Distance Running News
In 1966, as a high school senior in Overland Park, Kansas, young Bob Anderson was interested in running. He was a 4:41-miler with a passion for the sport and wanted to learn how to train for a marathon. He searched for information about training and racing and discovered there was little information available. So at age 17, he decided to start his own publication. His goal was to put out something for the average person who wanted to learn about running or local races and events.
Anderson started a black and white magazine titled “Distance Running News” and began selling subscriptions. Originally, the publication came out twice per year and by its second year the magazine had 850 subscribers. The circulation quickly grew to 3000 and the publication developed into a magazine published six times per year. Anderson published the magazine by himself for several years.
In 1970, Anderson brought on runner and writer Joe Henderson as chief editor. Henderson was a young newspaper reporter and former Iowa State cross-country champion who had worked for ”Track and Field News”. In that same year, Anderson moved the operations from Kansas to Mountain View, California, and the name of the magazine changed to ”Runner's World.”
