The true story of a high school cross country team that went from obscurity to becoming the fastest squad the country, and perhaps the world, has ever seen, called “inspiring and entertaining” (Jerry Schumacher) and “a deliciously rich tale” (Neal Bascomb).
When Sean Brosnan arrived at Newbury Park High School in 2016, their cross country team hadn’t so much as qualified for a California state championship in twenty-five years. Brosnan himself had never coached high schoolers, though he was no stranger to the sport. A collegiate All-American, he had spent years trying to chase his ambitions of becoming a professional runner, along the way learning from some of the most successful coaches in the country.
From day one at Newbury Park, Brosnan made a promise: Give me your total commitment and I’ll give you a state championship in four years. He did them one better: Brosnan’s runners would take an unprecedented three consecutive national championships, smashing records, winning Division I scholarships, and representing their country in the Olympics.
With expert insights and a deep love for the sport, Sean Brosnan’s Beyond Fast offers a riveting chronicle of that journey. Tracing Newbury Park’s early successes, their heartbreaking missteps, and the winding road that would lead them to running glory, he tells a story of guts, sacrifice, and determination. By turns heartbreaking and exhilarating, it reminds you that the only limits that matter are the ones you set for yourself.
“[Newbury Park was] inarguably the greatest high-school cross-country team of all time… The story of what it took to build that Newbury Park dynasty turns out to be genuinely eye-opening.”
—Outside
"[An] invigorating book. In satisfying, granular detail, a coach describes how he developed his dominant team."
—Kirkus
"It is tempting to attribute Newbury Park’s dominance to the generational talent of the Young brothers or the Sahlmans. But Beyond Fast makes clear the extent of Brosnan’s investment...For the die-hard running nerd, the book offers plenty of detail—workouts, splits, and training cycles...For the casual reader, it remains accessible, thanks in part to Lear and Greif’s narrative pacing...Full of fun behind-the-scenes details. It’s a great story of a maverick coach and a window into a cultural shift that helped reshape American high school distance running."
—LetsRun.com
"Beyond Fast isn’t just the story of a historically dominant team—it’s the story of belief catching fire. This is a peek inside the mind of a coach who taught young athletes to expect more than they ever thought possible."
—David Epstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Range
