Bob Bartling and several like-minded people founded the Prairie Striders Running Club in 1969 to promote running, fellowship, and health. Bob began collecting books and magazines related to running and track and field, and by 1978, the Prairie Striders Running Club Library was established. It includes 636 volumes of books, about 5,000 periodicals and newsletters, and has the results of 16 annual races. The collection is so complete that even the editors of Runner’s World contact Bob for articles.
The Prairie Striders Library was housed in the basement of Bartling’s store for many years. The library moved to another location in downtown Brookings before finding a permanent home in the H.M. Briggs Library in June 2015. It is currently housed in the compact shelving on the lower level of the library.
This Book Gallery highlights the collection housed at the H.M. Briggs Library
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Corbitt: The Story of Ted Corbitt, Long Distance Runner
John Chodes
Thirty six years have elapsed since the original publication of "Corbitt". Ted Corbitt died in Houston, Texas on December 12, 2007 at the age of 88. Until the very end, he was still competing in marathons, and ultra-marathons! He finished well over two hundred of them. I say "well over" because as age crept up, he lost the enthusiasm to run them, so he raced-walked through his competitions, and often failed to write the results down. Yet, age-group records and new accolades kept coming. At the end of this book, immediately following the "Complete Marathon Record of Ted Corbitt to May l978,'' there is a brief addition of some of his major ultra-marathon races to the end of his life. There is also a listing of his athletic and professional awards. I wrote this book about Ted Corbitt as a tribute and a thank-you to a man who was much more than someone who was a great athlete and who brought me into the running game, and gave me a life-long passion for this sport. I wrote this book because Ted Corbitt was my mentor and spiritual father who, without directly advising me, led me to a productive life by following his example.
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Olympic Track and Field Techniques: an Illustrated Guide to Developing Champions
Tom Ecker
What makes a Olympic Champion? This book reveals the form, style, and technique that produced 24 Gold Medalists at the 1972 Olympic Games. No less than 28 of the world's greatest track and field experts -from fourteen different countries and six continents -have carefully examined and evaluated the performances of these young men and women in the running, jumping, and throwing events. they provide an in depth, step by step analysis of both the how and the why of each athlete's championship technique.
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Tale of the Ancient Marathoner: Jack Foster's Own Story
Jack Foster
Story of Olympic marathoner from New Zealand, Jack Foster who started running at age 32. Illustrated with photos.
