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Author’s Acknowledgments My first encounter with John McDonnell occurred in my first few weeks as a collegiate coach at a cross-country meet on a hot September day in Joplin, Missouri, in 2005. It was still early in the season, but Arkansas had put ten runners in the top fifteen at the first mile of the race at a pace that simply seemed unsustainable, yet they didn’t seem to be slowing down. Over in the shade underneath the trees at the second mile, I observed John calmly but forcefully exhorting his eighth and ninth runners that they could do better. It was an interesting juxtaposition to say the least. The man whom I understood to be the most successful coach in American collegiate sports history hustling around the course harder than I was at a third of his age, seemingly dissatisfied with the performance of a team that had just laid waste to the entire field, paying as much and possibly more attention to those at the back of his team than those at the front. This was the quiet intensity and underlying humility and decency that appealed to so many of us who have encountered him over the years. This book is not merely about success in athletics, though it follows the life of a man singularly successful in that field over four decades. It is about an individual so specially attuned to the human condition that he was able to lead hundreds of student athletes in discovering something about themselves they didn’t know was within them. It is also about his own journey as an athlete, coach, father, and mentor, and about the profound impact he has had on those around him. In chronicling the life of John McDonnell, I relied upon the candor and assistance of many of those who had come across him throughout his life, including his family, former athletes, fellow and opposing coaches, athletic directors, and friends. Where I have quoted individuals in this book without footnotes, such material comes from personal interviews conducted over the past year and a half and published with the interviewees’ permission. I am also grateful to the University of Arkansas Athletics Media Relations for the archives, pictures, and materials supplied for this endeavor. But most of all I am grateful to John and his wife, Ellen, and Larry Malley of the University of Arkansas Press for their guidance. It was a pleasure working with each of you throughout this process. —Andrew Maloney ix ...

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