I've been watching these videos of the 2008 Olympics and Bolt's world-breaking performances and I'm riveted all over again. I'd love to learn more about the history and technical an biological aspects of competitive running, how improved nutrition and a better understanding of the body contributed to better times, etc. Browsing through Amazon, I've pretty much only come across personal running guides. Would love to hear your suggestions of books and even articles!

I doubt this is what you're looking for, since it's about endurance running rather than sprints, but Christopher McDougal's "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" is really fun and interesting. It's not about nutrition necessarily (though it is brought up) and not about recent improvements in technology or anything like that, but about how we've misunderstood why humans run, and how we should approach it differently.

I loved Born To Run. Definitely one of my favorites.

Third-ed

Top 5 books Ive read this year

4th-ed

Just finished it a week or so ago. Very well written and definitely has me thinking about barefoot running as an option.

That one's definitely on my radar, I'm waiting for the paperback release.
I think my best shot is just browsing through articles in Time Magazine and such, but thanks for the responses!