“It captures the deeper joy of watching young athletes embrace unfashionable ideals of commitment, sacrifice, courage, and faith.”- Sports Illustrated “Marc Bloom coaches as every coach in the sport should. I recommend this book without reservation. Read it, commit it to memory, and you will be better for it.”- American Track & Field “At its core a spiritual book. It will inspire the reader who values small works of goodness and the courage to face big challenges.”- Jewish Book World “More than a story of different religions, Jewish and Catholic, meeting on the cross-country course. There is an even more eternal struggle: old versus new.

Bloom preaches the value of pain, hard work, suffering, and delayed gratification. His cross-country kids are, well, kids. They want to have fun, chase girls, and enjoy the loosey-goosey life. In Bloom’s inspiring tale, both coach and kids learn surprising lessons from each other.”-Amby Burfoot, executive editor of Runner’s World Marc Bloom, an observant Jew, winds up the coach of a local Catholic high school cross-country team. The common ground he finds between the two faiths helps to propel his team to a state championship. Marc Bloom , an award-winning journalist, is a features writer for The New York Times and a contributing editor of Runner’s World .