Run for Fun and Personal Bests: A Recipe for Long-Term Growth and Success

The Story of The North Central College Cross Country and Track & Field Teams

Run for Fun and Personal Bests is not about trophies and championships. It’s ultimately about much more important goals and lasting rewards for the student athletes who built and benefit from our North Central program.
The basic responsibility of a coach should never veer from the goal of stressing core internal values that guide athletes to personal growth.
I train cross country and track athletes, but this recipe, this process, should work for any athlete in any sport. I also believe it can guide other young people pursuing a personal goal in school, at work, or in their personal lives, who are asking themselves, “I know where I want to go, but how do I get there?”
At times, we are all so busy working toward material outcomes for our youths that we don’t have time for the most important needs they require to succeed.
In a world that’s becoming more materialistic, more professional, more outcome-oriented, we believe, to the contrary, that the ultimate competition is you against you.

“Al Carius went on to become one of the greatest mentors and coaches in America as he empowered the youth with the wisdom to follow their dreams and to see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”
—Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota, Olympic Gold Medal, 10,000 meters, Tokyo 1964

“This book will benefit athletes and coaches alike, and help them reach their fullest potential. But it will also teach them to be better human beings!”
—Craig Virgin, Two-Time World Cross Country Champion & Three-Time US Olympian

“Any success that I have had in coaching is a product of what I have learned from Al Carius and the North Central College program. This book offers a glimpse into Al’s uncanny ability to get the best out of people. It is a must read for anyone who wants to understand what it means to be a leader.”
—Sean Carlson, Head Men’s XC Coach, University of Notre Dame. North Central College, 2010

"Coach Al Carius The architect of one of the most successful college athletic programs, in any sport, in any division, Coach Al Carius has been the face of running at North Central Collage in Naperville, Illinois, for more than 50 years. Since he arrived on North Central's campus in the fall of 1966, his teams have accumulated 19 NCAA Division III National Championships in cross country, 12 in track and field, and hundreds of All Americans. He was named NCAA Division III Men's "Coach of the Century" by his peers in 2000.For more information visit www.RunForFunAndPersonalBests.com "