whines about being hurt and not getting trained right. Warhurst is one of the greatest american distance coaches, if you can't run under him don't run at all. Nate seemed more likeable and more of a team player than Webb did in this book. Being for Illionis I love how Webb lost to Don Sage in 1500 meter final. Towards the end of the book, you knew he was going to quit michigan, now granted Webb has become very big in the sport but for a while he struggled after leaving Michigan and going back to his old coach. Good Book, if you like Webb, you might change your view of him, Nate is awesome, so is Tim Broe
Rating:
Summary: Capturing the Season
Review: As a runner on the Michigan Track and Field team, I must say that Chris Lear captures the season exaclty how it happened. Chris doesn't take sides, he just tells the truth. Often times people ask me about that season, having Nate Brannen and Alan Webb on the same track, and I tell them to read the book. There are so many stories, so many ups and downs that occur with all runners. This is a great book for any high school runner looking to compete at the next level.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of Webb and the collegiate running scene
Review: Chris Lear has done it again! Following an exellent debut with "Running With the Buffaloes" he comes back with "Sub 4:00" -- a great account of Alan Webb's first and only season at the University of Michigan.
Lear is the only guy out there writing about the collegiate running scene as most books in the running section at your bookstore revolve around training logs or how to run your first 10K. It's about time someone took a different path and I'm glad Lear has done so.
Webb's tumultuous season at UM is well-depicted. The tough workouts, the injuries, and most importantly, the hot and cold relationship Webb has with his collegiate coach. Webb is pulled in a couple of different directions, whether to turn pro and go back and train under his high school coach, where he had great success; or stay at UM where he has friends and training partners. After awhile one can tell where Webb is going to end up.
What makes Lear's books so good is he gets right into the action. Just like his first book, he has intimate access to the team, it's workouts, meetings, and private moments. He's with Webb in the residence halls, on solitary and team workouts, at the meets, and even on the road in his car. Lear isn't an outside observer, he's right there. Also, the main supporting character, Brannen, gets his fair share of coverage.
This isn't just a book for runners, but anyone interested in athletics, particularly college athletics and how the system works and how coaches are under pressure to win -- yes, even so-called minor sport track and field coaches.
I highly recommend this excellent book and hope Lear has more coming down the road.
Rating: 
Summary: Only if you are really obsessed with Alan Webb
Review: I was expecting to read a book about the process of how a high school athlete reaches that rare sub-4 minute mile...what I got instead was whether or not Allan Webb was going to stay at Michigan and basically his stop and start season through indoor and outdoor trackseason. If you really need to know more about Alan Webb this is might the book that is the best since there is nothing more detailed available...frankly it was very easy to read and somewhat dull.P.S. This guy has no chance on the World level
Rating:
Summary: A very solid read
Review: Lear does a good job of portraying Alan Webb as an achievement-obsessed, impatient, live-for-the-moment-based-upon-the-past prospective mile great. It would be hard for any coach to deal with a young man who has memorized all his press clippings and bought into the hype that surrounded Webb's incredible high school accomplishments. Ron Warhurst comes off not as "hands on" as Webb would like him to be, and therein lies the problem. Some of Lear's chapters seem to repeat the same theme, and many of the nefarious behind-the-scenes goings on are hinted at rather than substantiated. As we all know, Alan Webb is now permanently ensconced in coach Scott Raczko's womb, never to be heard from again. All in all, though, this is a book that is a worthy and intense read.
Rating:
Summary: Give it a read
Review: Lear's follow up to "Running with the Buffaloes" chronicles Alan Webb's freshman track season at the University of Michigan. I admit that I came into looking for "Running with Webb," essentially. But Lear faced some problems it seems on the way to writing that book -- mostly that there wasn't as much running going on up in Michigan as in Boulder. The training group he went to follow spent a lot of time not running together. For my money the fact that an enjoyable, coherent, and informative book came out of that season shows the growth of Lear as a writer since his reporting days with "Buffaloes." I think anyone who is actually a fan of track, or even running in general, should pick this up and give it a read. You really get a sense of the incredible talent that Webb possesses as well as the weight of the expectations others placed on him because of it. I felt sorry for the guy reading it -- and insanely jealous of his talent. Buy this book and give it a read, you shouldn't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Give it a read
Review: Lear's follow up to "Running with the Buffaloes" chronicles Alan Webb's freshman track season at the University of Michigan. I admit that I came into looking for "Running with Webb," essentially. But Lear faced some problems it seems on the way to writing that book -- mostly that there wasn't as much running going on up in Michigan as in Boulder. The training group he went to follow spent a lot of time not running together. For my money the fact that an enjoyable, coherent, and informative book came out of that season shows the growth of Lear as a writer since his reporting days with "Buffaloes." I think anyone who is actually a fan of track, or even running in general, should pick this up and give it a read. You really get a sense of the incredible talent that Webb possesses as well as the weight of the expectations others placed on him because of it. I felt sorry for the guy reading it -- and insanely jealous of his talent. Buy this book and give it a read, you shouldn't be disappointed.
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