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Books > Sport & Leisure > Sports & outdoor recreation > Track & field sports, athletics > Cross-country running
Armed with a toilet trowel and a converted Mazda Bongo called Roxy,
self-styled 'ordinary' ultrarunner, Gavin Boyter, embarks on his
latest long-distance challenge: to run the 3400km from Paris to
Istanbul along the route of the world's most illustrious railway
journey, the Orient Express. And, despite work on Roxy having
hampered his training programme, Gavin remains undeterred and plans
to run through eight countries, to cross 180 rivers and to ascend
16,500 metres, through forests, mountains, plains and major cities
- aided all the way by temperamental mapping technology and the
ever encouraging support of his girlfriend, Aradhna. En route,
Gavin will pass through urban edgelands and breathtaking scenery,
battlefields and private estates, industrial plants and abandoned
villages, and on through a drawn-back Iron Curtain where the East
meets West. He will encounter packs of snarling, feral dogs, wild
boar, menacing cows, and a herd of hundreds of deer. But he will
also meet many fascinating characters, including a German,
leg-slapping masseuse, music-loving Austrian farmers, middle-class
Romanians, itinerant Romanies, stoic soldiers, and boisterous
Turks. However, confined to the cramped conditions of Roxy, and
each other's company, Gavin and Aradhna's journey is not only a
test of the endurance and stamina required to put in the hard
miles, but of their relationship, too. After all, if they can
survive this challenge, they can survive anything. But will Gavin's
legs make it all the way to Istanbul, where he has planned a
special surprise for Aradhna?
Hans van Dijk and Ron van Megen have been fans of running power
meters for years. They are internationally known for their books on
the subject. Koen de Jong thought that running on power and the
books by Hans and Ron were just complicated stuff and didn't want
to know anything about it. Now Koen has changed his mind too. Power
meters are revolutionizing running and have tremendous potential
for understanding and improving performance. More and more runners
are opting for racing and training with wattage instead of heart
rate or pace. In this book Hans, Ron and Koen explain clearly the
advantages of running on power. And most importantly, it is very
simple and brings peace of mind to your training. The Power to Run
is in three parts: what's in it for you, backgrounds and practical
tips and cases.
Chris Thrall set out to run an ultramarathon a day from John
O'Groats to Land's End, solo, unsupported and sleeping in a tent by
the side of the road. He'd not trained for two years, having been
disabled whilst awaiting major spinal surgery. His backpack alone
for the 999-mile slog Weighed over fifteen kilograms. Most said
Chris couldn't do it. The former commando promised he would.
Because to a Royal Marine success is simply a State of Mind ...
'A wonderful read...I highly recommend it' - Adharanand Finn,
author of Running with the Kenyans. When Michael Stocks stands at
the starting line of a 24-hour race on an athletics track in South
London, it is noon and rain is beginning to fall. His aim is to run
more than 150 miles by noon the following day, in order to fulfil
his dream of being selected to run for Great Britain. He is 49
years old, and it will require the performance of a lifetime. One
Track Mind tells the story of these 24 life-changing hours. It
reveals the mental tools that make it possible to run six marathons
in a single day, and how they can be applied to other parts of
life. And it shares the realisations about life that remain long
after the race has ended. A love letter to a race, to a community
at the frontier of sport and to life itself, One Track Mind is an
inspirational examination of the fascinating world of extreme
endurance.
On July 19, 1924, Eric Liddell was on top of the world. He was the
most famous Briton at the time, having just won the gold in the
Olympic 400-meter race. The story of that race—and the one he
didn’t run—was told in the popular movie classic Chariots of Fire.
But what most of us don’t know is what became of Eric Liddell in
the years after the credits rolled. As the storm clouds of World
War II rolled in, Eric had already made decisions in his life that
gave him the resilience to stand tall while others fell into
despair. His strength of character led him to choose an uncertain
future in China during World War II in order to continue helping
the Chinese. He lived purposefully even as his world crumbled and
he experienced the horror and deprivations of a Japanese internment
camp. Eric’s story is a story of hope in the face of uncertainty,
resilience in the face of unspeakable odds, and inspiring vision of
what life means, even when the final hour comes. The first race you
run isn’t your most important one. It’s the final race that matters
most. You won’t want to miss this story of an Olympian who chose
the better way.Eric Eichinger is an ordained minister in the
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. He holds degrees from Michigan
State University (BA), where he ran varsity track & field, and
Concordia Seminary (MDiv). Prior to his pastoral call, he lived in
New York for two years as a youth director for his church, and
served with LCMS World Mission for two years in mainland China.
Some of his additional writing can be found in the GodConnects
series, where he wrote with a team of writers for The Lutheran
Hour. He has also written a screenplay about the life of Eric
Liddell, with co-writer, Howard Klausner, which is currently in
development. Eric serves as senior pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church
in Clearwater, Florida, and resides in the Tampa Bay area. He and
his wife, Kara, have three children, and a tenacious pup dachshund,
Doppelbock, who chews everything he can find with the work ethic of
a velociraptor.
Running Fitness presents a structured and practical training guide
aimed at a large portion of the running community, including
beginners and those looking to improve in the sport. Author David
Ross, a runner of many years experience, provides a training path
that develops running capability from a simple 5K race up to full
marathon, whilst making the sport easily accessible to those who
wish to enjoy many years of fulfilment, success and longevity.
Learn about warm-up and cool-down drills, speed and hill training,
long runs, race pace, recovery and rest, plus cross training, core
fitness, diet and energy supplements.
From elite marathoner and Olympic hopeful Becky Wade comes the
story of her year-long exploration of diverse global running
communities from England to Ethiopia-9 countries, 72 host families,
and over 3,500 miles of running-investigating unique cultural
approaches to the sport and revealing the secrets to the success of
runners all over the world. Fresh off a successful collegiate
running career-with multiple NCAA All-American honors and two
Olympic Trials qualifying marks to her name-Becky Wade was no
stranger to international competition. But after years spent safely
sticking to the training methods she knew, Becky was curious about
how her counterparts in other countries approached the sport to
which she'd dedicated over half of her life. So in 2012, as a
recipient of the Watson Fellowship, she packed four pairs of
running shoes, cleared her schedule for the year, and took off on a
journey to infiltrate diverse running communities around the world.
What she encountered far exceeded her expectations and changed her
outlook into the sport she loved. Over the next twelve
months-visiting 9 countries with unique and storied running
histories, logging over 3,500 miles running over trails, tracks,
sidewalks, and dirt roads-Becky explored the varied approaches of
runners across the globe. Whether riding shotgun around the streets
of London with Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt, climbing for
an hour at daybreak to the top of Ethiopia's Mount Entoto just to
start her daily run, or getting lost jogging through the bustling
streets of Tokyo, Becky's unexpected adventures, keen insights, and
landscape descriptions take the reader into the heartbeat of
distance running around the world. Upon her return to the United
States, she incorporated elements of the training styles she'd
sampled into her own program, and her competitive career
skyrocketed. When she made her marathon debut in 2013, winning the
race in a blazing 2:30, she became the third-fastest woman
marathoner under the age of 25 in U.S. history, qualifying for the
2016 Olympic Trials and landing a professional sponsorship from
Asics. From the feel-based approach to running that she learned
from the Kenyans, to the grueling uphill workouts she adopted from
the Swiss, to the injury-recovery methods she learned from the
Japanese, Becky shares the secrets to success from runners and
coaches around the world. The story of one athlete's fascinating
journey, Run the World is also a call to change the way we approach
the world's most natural and inclusive sport.
An inspiring story of fatty to fitty and the power of the mind.
Aged 30, Ben had a routine medical and was told he wouldn't see 40
unless he changed his lifestyle. An overweight, sedentary smoker,
Ben had a young family and busy career with little time for
anything else. 10 years later having completed many of the world's
toughest ultra marathons including the Western States 100, the
Ultra Trail of Mont Blanc and the Marathon Des Sables, he was hit
with life-changing news when one of his daughters was diagnosed
with Type 1 Diabetes. Ben decided to undertake his toughest
challenge yet: to prove to her that anything was possible. One
evening, departing from the bright lights of Monte Carlo he headed
towards the mountainous terrain behind the Cote d'Azur to run an
unsupported 100km / 62.5 miles trail run. For most hardened
ultra-marathon runners this would be a feat in itself, but for Ben
he had something to prove: choosing to descend the rugged terrain
he had already climbed and run the Cro Trail - a 130k / 81 mile
mountain trail ultra race. A thrilling and yet down to earth
account, detailing a young, working family man's journey to fitness
- his love of nature and travel evolves - these stories can only
inspire and motivate any reader.
Walter G George was a hugely successful runner and athlete. In 1886
he ran a mile in 4 minutes 123/4 seconds-a record that held for
almost 30 years. He devised the '100-Up' Exercise as part of his
training, using it to enhance his fitness and improve his running
technique. In the early twentieth century he published details of
the '100-Up' and they are now reprinted here in full for a new
readership. The '100-Up' Exercise has seen a huge revival in the
twenty-first century. It is used by many runners to improve their
performance and develop technique, but the method can also be used
by non-athletes to increase fitness and stamina. Best of all, it's
an exercise you can do indoors or outdoors, at home or at work...
in fact, almost anywher
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