Regina graduate's book features relationship with coaches

It took distance - 800 miles of it - to get Matt McCue close to Bob Brown.

McCue, 26, chronicles his track and cross country career at Iowa City Regina and the University of Colorado in the book “An Honorable Run.” At the forefront of the 156-page book is his relationship with his coaches, Brown at Regina and Mark Wetmore at CU.

“It's kind of odd; the man that I repeatedly ran away from was the man that taught me what to value in life,” McCue said.

That would be Brown, who started the Regina cross country program from scratch and built it into a dynasty. Brown was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2005 and died in November 2007 at age 65.

McCue didn't always buy into Brown's philosophies, mottos and embraces.

“You'd really think we would be a natural fit because we both wanted to win,” said McCue, who was impatient in his quest to become a champion. “I was the kind of person that wasn't going to be outworked. I had some injuries (at Regina), and I blamed it on Coach at the time. Looking back, they were my fault (from overtraining).”

Darlene Brown, Bob's widow, said McCue's account “is pretty accurate.”

“There were struggles between the two,” she said. “But Bob never gave up on him. Something drew them to each other before all was said and done, though Matt didn't realize it at the time.”

A star at Regina, McCue realized his dream by competing at Colorado, where he spent his career on the fringe of the varsity squad. Unlike Brown, who loved McCue unconditionally, Wetmore was “pretty abrupt,” said McCue, who finally realized the mentor he had in Brown.

McCue, who moved to New York City after graduation from CU, began the project in 2005, and nearly all of it was completed before Brown's death. He has sold about 200 copies of the book (www.anhonorablerun.com). A portion of the proceeds are going to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

He still runs about 10 miles per day and is planning his next book.

“Like I told Matt, Bob would be so proud of the man he turned out to be,” Darlene Brown said.

-- Jeff Linder, The Gazette