Most sporting stories have a lifetime. A decade or maybe two after an athlete leaves the field or the court or the track, the memory of their exploits fades until only the historians of that sport are familiar with their career. Sometimes, though, an athlete is so talented and makes such a connection to the public that their reputations live on, burnished by time rather than buried by it.

In The Front Runner, author Brendan O’Meara tells us the story of the elite 1970s runner Steve Prefontaine. O’Meara’s impressive research and lively prose make it clear why Prefontaine’s, or “Pre” as he’s still known by so many in the world of running, legend still burns 50 years after his untimely death in Eugene, Oregon.

One huge key to this type of book is diving into the newspaper pieces and magazine articles written about Prefontaine and having the stamina to keep searching and the focus to find the best bits from all that reporting and interviews. The other is picking up the phone and speaking with or visiting the people who are still around who trained and competed with and befriended and loved Prefontaine. O’Meara nails both these tasks, providing the reader with solid minute-to-minute detail about Pre’s races and his interactions with teammates, coaches and other runners. O’Meara also adds evocative writing that fills in some of the gaps and puts us into the Pre’s world as he lived his short but eventful life as a runner and a person trying to find his way. Here’s O’Meara on Prefontaine’s final race in Eugene: “As he broke the tape, the people roared once more, and the shadows lengthened over the track, Steve aglow by the setting of the sun.”

More than just a sports biography, The Front Runner also captures a time when US runners were trying to break free from the restrictive control of the American Athletic Union and have more say in their careers and Steve Prefontaine was at the head of that struggle. O’Meara does a great job of portraying Pre as a real person and not just a running legend. So much so that Pre’s death in a car accident all those years ago is a shocking and immediate event to the reader. The Front Runner is highly recommended.