Masters athletes are those that continue to train and compete, typically at a high level, beyond the age of thirty-five and into middle and old age. As populations in the industrialized world get older and governments become increasingly keen to promote healthy aging and non-pharmacological interventions, the study of masters athletes enables us to better understand the benefits of, and motivations for, life-long involvement in physical activity. This is the first book to draw together current research on masters athletes.

The Masters Athlete examines the evidence that cognitive skills, motor skills and physiological capabilities can be maintained at a high level with advancing age, and that age related decline is slowed in athletes that continue to train and compete in their later years. Including contributions from leading international experts in physiology, motor behaviour, psychology, gerontology and medicine, the book explores key issues such as:

• motivation for involvement in sport and physical activity across the lifespan
• evidence of lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes
• the maintenance of performance with age.

Challenging conventional views of old age, and with important implications for policy and future research, this book is essential reading for students and practitioners working in sport and exercise science, aging and public health, human development, and related disciplines.

Masters athletes are those that continue to train and compete, typically at a high level, beyond the age of thirty-five and into middle and old age. As populations in the industrialized world get older and governments become increasingly keen to promote healthy aging and non- pharmacological interventions, the study of masters athletes enables us to better understand the benefits of, and motivations for, life-long involvement in physical activity. This is the first book to draw together current research on masters athletes. The Masters Athlete examines the evidence that cognitive skills, motor skills and physiological capabilities can be maintained at a high level with advancing age, and that age related decline is slowed in athletes that continue to train and compete in their later years. Including contributions from leading international experts in physiology, motor behaviour, psychology, gerontology and medicine, the book explores key issues such as: motivation for involvement in sport and physical activity across the lifespan evidence of lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and diabetes the maintenance of performance with age. Challenging conventional views of old age, and with important implications for policy and future research, this book is essential reading for students and practitioners working in sport and exercise science, aging and public health, human development, and related disciplines.

The ultimate pain-to-personal-best guide to running injuries, covering prevention, detection and rehabilitation. Runners suffer from the highest injury rates of all recreational athletes. Whether you are a novice or elite-level runner, guide yourself through a step-by-step process of avoiding and managing injury. Written by a globally respected physiotherapist who has worked with Olympic and World Champion athletes, Running Free of Injuries will help runners to understand their body, identify weaknesses and develop a natural defence against injury. The book covers the most common running injuries that occur to the foot, ankle, lower leg, hip, knee and pelvis and includes key exercises applicable to all levels of fitness.

The runners from Eisenhower High School had every possible justification to fail. They were poor with little time to devote to their passion. They had problems at home and distractions that would test even Job. Yet they gave their quest for the Washington State cross country championship everything they had. Running is a religion to millions of men and women who devoutly head out each day. They view any book that celebrates their passion as Holy Scripture-a must-read that can take them to The Promised Land. Salvation is at hand with Running to Glory--a celebration of grit, perseverance and ultimately the American Dream. It is the inspiring story of an Irish immigrant coach and a group of Hispanic boys and girls as they chase their hopes and a state championship. Running to Glory, by veteran journalist Sam McManis, follows the cross country team from Eisenhower High in Yakima, Washington, through a tumultuous and challenging season with excitement, suspense and pathos. The Eisenhower runners are primarily Latino from economically challenged families, many of whom are migrant farm workers. They must compete with more affluent schools in the Seattle-Tacoma area, where parent involvement is strong and funds are readily available to augment performance. Their coach Phil English knows how his runners feel. He grew up poor in rural Ireland in the 1960s during The Troubles, emigrated to the U.S. for a college track scholarship, and over 37 years coaching in Yakima, has won 11 state titles and sent more than 100 kids to college with full or partial scholarships for their running. How Eisenhower runners have accomplished such feats lies at the heart of the book's compelling narrative. McManis follows the team from summer workouts in the blistering sun to the state championship meet in the bitter cold. Readers will learn how these young men and women either overcome their environment or succumb to it--on the course and in the classroom.

The popularity of distance running as a sport, and a recreational activity, is at an all-time high. Motivated by the desire to achieve a personal best, remain healthy, or simply complete an event, distance runners of all ages and abilities actively seek out advice from experienced coaches and sport scientists. This is also reflected in the growth of programmes of education for young coaches and aspiring sport scientists in recent years. There are a multitude of different approaches to training distance runners; however, the basic principles and ingredients required for success are applicable to any distance runner. The science that underpins the training and physical preparation of distance runners has developed considerably in recent years. The most experienced and successful coaches in the distance running community rarely have the opportunity to share their tried and tested methods of training. Similarly, the novel work of sport scientists is often only accessible to elite runners, their support teams and academia. The Science and Practice of Middle and Long Distance Running links together the science and coaching artistry associated with preparing distance runners for events ranging from 800 m up to ultra-marathon distances. It combines the latest scientific evidence, published by world-leading sport scientists, with the sound training principles and strategies adopted by experienced coaches. The book translates cutting-edge scientific research from the fields of physiology, biomechanics, psychology and nutrition into practical suggestions for achieving success. Important topical issues and contemporary practices related to health and performance are also addressed. This book is an essential addition to the library of any distance runner, coach or sport scientist.

What makes East African middle and long distance runners the best in the world? How should contemporary academia approach this question?

The success of East African distance runners has generated a plethora of studies but much of the 'evidence' presented to support hypotheses is anecdotal, arguments being led by non-academics who use popular media as their medium rather than relying on scientific publications. This has resulted in many stereotypical arguments being advocated.

Within the academic community, research has also been restricted by its isolation within either the natural science or social science communities. East African Running: Towards a Cross Disciplinary Perspective, presents a rare collaboration between researchers from the sports sciences and social sciences to explore the questions raised by the phenomena of East African success on the track. The text includes:

• psycho-social and economic explanations
• physiological and genetic explanations
• attempts to provide unified theories bringing together ideas from natural and social sciences

Includes contributions from John Bale, Jim Denison, Timothy D. Noakes and Craig Sharp.

Ellison ""Tarzan"" Brown was one of America's premier marathon runners during the 1930's and 1940's. This volume tells the story of his life from the beginning of his budding career in the early 1930's through his untimely death in 1975. With his unorthodox approach to the sport and his spectacular finishes, Tarzan Brown quickly became something of a legend in racing. Inevitably, he became the subject of stories that were not always entirely factual - and sometimes not very flattering. This biography seeks to present an accurate, unbiased account of Brown's life. The reminiscences of his close friends, family and even his rivals paint a vivid picture of the man and his career. The book covers in considerable depth events such as Brown's first Boston Marathon victory and his trips to the 1936 and 1940 Olympic Games. Also discussed are the rivalries between Brown and other marathoners of the day. Completing the picture are a look at the more personal aspects of Brown's life, such as his struggle to support his young family, and an examination of his Narrangansett Indian heritage. The final chapter discusses the misconceptions surrounding Brown's accidental death outside a bar in 1975. An appendix offers a wealth of information on the sport of running.

On 6th May 1954, in what is regarded as one of the key moments in the history of modern sport, Roger Bannister became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes. Fifty years on, Bannister's status, not just as a champion athlete but also as a true British hero, a gentleman and an amateur from a "golden era" in sport, retains its unblemished appeal.
Until now there has been little critical and even less close historical study of Bannister and his achievement. This book redresses the balance, and in doing so provides fresh insights into the making of this British champion.
"Roger Bannister and the Four-Minute Mile" does more than detail the history of a sports star. It is a testimonial to the legend of Roger Bannister but it also invites the reader to reconsider the very words often used to describe him - notably "hero" and "gentleman amateur." Informed by contemporary sports science, the text also questions the significance of the four-minute mile per se.
Thoroughly researched, this book gives fascinating insights into the history of track racing as well as early athletic training methods and the beginnings of sports science.
The first rigorous historical study of Bannister's sporting life and the man behind the legend reveals an ambivalent athlete - highly achievement-orientated and scientific in his approach but also in love with the freedom of running sensuously in nature, in contrast to the constraints of modern sport.

This book of interviews with track and field athletes highlights those whose lives have revealed courage, persistence and decency both on and off the field. After their great careers ended, they went on to become authors, teachers, coaches, radio and television sports commentators, consultants, Congressmen, actors, businessmen, military officers, social workers and ministers. Many continued in athletics long after their days as Olympians. The Olympic track and field athletes include Glenn Cunningham (middle distances), Lee Calhoun (high hurdles), Ken Doherty (decathlon), Dick Fosbury (high jump), Bruce Jenner (decathlon), Abel Kiviat (middle distances), Bob Mathias (decathlon), Al Oerter (discus throw), Bob Richards (pole vault), Wes Santee (middle distances), Jackson Scholz (sprints), Bill Toomey (decathlon), Forrest Towns (high hurdles), Craig Virgin (long distances), Archie Williams (long sprints), John Woodruff (middle distances), and Olympic coaches Payton Jordan and Berny Wagner. They talk about the influences in their lives that helped them develop their values, their first memories of competition and participation in their sport, their educational experiences, the problems they faced when they were active competitors and the problems athletes today face, and many other topics.

26 MILES TO BOSTON slips squarely into the running shoes and minds of the athletes as they traverse the 26-mile, 385-yard course of America's most venerated long-distance race. From suburban Hopkinton, Massachusetts, to the center of metropolitan Boston, here are the mile-by-mile sights and sounds experienced by the runners. Interwoven throughout is the colorful history of the men and women of manifold skills who have competed in this preeminent event over the span of more than a century. Profusely illustrated with photographs and maps, 26 MILES TO BOSTON is a book for anyone who's ever wondered what it might be like to run the Boston Marathon.

Nearly half a century ago, Filbert Bayi revolutionized how the middle-distance races were run. During that heyday of athletics competition before pacemakers were hired to take the lead, the unheralded Tanzanian served as his own 'rabbit'. The innovative Bayi set a blistering pace that dared formidable challengers from around the globe to, as his autobiography suggests, Catch Me If You Can. After an inspiring career that included two world records and an Olympic medal, Bayi took the same assertive approach into post-racing life as an educator, entrepreneur and sports administrator. Today, he still embodies excellence in a school and foundation that bear his name as he strives to improve his country and community. In telling his long-awaited story, Bayi recounts hardships, including his mother's encounter with hyenas while he was still in the womb, bouts of malaria and an Olympic boycott, as well as enduring friendships with John Walker and other great rivals. Over nearly 70 years, his experiences consistently reflect the three values he treasures most - sacrifice, commitment and confidence - resulting in an unforgettable example for anyone, anywhere to follow.

After realising his dream of running at least a half marathon on all seven continents before his 70th birthday, Doug Richards travels to new remote locations to up his lifetime total to 24,902 miles, the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth's equator. Having discovered running late in life, Doug's journey took him from an initial one-mile run to completing long races across deserts, mountains, jungles, snow and ice. In Once Around the Planet, he shares his latest adventures, contending with a pandemic and recurring anxiety as he returns to the marathon distance in Venice, runs among ancient Moai statues on Easter Island, across volcanic rim trails and hot springs in the Azores, lava formations in the Akamas peninsula of Cyprus and ventures into the mysterious confines of the Bermuda Triangle. More than just a book for runners, Once Around the Planet gives candid insight into Doug's battles with anxiety and depression, the inevitable decline in performance as he enters his 70s and the key role running can play in good mental health.

1997 British Society of Sports History - Lord Aberdare Literary Prize for Sports History The record-breaking achievements of Kenyan athletes have caught the imagination of the world of sport. How significant really is Kenya in the world of sports? This book, the first to look in detail at the evolution and significance of a single sport in an African country, seeks to answer these and many other questions. Kenyan Running blends history, geography, sociology and anthropology in its quest to describe the emergence of Kenyan athletics from its pre-colonial traditions to its position in the modern world of globalized sport. The authors show the qualities of stamina and long distance running were recognized by early twentieth century travellers in east Africa and how modern running was imposed by colonial administrators and school teachers as a means of social control to replace the indigenous fold traditions.

Every runner's story is part of a great tradition of running stories. Running Throughout Time tells the best and most important of them. From Atalanta, the heroic woman runner of ancient Greece-when goddesses advised on race tactics-to the new legends of Billy Mills, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Allison Roe (the modern Atalanta), this book brings the greatest runners back to life. It's the perfect runner's bedside storybook. Colorful, dramatic, alive with human insight and period detail, these stories are also full of new discoveries. Within these pages, readers will find the true story of Pheidippides and the Battle of Marathon; they will read text from the world's first newspaper report of a footrace (1719). The book uncovers important evidence of the first road races, the origins of cross-country running, and the earliest marathons, telling the true story of the origins of the marathon and just why racers must run exactly 26 miles, 385 yards (42.2 km). Further, it tells more modern stories, like those of women's marathon activist, Kathrine Switzer. Roger Robinson is a vivid storyteller and a lifelong elite runner who knows the sport deeply and passionately, yet he is also a meticulous scholar who digs and digs until he gets the story right. He shares his findings here, such as those from his investigation of the tragedy during the 1928 Olympics when most of the women running the 800 meters collapsed in distress. Roger has been everywhere in running: elite runner, masters champion, stadium announcer, TV commentator, researcher, and journalist. The stories in this book are selected because each is significant in the greater story of running and because Roger can bring something new and exciting to their telling. From variant translations of ancient poems, dusty stacks of old newspapers, crackly handwritten notebooks, and carefully studied film footage, Roger has done every kind of homework to get these unforgettable stories right. All runners should read this book to really know whose footsteps they run in and why running is worthy of the effort they give to it.

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR PRIZE 2020 'Reads like a thriller, or even a spy novel...Walsh keeps you gripped' Rosamund Urwin, Sunday Times 'A turbulent but ultimately inspiring tale. The candour...is rare and gripping' Matt Dickinson, The Times It was the story that shocked the world: Russian athletics was revealed to be corrupt from top to bottom, with institutionalised doping used to help the nation's athletes win medals they did not deserve. But the full story of the couple who blew the whistle has never been told - until now. When Russian anti-doping official Vitaly Stepanov met the young 800m athlete Yuliya Rusanova, for him it was love at first sight. Within two months, they were married. But there was a problem - in fact, there were lots of problems. She admitted she was doping and that everyone else was doping, and she let him know that she came from a dark place ... It could all have brought a very swift end to a very hasty marriage, but gradually the Stepanovs began to realise that whatever you did, the system in Russia was stacked against you. In the end, the only ones they could rely upon were each other. Fully aware of the risks they were taking, they decided to turn the tables on those who had manipulated them and cheated the sporting world. The result of their investigative work sent shockwaves around the planet and led to Russia's athletes being banned from world sport, while the Stepanovs themselves had to go into hiding. The Russian Affair is a gripping true-life drama that at times reads like a spy novel and at others like an epic love story. But, at the centre of it all, is a quietly determined couple who knew that if they stood together they could shine a light on a corrupt system and bring it crashing to the ground.

This is the sensational insider story of Oscar Pistorius, by the acclaimed author of Playing The Enemy (which inspired the movie Invictus.)

The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius will rivet the world's attention in a way no other case has since another famous sportsman, O. J. Simpson, was tried for the murder of his ex wife in 1994. John Carlin brings his own extensive knowledge of South Africa and access to Pistorius himself, as well as to his friends and family, after the death of Reeva Steenkamp to tell the story of the rise and fall of a classically tragic hero.

It is the most remarkable sports story ever told - about a man whose legs were amputated at the age of eleven months and ended up running in the Olympic Games - and it is a story too about crime and punishment, love and death that follows Pistorius' trail from South Africa to London, to the United States, to Iceland, to Italy and has at its heart a richly varied and compelling set of characters, among them the beautiful victim, two brilliant rival lawyers and the fascinatingly complex figure of Oscar Pistorius himself.

Endurance runners and coaches have tended to neglect weight training and conditioning techniques, often in the belief that they don't benefit performance, add unwanted muscle bulk, or cause excessive soreness. But as standards at elite level have improved, so coaches and runners have become increasingly keen on learning about the latest new training techniques or ways to stay injury free. No longer does the running community view strength and conditioning with scepticism, or as something that can only benefit elite runners. In Strength and Conditioning for Endurance Running, author Richard Blagrove shows how a strength and conditioning programme can directly improve running performance and reduce the risk of injury, as well as allowing an athlete to tolerate high volumes of running in the future.

Breaking records and challenging the limits of human ability are central to much of our understanding of athletic track and field sports, with a world record title arguably as valued as an Olympic gold medal. Some particular limits and records take on greater significance, however, as in the case of the Four-Minute Mile which was roundly believed to be impossible until Roger Bannister shattered the illusion with half a second to spare in May 1954.

These essays look at the background of Bannister s achievement and the meaning that was ascribed to it by the media and the public at large, drawing on an array of interdisciplinary and international influences to unpick the legend surrounding an historic moment in our social and sporting past.

Even the most minor of injuries can sideline a runner from being active for an extended period of time; some are even determined to run through the pain and risk injuring themselves further. Danny Dreyer's technique, ChiRunning, can help prevent these injuries and promote the ability to run faster, farther, and with less effort at any age. ChiRunning employs the deep power reserves in the core muscles of the trunk, an approach that evolved out of such disciplines as yoga, Pilates, and t'ai chi. Dreyer's training principles are broken down step-by-step to accommodate all levels of runners.

Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and a popular columnist for Runner's World, shares "commentary and reflection about running with a deeply felt personal story, this book is winning, smart, honest, and affecting. Whether you are a runner or not, it will move you" (Susan Orlean). On the verge of turning forty, Peter Sagal-brainiac Harvard grad, short bald Jew with a disposition towards heft, and a sedentary star of public radio-started running seriously. And much to his own surprise, he kept going, faster and further, running fourteen marathons and logging tens of thousands of miles on roads, sidewalks, paths, and trails all over the United States and the world, including the 2013 Boston Marathon, where he crossed the finish line moments before the bombings. In The Incomplete Book of Running, Sagal reflects on the trails, tracks, and routes he's traveled, from the humorous absurdity of running charity races in his underwear-in St. Louis, in February-or attempting to "quiet his colon" on runs around his neighborhood-to the experience of running as a guide to visually impaired runners, and the triumphant post-bombing running of the Boston Marathon in 2014. With humor and humanity, Sagal also writes about the emotional experience of running, body image, the similarities between endurance sports and sadomasochism, the legacy of running as passed down from parent to child, and the odd but extraordinary bonds created between strangers and friends. The result is "a brilliant book about running...What Peter runs toward is strength, understanding, endurance, acceptance, faith, hope, and charity" (P.J. O'Rourke).

Within qualitative research in the social sciences, the last decade has witnessed a growing interest in the use of visual methods. Visual Methods in Physical Culture is the first book in the field of sport and exercise sciences dedicated to harnessing the potential of using visual methods within qualitative research. Theoretically insightful, and methodologically innovative, this book represents a landmark addition to the field of studies in sport, exercise, the body, and qualitative methods. It covers a wide range of empirical work, theories, and visual image-based research, including photography, drawing, and video. In so doing, the book deepens our understanding of physical culture. It also responds to key questions, such as what are visual methods, why might they be used, and how might they be applied in the field of sport and exercise sciences. This volume combines clarity of expression with careful scholarship and originality, making it especially appealing to students and scholars within a variety of fields, including sport sociology, sport and exercise psychology, sociology of the body, physical education, gender studies, gerontology, and qualitative inquiry. This book was published as a special issue in Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise.

This daring volume combines the best of writing on running with the appeal of the best literary writing, essays that take in the sights and sounds and smells of real life, of real risk, of real pain and of real elation. Emphasizing female voices, this collection of eleven personal essays set in different countries around the world offers a deep but accessible look at the power of running in our lives to make us feel more and to see ourselves in a new light. From acclaimed novelist Emily Mitchell and Portland attorney Anne Milligan to author Vanessa Runs and ESPN reporter Bonnie Ford, a diverse lineup of writers captures a variety of perspectives on running at night. These are stories that can inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to take on a thrilling new challenge. The contributors all have distinct tales to tell, but each brings a freshness and depth to their experiences that make Night Running a necessary part of every runner's library - and a valuable addition to the reading lists of all thoughtful readers.

The endurance athlete faces a paradox--you're going farther and faster, you're feeling stronger, but your bones are getting weaker. New, compelling evidence shows that the very activities that expand our mental and physical abilities may be reducing the durability of our skeletons. In this book, Thomas Whipple, a leading orthopaedic clinical specialist, and Robert Eckhardt, a scientist specializing in the musculoskeletal system, team up to explain how athletes at any level can maintain the delicate balance between endurance exercise and optimum bone health over a lifetime. Translating important scientific advances into accessible language, they explain the muscle-bone connection, and cover training strategies and exercises, nutrition, calcium, stress fractures, rehabilitation, running mechanics, footwear, posture, and pharmaceuticals. An essential guide and ideal text for exercise physiologists, endurance athletes, fitness enthusiasts, and coaches.