Earl Fee's masterpiece of a how-to book

By Ken Stone

When masters athletes write books, I tend to cringe. Most are vanity published, self-indulgent affairs. So when I saw the advertisement in National Masters News for Earl Fee’s “How to be a Champion from 9 to 90,” I worried that this would be another memoir for the benefit of the grandkids. 

But after meeting Fee at the Club West Masters Meet in Santa Barbara in late September 2001 and reading his book in the days that followed, my reservations were completely put to rest. 

This book is the real goods. Better than most in its genre. 

Fee, a world age-group record holder in events from the 300 hurdles to the mile, put the same amount of hard work into researching his subjects as he does getting ready for another assault on the 800-meter record. 

One way I measure a track book’s value is by asking: What’s in it for me?

The answer: A hell of a lot. 

The 404-page book’s subtitle is “Body, Mind & Spirit Training.” And the chapter on mental preparation is sandwiched between ones on physiological principles and running form. Truth be told, I rarely encountered a coach in my 35-year track career who spent more than a moment on how to train the mind for competition. (And trust me: I could have used the advice.)

The second question I ask is: What’s here that I haven’t seen on the Web or in magazines or books for years?

Answer: Plenty.

From stretching to nutrition, shoes to injury prevention, the Canadian Fee has covered all the bases. And not just rehashing old saws or relying on personal anecdotes (of which there are many, but not too many).  Fee has borrowed freely but wisely from some well-regarded books and technical journals. He generously (and copiously) footnotes his sources, too. And his credits and acknowledgments chapter is a study in resourceful scholarship.

And about those anecdotes: They’re instructful. 

In at least one case, Fee tempts readers to wonder how crazy he is.

He lists his personal injuries over the past 12 years -- ones that generally took at least six weeks to recover from. There were four in 2000; one each in 1999, 1998 and 1997; two in 1996; and so forth back to 1987. Sixteen in all, the mostly muscle tears are listed along with their cause and “Lesson.” 

Fee also spends serious time on such matters as massage, heart rate monitoring, pool training, diet supplements, training shoes and how to organize a year’s worth of workouts. Chapters also are written with special attention to sprinters, hurdlers, middle distance runners and long-distance runners.  Alas, nothing specific to field events. But I wouldn’t quibble on this deficiency.

Best of all, he writes with a masters perspective. 

Most books on track technique and training are meant for youngsters and those aspiring to elite, under-30 success. But Fee is acutely conscious that his readership is primarily 40 and over. So in covering basic principles of training and injury prevention, he’s mindful of how this pertains to athletes who compete into their 60s and 70s. He also mentions the late 90-something star Paul Spangler.  And a one-page foreword is written by the greatest 80-something sprinter of all time: Payton Jordan.

Says Jordan, the 1968 U.S. Olympic coach and former Stanford head coach: “Techniques in this book can make you faster, stronger, more flexible and overall a healthier athlete to make you conquer your inner-self, to give you the ‘winning edge’ and to make you a champion. With body, mind and spirit each fully used and all in harmony, the body can be stretched to higher and sometimes surprising performance. This book will do just that while you engage in the serious play of athletic excellence.”

One could search the Web for months and visit the best libraries in the country and not be exposed to the wealth that’s in Earl Fee’s book.  It’s just a marvelous distillation of the best and brightest wisdom on track at the moment, along with personal insights gleaned in his marvelous masters career.

My only criticisms of the book are trivial.  He could have used a professional editor, in light of the several typos and misspellings that crept into the text.  He also could have used help in how he describes certain body movements. My wife, for example, found Fee’s description of fast-feet drills unclear.  He should have provided more diagrams also. (But he includes lots of charts.)

I also wish he had found a respected “brand-name” publisher for the book instead of putting the work out under his own Feetness Inc. company. Although he’s taken appropriate steps to market it (setting up a Web site and placing a nice ad in National Masters News), I’m certain “How to be a Champion from 9 to 90” would have a better shot at success under the umbrella of a recognized publishing house. But give Fee credit: He’s not greedy.

The cover price is $19.25 USA and $28.50 Canadian -- quite reasonable in this hyper-inflated market -- and a bargain compared with the egregious $65 USA asked for “Masters Track and Field: A History.” (Shipping cost is generally $7, also reasonable for a soft-cover title.)

But maybe self-publishing is all for the best. A conventional publisher might not have signed off on Fee’s unconventional interests.

Fee spent a career in the Canadian nuclear industry as a design engineer and a technical writer. But he has the heart of a poet.  He concludes his book – in Chapters 24 and 25 – with 10 of his own inspirational poems and assorted motivational quotations.

Among the quotes was one from that notable British masters statesman, Winston Churchill:

“To every man there comes in his lifetime that special moment when he is figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered that chance to do a special thing, unique to him and fitted to his talents.”

For Earl William Fee of Mississauga, Ontario, that special thing was writing an ambitious book that delivers on its promises. 

Six years in the making, this book stands as a milestone of scholarship. Any serious masters track athlete would be well-served by “How to be a Champion from 9 to 90.” 

(For more information and order form, see Earl Fee’s site.)