“Running Up the Mountain”

WHAT’S THEIR SECRET?

In 2022, the Northern Arizona University men’s cross country team won their sixth national championship in seven years: the so-called “Repeat Three-Peat.”

In 2023, both the women’s and men’s teams took second in NCAA Division I, the best combined finish in team history.

How did a running team at a remote university in northern Arizona build a culture of success so strong that it could win not just one NCAA Division 1 championship, but six?

Is it just living and training at an altitude of 7,000 feet? Can the formula really be that simple?

Is it that this university is located in a town with a thriving community running program and a history of success in international competition?

Or is there something more, something in the challenge of running up the mountain perhaps, that shapes athletes of remarkable grit, devoted to winning for the team, as a team?

Running Up the Mountain is an inside look at how a remote outpost with no traditional powerhouse credentials built a culture of teamwork and a mindset of success that ultimately places its runners at the pinnacle of their sport. Author Matt Baxter was a three-time cross country All-American and a member of NAU’s first three national championship teams. His co-author, Ron Mann, is a Hall of Fame coach and the longest-tenured coach in NAU program history.

They talked to runners, families, coaches, and members of Flagstaff’s legendary running community, hungry to understand what it is about Lumberjack culture, the athletes themselves, and Flagstaff that made this unlikely success possible.

This book was named Best Sports/Recreation Book of 2023 by the New Mexico–Arizona Book Awards. If you’re a runner or a fan of running literature, Running Up the Mountain belongs on your shelf. Take the intimacy of Running with the Buffaloes and add the generational storytelling of Bowerman and the Men of Oregon, and you see how Running Up the Mountain will be a special book about a special place.

This intimate look at a die-hard running community and its determined pursuit of a championship goal will have you cheering. Order now by clicking “ADD TO CART” above!

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“The best parts of the book were the documenting of small moments and oddball events that go far to humanize a bunch of lithe runners in matching kits.” ~Sam McManis Read his review in the Flagstaff Running News.