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Running the Race: Eric Liddell, Olympic Champion and Missionary
Running the Race: Eric Liddell, Olympic Champion and Missionary
by John W. Keddie, foreword by Sebastian Coe
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The enduring fascination of the life of Eric Liddell is remarkable. It is remarkable because he was in many respects an ordinary soul. It is remarkable no doubt also because the lifestyle and faith that he espoused cannot be said to be popular or even well-understood in our skeptical and secular age. Most people would blink in genuine amazement at a man who sought seriously to live by the Bible and devote himself to the spread of its message. It seems outdated to so many; a curio; a vestige of a past age; a 'distant enchantment' - or perhaps nostalgia? - for an era irretrievably lost. And yet there is the fascination concerning someone who seemed so guileless yet so assured.
There are many biographies of sportsmen today. They seem to appear every week as sports practitioners achieve celebrity status at an increasingly young age and are grist to the mill of a media-driven lust for the sensational. There are also many Christian biographies. There are very few which bring together the sporting and the Christian. But that is the case with Eric Liddell. And that, at least in part, must account for the fascination. Another factor is this: that he achieved, posthumously, a celebrity status through being depicted in an award-winning movie Chariots of Fire (1981).
About the Author Rev. John W. Keddie is the Minister of the Bracadale congregation of the Free Church of Scotland, on the Isle of Skye. He is also the author of Scottish Athletics, the Official Centenary Publication of the Scottish Amateur Athletic Association, 1883-1983, and was adviser to the film Chariots of Fire.
"Keddie's book is the first biography of Liddell I have read which gives quite as much detail of his sporting activities both on the track and on the rugby field in his golden sporting period of 1921-25. As you read the book you feel you are right in the thick of the action. I ended the book breathless at his amazing achievements as a sportsman and in awe of his witness to the Saviour amongst his sporting contemporaries. Wonderful!" -- Graham Daniels, General Director of Christians in Sport
" Running the Race is the definitive biography of Eric Liddell and one can say with confidence that Liddell himself would have approved. Not only is John Keddie the foremost authority on Scottish athletics, but he is also a Presbyterian minister uniquely placed to set Liddell's sporting achievements in the context of the bigger priority of his Christian faith and witness. This superbly researched book inspires on many levels." -- Peter Lovesey, Top crime writer, outstanding athletics historian and National Union of Track Statisticians member
"I really appreciate the full account that John Keddie has given of my father's achievements in athletics and rugby. The records he set nationally and internationally lasted a long time and were remarkable considering the training, equipment and tracks of that time. Even more impressive, however, is the way my father's faith sustained the development of his challenging life and the way that faith continues to have an impact on the lives of many and various people.This too is very well presented in Running the Race." -- Patricia Liddell Russell
"Running the Race is a successful and sensitive portrayal of the sporting and spiritual life of Eric Liddell. Particularly unique is the explanation of how athletics and religion were intrinsically linked throughout Liddell's life, demonstrating how important faith was in the athlete's wider perspective. And yet, whilst covering such significant and deep issues, this book still retains the charm and interest required for any landmark sporting biography. A truly inspirational read." -- Trinity College Cambridge, Great Court Run Record Holder
