A Runner's Journey

“Every Canadian parent in the 1960s expected their children to live up to the image of Bruce Kidd.”
Lorne Michaels, Creator of Saturday Night Live

From participating in the Olympics as a teenage track and field star to his ongoing work as a renowned human rights advocate, Canadian sports legend Bruce Kidd tells his remarkable life story in A Runner's Journey.  
    Though most high-profile athletes during the 1960s were advised to keep their opinions to themselves, Kidd spoke out about the inequities that he witnessed on the international track and field competition circuit. Encouraged by his parents and teammates, he addressed issues such as the rampant sexism and racism in amateur athletics, biased media coverage, and the National Hockey League's unprincipled treatment of players. 
    In his memoir, Kidd talks about how this early commitment to fair play continued into his post-athletic career. He leveraged his status as a widely-celebrated sports historian and an academic leader at the University of Toronto, for instance, to raise awareness about gender equity and racial justice. Kidd played a pivotal role in the international campaign that helped put an end to Apartheid in South Africa. As he traces his own personal trajectory, Kidd also explores the dramatic changes that have transpired over the last seventy years of Canadian sports and what they have meant for athletes, coaches, and sports fans.
    A Runner's Journey is a candid and engaging look at the inner moral compass that has not only guided Kidd throughout his highly accomplished life but motivates him to keep working tirelessly to make sports more equitable.

BRUCE KIDD is a former Olympic athlete and a member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame. He has been a lifelong advocate of human rights and has worked with local, national, and international bodies to advance opportunities for athletes. He is a professor in the Faculty Kinesiology and Physical Education at the University of Toronto and an Officer of the Order of Canada.