When my friend Jack and I were reporters at a small newspaper in northwest Ohio, we both wanted to write long, in-depth, meaningful feature stories like those found in Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone. To this day, I still believe that some of the best writers out there write for these publications. Take the Sept. 28, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated for example.

Gary Smith’s article about 17-year-old Bonnie Richardson, a high school senior who won her school’s state track team championship all by herself (twice), is amazing. The story is long – 6,510 words – but every word is used perfectly. It’s impossible to put the magazine down.

Even if you don’t like sports, or don’t like track and field, I honestly believe you’ll love this article. Smith paints his picture so vividly that before page 2, you’ll feel like you know Bonnie and her coach and her family. You’ll be rooting for her – even though she doesn’t want you to. That might even make you root harder. I know I couldn’t stop reading for a second because I was so captivated by her story, which if written any other way may have come across as too stereotypical in that underdog-takes-all sort of way.

Someone (Mark Twain?) once said, ‘If you catch an adjective, kill it.’, but I’m glad Smith ignored that advice. The fact that Bonnie’s coach’s car is white or that she wears long, baggy, red-striped black shorts over her track shorts makes the story all that much more gripping. (Not to mention the reference to llamas.)

If you don’t get SI, you can read the entire article here. Enjoy.