An enlightening biography and gripping sports narrative that takes us behind the scenes into the lives of some of the world’s most elite runners in Kenya and their coach, Patrick Sang.

At a secluded training camp in Kaptagat, Kenya, a small town nearly 8,000 feet above sea level in the Great Rift Valley, three-dozen world-class runners, including Olympic champions, world record holders and the fastest marathoner of all-time, share simple dormitory-style rooms and endure grueling workouts six days a week.

These determined, devoted, and selfless runners are who they are because of a man named Patrick Sang. One of the greatest—and least-heralded coaches in the sport—Sang is described by his athletes as a “life coach.”

In We Share the Sun, Sarah Gearhart takes us inside this high-octane world of elites of which few are even aware of and even fewer have ever seen. We are immersed in Sang’s remarkable story, from his college days in the US to winning an Olympic medal in the steeplechase, and his journey to become a man who redefines what coaching means. There is no singular secret to athletic success, but, as readers will learn, Sang’s holistic philosophy is like no other approach in the world. It is rooted in developing athletes who can navigate the pressures of elite competition—and life itself.

In these pages, we explore Sang’s influence on his athletes — including his unique and longstanding relationship with marathon world record holder Eliud Kipchoge — as they prepared for the delayed Tokyo Olympics and other competitions. We witness the remarkable recovery of two-time New York City Marathon champion Geoffrey Kamworor after a freak accident as he strove to earn his first Olympic medal. And we follow one of the world’s most dominant mid-distance runners, Faith Kipyegon, as she attempted a historic repeat title in the 1,500 meters three years after the birth of her first child.

We Share the Sun brings forth the remarkable lives and stories of East African runners, whose stories are seldom shared. Through Gearhart's vivid prose, we experience the richness that exists in Kenya as we come as close as we possibly can to running alongside a current and future generation of elites—and the man who molds them into champions.

Spend two hours with Pete Magill's Fast 5K and you'll know how to run your fastest 5K. In his fast-paced, ultimate guide to 5K running races, celebrated running coach Pete Magill reveals the 25 crucial keys to setting your next 5K PR. Magill shares hard-earned lessons he gained while leading 19 teams to USA national championships and setting multiple American and world age-group and masters records. Fast 5K shares Magill's essential keys to finding your fastest running fitness and race readiness. The 25 keys include optimal training mileage, effective tempo runs, VO2 max workouts, hill repeats, plyometrics that work, ways to prevent injuries, recovery tips, guides to diet and racing weight, choosing racing flats, and much more. Offering three 12-week and one 16-week 5K training plans, Fast 5K is the key to your best 5K running times. Pete Magill is a world-class 5K runner, personally holds multiple American and world age-group records in track & field and road racing and is a 5-time USA Masters Cross Country Runner of the Year. Now in this distilled guide, you can get world-class advice on how to run your fastest 5K ever.

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.

Real Women Run is an innovative feminist ethnography that consists of a series of linked essays and presentations about women who run at the intersections of queer, feminist, and running identities. Faulkner uses feminist grounded theory, poetic inquiry, and qualitative content analysis to examine women's embodied stories of running: how they run, how running fits into the context of their lives and relationships, how they enact or challenge cultural scripts of women's activities and normative running bodies, and what running means for their lives and identities. During a two-and-a-half-year ethnography with women who run, Faulkner engaged in an intersectional qualitative content analysis of websites and blogs targeted to women runners, a grounded theory poetic analysis of 41 interviews with women who run, and participant observation at road races. Real Women Run speaks to the call for a more physical feminism. This ethnography sees women's physical and mental strength developed through running as a way to embrace the contradictions between a deconstructed focus on the mind/body split and the focus on individuals' actual material bodies and their everyday interactions with their bodies and through their bodies with the world around them.

Stella Walsh, who was born in Poland but raised in the United States, competed for Poland at the 1932 and 1936 Olympics, winning gold and silver in the 100 meters. Running and jumping competitively for three decades, Walsh also won more than 40 U.S. national championships and set dozens of world records. In 1975, she was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame, yet Stella Walsh's impressive accomplishments have been almost entirely ignored. In The Forgotten Legacy of Stella Walsh: The Greatest Female Athlete of Her Time, Sheldon Anderson tells the story of her remarkable life. A pioneer in women's sports, Walsh was one of the first globetrotting athletes, running in meets all over North America, Europe, and Asia. While her accomplishments are undeniable, Walsh's legacy was called into question after her murder in 1980. Walsh's autopsy revealed she had ambiguous genitalia, which prompted many to demand that her awards be rescinded. In addition to telling her fascinating story, The Forgotten Legacy of Stella Walsh provides a close look at the early days of women's track and field. This book also examines the complicated and controversial question of sex and gender identity in athletics-an issue very much in the news today. Featuring numerous photographs that help bring to life Walsh's story and the times in which she lived, this biography will interest and inform historians of sport and women's studies, as well as anyone who wants to learn more about a Polish immigrant who was once the fastest woman alive.

Eric Liddell was the British athlete who gave up his chance of an Olympic gold medal in 1924 because he would not run on a Sunday. He then riveted the world by unexpectedly winning gold in a different race altogether.

Back home he abandoned fame and sporting glory to become a missionary in China, where he braved the frontline perils of one of the world's ugliest wars and died in Japanese internment. He inspired the Oscar-winning movie Chariots of Fire and is still revered in China today.

In this revised and updated edition of her best-selling biography, journalist Sally Magnusson asks: 'What are we to make of a life that comprehended both drive and serenity, will to achieve and the grace to give in, absolute principles and utter humanity, charisma and ordinariness?'

In pursuit of the answer, she uncovers a story which has everything: sport, war, romance and faith.

With an exclusive foreword by Usain Bolt, The Fastest Men on Earth tells the fascinating inside stories of the Olympic Men's 100m Champions. It takes just under ten seconds to run, but the results of the Olympic men's 100 metres are etched forever into history. In The Fastest Men on Earth, journalist Neil Duncanson tells the stories of the 25 athletes who've been crowned champions in the event, and earned the coveted title of 'Fastest Man on Earth'. Each chapter explores the fascinating, inspiring, and occasionally tragic lives of these supremely talented sprinters, as well as the intense drama of the record-breaking runs that wrote them into history. Immaculately researched and featuring exclusive interviews with several Olympic champions, including a new conversation with Usain Bolt, The Fastest Men on Earth brings the stories of some of the greatest athletes of all time to life like never before.

How two teenage girls in Minnesota jump-started a revolution in high school athletics Peggy Brenden, a senior, played tennis. Toni St. Pierre, a junior, was a cross country runner and skier. All these two talented teenagers wanted was a chance to compete on their high school sports teams. But in Minnesota in 1972 the only way on the field with the boys ran through a federal court-so that was where the girls went. Break Point tells the story, for the first time, of how two teenagers took on the unequal system of high school athletics, setting a legal precedent for schools nationwide before the passage of Title IX. As Peggy's younger sister, author Sheri Brenden is uniquely positioned to convey the human drama of the case, the stakes, and the consequences for two young women facing the legal machinery of the state, in court and in school. In an account that begins with Peggy painstakingly typing her appeal to the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union and concludes with a long view of what Brenden v. Independent School District 742 set in motion, Sheri Brenden summons the salient details of this landmark case as it makes its way through the courts. Peggy and Toni, coaches, administrators, and experts testify before Judge Miles Lord, whose decision, upheld in a precedent-setting appeal, would change these girls' lives and open up athletic opportunities for innumerable others. Grounded in newspaper coverage, court records, and interviews, Brenden's deeply researched, scrupulously reported book is at heart the story of two talented teenage girls whose pluck and determination-and, often, heartache-led to a victory much greater than any high school championship.

Seen around the world, John Carlos and Tommie Smith's Black Power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Yet their show of defiance remains one of the most iconic images of Olympic history and the Black power movement. Now John Carlos tells his own version of the story, in conjunction with Dave Zirin, author of the groundbreaking People's History of Sports in the United States (The New Press, 2009, available from Turnaround). Carlos' eye-opening and immensely readable autobiography finally introduces the man behind the salute.

A unique anthology of essays exploring the philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run. It features writings from some of America's leading philosophers, including Martha Nussbaum, Charles Taliaferro, and J.P. Moreland.* A first-of-its-kind collection of essays exploring those gems of philosophical wisdom runners contemplate when out for a run* Topics considered include running and the philosophy of friendship; the freedom of the long distance runner; running as aesthetic experience, and "Could a Zombie Run a Marathon?"* Contributing essayists include philosophers with athletic experience at the collegiate level, philosophers whose pasttime is running, and one philosopher who began running to test the ideas in his essay

Running: it's as simple as striding forward just one foot after another, but as author Michael Clinton has learned over more than 40 years as a runner, it s so much more than just exercise. It s a test of physical and mental endurance and a way to connect with the environment, the global community of runners, and, ultimately, yourself. From the streets of Paris, Buenos Aires, all the way to Sydney, Clinton has gone the distance, never forgetting his running shoes in all of his globetrotting adventures to over 120 countries. In Tales from the Trails, Clinton along with numerous contributors, including George A. Hirsch, chairman of the New York Road Runners and founder of the New York City five-borough marathon, detail inspirational stories of trial, tribulation, and triumph, revealing how running has helped one find love, strengthened a relationship with God, and assisted in overcoming fear and disappointment. Tales from the Trails is a reminder to lace up and hit the trails to run for your life, love, and happiness.

Eric Liddell, the Scottish 400m Olympic champion from the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris was immortalized in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire. His refusal to race on a Sunday is now legendary. His story, however, goes far beyond the restrictions of a 2-hour movie. This vivid biography recounts the highs and lows of Liddell's athletics career, and uncovers his life after the Olympics as a missionary, and internment camp prisoner, in war-torn China. Drawing upon interviews with Liddell's surviving family and friends, Julian Wilson brings Eric to life through fascinating anecdotes, reminiscences, extracts from his letters and rare photographs. Discover the secret behind Eric Liddell's enduring legacy - the complete surrender of his life to God.

On 4 August 2012 Jessica Ennis kicked off what some described as the greatest night in British sporting history. For her it was the end of a long, winding, and sometimes harrowing road. Hers is an inspiring tale of following your dreams no matter what life throws at you. Unbelievable is a refreshingly candid account of her rise to fame in a highly charged world in which body image issues and drug abuses lurk. From the unique pressures facing her, to behind-the-scenes glimpses into the greatest show on earth, and a revealing account of her love-hate relationship with her long-term coach, Jessica reveals the truth behind the smiles for the first time. Unbelievable includes exclusive behind-the-scenes photos. This is the story of how the girl next door became London's poster girl, and how an ordinary woman used an extraordinary talent to claim the title of the world's greatest all-round female sports star.

In the 1960s and 1970s, America experienced a sports revolution. New professional sports franchises and leagues were established, new stadiums were built, football and basketball grew in popularity, and the proliferation of television enabled people across the country to support their favorite teams and athletes from the comfort of their homes. At the same time, the civil rights and feminist movements were reshaping the nation, broadening the boundaries of social and political participation. The Sports Revolution tells how these forces came together in the Lone Star State. Tracing events from the end of Jim Crow to the 1980s, Frank Guridy chronicles the unlikely alliances that integrated professional and collegiate sports and launched women's tennis. He explores the new forms of inclusion and exclusion that emerged during the era, including the role the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders played in defining womanhood in the age of second-wave feminism. Guridy explains how the sexual revolution, desegregation, and changing demographics played out both on and off the field as he recounts how the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers and how Mexican American fans and their support for the Spurs fostered a revival of professional basketball in San Antonio. Guridy argues that the catalysts for these changes were undone by the same forces of commercialization that set them in motion and reveals that, for better and for worse, Texas was at the center of America's expanding political, economic, and emotional investments in sport.

This book is an inspirational journey seen through the eyes, mind, and heart of Alexandra Panayotou, an ultra endurance athlete who ran 2010 km in 31 days, promoting the European Athletics Championships - Barcelona 2010. Apart from taking you through the, at times, harrowing days and torturous nights, she will also take you with her on her inner voyage, allowing you to follow her thoughts and her emotions, and to participate in her struggles and triumphs. Motivational for both runners and non-runners alike, this book talks about reaching one's goals through personal excellence.

In the increasingly popular sport of parkour, athletes run, jump, climb, flip, and vault through city streetscapes, resembling urban gymnasts to passersby and awestruck spectators. In Parkour and the City, cultural sociologist Jeffrey L. Kidder examines the ways in which this sport involves a creative appropriation of urban spaces as well as a method of everyday risk-taking by a youth culture that valorizes individuals who successfully manage danger.   Parkour’s modern development has been tied closely to the growth of the internet. The sport is inevitably a YouTube phenomenon, making it exemplary of new forms of globalized communication. Parkour’s dangerous stunts resonate, too, Kidder contends, with a neoliberal ideology that is ambivalent about risk. Moreover, as a male-dominated sport, parkour, with its glorification of strength and daring, reflects contemporary Western notions of masculinity. At the same time, Kidder writes, most athletes (known as “traceurs� or “freerunners�) reject a “daredevil� label, preferring a deliberate, reasoned hedging of bets with their own safety—rather than a “pushing the edge� ethos normally associated with extreme sports.    

THE UPDATED, AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE TO SPORTS FIELD MANAGEMENT THAT INCLUDES THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN, AND ON, THE FIELD The updated Third Edition of Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance is a comprehensive reference for professionals who are responsible for the design, construction, renovation, and maintenance of athletic facilities. This book contains illustrative examples of specific design elements of the most popular sports facilities. This Third Edition contains new chapters on safety, public relations, and professionalism for future sports field managers, as well as fresh drawings and photos that highlight innovative field layout, grading, irrigation, and drainage. All-new case studies review best practices and techniques for sports fields ranging from youth and high school fields to fields that are designed for professional athletes. This text is also an ideal resource for anyone studying for Sports Field Manager Certification (offered by STMA). Features new case studies that include design and management best practices for all levels and types of sports facilities Offers new chapters on safety, public relations, and professionalism for future sports field managers Includes new illustrations and photos of innovative field layout, grading, irrigation, and drainage Contains the most recent information on sand-based field systems and synthetic turf Presents discussions of a range of fields including baseball, softball, football, soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis, and track and field Sports Fields: Design, Construction, and Maintenance, Third Edition is a blueprint for field managers, designers, and builders for successful sports field projects.

Two accounts of one twenty-nine day 854 mile run from John O'Groats to Land's End in aid of The Cure Parkinson's Trust. 'The hard training is done, the organisation complete, the big day has arrived. Let the nerves settle, eat well, think of the challenge ahead, the money you will raise, the experience of a lifetime, the long hard road, the challenge of the goal, getting up tired every morning, collapsing every night knowing that you are a day nearer achieving your dream. There will be hard times, fun times, painful times, and pleasure times. Go and live your dream, run well, run easy and the joy and satisfaction of finishing will live with you forever.' - Sharon Gaytor

An odyssey of family, heartbreak, violence, punk rock, brokenness, broke-ness, sex, love, loss, drinking, drinking, drinking, and an unlikely savior: distance running.A misfit kid at the best of times, Mishka Shubaly had his world shattered when, in a twenty-four-hour span in 1992, he survived a mass shooting on his school's campus, then learned that his parents were getting divorced. His father, a prominent rocket scientist, abandoned the family and their home was lost to foreclosure. Shubaly swore to avenge the wrongs against his mother, but instead plunged into a magnificently toxic love affair with alcohol.Almost two decades later, Shubaly's life changed again when a fateful five-mile run after a bar fight inspired him to clean up his life. And when he finally reconnected with his estranged father, he discovered the story of his childhood was radically different from what he thought he knew. In this fiercely honest, emotional, and self-laceratingly witty book, Shubaly relives his mistakes, misfortunes, and infrequent good decisions: the disastrous events that fractured his life his incendiary romances his hot-and-cold career as a rock musician meeting his newborn nephew while out of his gourd on cough syrup. I Swear I'll Make It Up to You is an apology for choices Shubaly never thought he'd live long enough to regret, a journey so far down the low road that it took him years of running to claw his way back.