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.

Athletic contests in running, walking, jumping and throwing are among the oldest of all sports and their roots are prehistoric. Athletics events were depicted in the Ancient Egyptian tombs in Saqqara, with illustrations of running at the Heb Sed festival and high jumping appearing in tombs from as early as 2250 BC. The original and only event at the first Olympics in 776 BC was the stadion, a stadium-length running event. The turn of the century was a time of renewed interest in the sport, with the foundation of the Amateur Athletics Association in 1880, the first modern Summer Olympics in 1896 and the International Amateur Athletics Federation in 1912. In this classic guide, Montague Shearman traces the evolution of athletics and shares his expertise in training and discipline.

It's normal for a daily run to become somewhat of a chore. Finding out how to get out of the rut can be a challenge. Luckily, The Happy Runner has the answers for you. Authors David and Megan Roche believe you can't reach your running potential without consistency and joyful daily adventures. These can lead to long-term health and happiness. Guided by their personal experiences and coaching expertise, they help you learn exactly how to become a happier runner and achieve your personal best. The text uses proven coaching methods to teach you how to run faster, run longer and stay healthy. There are also real stories from successful athletes who have had personal breakthroughs as they learn to love the process of running. You will also learn how to adapt your running based on personal lifestyle and goals. As well as how to avoid setbacks from injury. Whether you're battling burnout, returning after injury or simply just new to running and want to enjoy it, the science-based guidance in The Happy Runner helps you get faster, go longer and live stronger.

Hit the ground running with this easy, total-body training guide.

Whether you're a weekend runner looking to get in better shape or a road warrior aiming to tackle your first marathon, Easy Running Plans has something for you.

Throughout this book, you'll learn the most effective stretching routines, strength workouts, and technique drills for runners--culminating in seven, easy-to-follow running plans. Whatever your goal may be, these plans will help you get there. And with the total-body approach, you'll not only get the most out of your runs but acquire the skills necessary to keep injuries at bay.

Easy Running Plans contains the following:

• Lace up--Choose the training schedule that best suits your needs, whether you're looking to make steady gains or have your sights set on a 5k, 10k, half-marathon, or marathon.
• Study up--Learn the fundamentals of proper running form, stride, injury-prevention, and recovery.
• Speed up--Improve your speed, strength, and endurance with detailed illustrations depicting over 40 stretches, exercises, and drills--all of which can be performed at home, with little-to-no equipment.

In Games Colleges Play John Thelin chronicles the history of intercollegiate athletics from 1910 to 1990 from the early, glory days of Knute Rockne and the "Gipper" to the modern era of big budgets, powerful coaches, and pampered players. He describes how "extracurricular" sports programs seldom accorded equal prominence with teaching and research in mission statements or annual reports have become central to the life of many universities. As administrators search for a proper balance between athletics and academics, Thelin observes, this "peculiar institution" in American higher education grows increasingly powerful and controversial. Looking past the playing fields and lavish facilities into board rooms and administrative suites, Thelin finds disturbing patterns of abuse and limited reform and explores the implications of these patterns for today's college presidents, faculty, and students. He examines the 1929 Carnegie Foundation Report, the formation of major athletic conferences, the national college basketball scandals after World War II, the dissolution of the Pacific Coast Conference in the 1950s, and the Knight Foundation Report of 1991. Games Colleges Play provides historical background that will inform current policy discussions about the proper place of intercollegiate athletics within the American university. "Intercollegiate athletics has been a perennial source of opportunity and temptation", concludes Thelin, "as the American campus has worked and re-worked its relations with American culture".

RUN WITH POWER is the groundbreaking guide you need to tap the true potential of your running power meter. From 5K to ultramarathon, a power meter can make you faster-but only if you know how to use it. Just viewing your numbers is not enough; you can only become a faster, stronger, more efficient runner when you know what your key numbers mean for your workouts, races, and your season-long training. In Run with Power, TrainingBible coach Jim Vance offers the comprehensive guide you need to find the speed you want. Run with Power demystifies the data and vocabulary so you can find and understand your most important numbers. You'll set your Running Power Zones so you can begin training using 8 power-based training plans for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon. Vance shows you how you can compare wattage, heart rate, pace, and perceived exertion to gain the maximum insight into your performances, how you respond to training, and how you can train more effectively. Run with Power will revolutionize how you train and race. Armed with Vance's guidance, you can train more specifically for races, smooth your running technique, accurately measure your fitness, predict a fitness plateau, monitor injuries, know exactly how hard you're training, get more fitness from every workout, recover fully, perfect your tapers, warm up without wasting energy, pace your race on any terrain, know when to open the throttle, and create an unprecedented picture of yourself as an athlete. If you're just glancing at the number on your wrist or computer monitor, you've got a lot more speed potential. Knowledge is power and understanding your power numbers can open the gate to new methods and new PRs. Run with Power introduces the use of power meters to the sport of running and will show you how to break through to all-new levels of performance. Key concepts explored in Run with Power: 3/9 Test, 30-minute Time Trial Test, Running Functional Threshold Power (rFTPw), Running Functional Threshold Pace (rFTPa), Averaged and Normalized Power (NP), Intensity Factor (IF), Peak Power, Variability Index, Efficiency Index (EI), speed per watt, Vance's Power Zones for Running, Training Stress Score (TSS), and Periodization with Power. Includes 6 testing methods and 8 power-based training schedules and workouts for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon.

At the 1968 Olympics, Tommie Smith and his teammate John Carlos came in first and third in the 200-metre sprint. In this text, Smith explains why, as they received their medals, both men raised a black-gloved fist, creating an image that has symbolized the conflicts of race, politics, and sports.

"Andrew Kastor has taken the tried-and-true principles that all us pros follow and made them available and applicable for everyone. Just as Andrew has helped me on my journey, he is sure to help you on yours."--Ryan Hall, US Olympic Marathoner, holder of the US record in the half marathon, and marathon training expert

As a marathon training coach for world-class runners and Olympic medalists, Andrew Kastor knows what it takes to get to the finish line. Whether you are planning to run a full or half marathon, Coach Kastor's marathon training program conditions you to set achievable goals, get in shape, and stay motivated. With an easy-to-follow 20-week marathon training schedule for building strength and endurance, plus expert advice from record-holding runners on what to expect, Running Your First Marathon is the only coaching you'll need to go the distance.

Running Your First Marathon lays out a goal-oriented marathon training program with:

- A 20-Week Marathon Training Program--detailed day-by-day marathon training schedules and space to track your progress

- Marathon Training 101--advice and tips from world-class marathoners on marathon training, fueling your body, avoiding injury, and race-day preparation

- Motivational Marathon Training Boosts--from Coach Kastor and other famous runners to help you stay on track during marathon training

"Running Your First Marathon will not only inspire you but also help train your mind and body to unlock hidden potential."--Shalane Flanagan, Olympic Silver Medalist, NYC Marathon champion, American record holder, and marathon training pro

A new edition of a sports icon's memoir, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of Kathrine Switzer's historic running of the Boston Marathon as the first woman to run. In 1967, Kathrine Switzer was the first woman to officially run what was then the all-male Boston Marathon, infuriating one of the event's directors who attempted to violently eject her. In one of the most iconic sports moments, Switzer escaped and finished the race. She made history-and is poised to do it again on the fiftieth anniversary of that initial race, when she will run the 2017 Boston Marathon at age 70. Now a spokesperson for Reebok, Switzer is also the founder of 261 Fearless, a foundation dedicated to creating opportunities for women on all fronts, as this groundbreaking sports hero has done throughout her life. Kathrine Switzer is the Susan B. Anthony of women's marathoning.-Joan Benoit Samuelson, first Olympic gold medalist in the women's marathon

Tony Robinson-Smith could hardly imagine that he, his wife, ten Bhutanese college students, and a stray dog would end up running 578 kilometres (360 miles) across the Himalayas. In early 2006, he arrived in the Kingdom of Bhutan to work as a university lecturer. A casual conversation with his wife led to the creation of the "Tara-thon," a sponsored run to send village kids to school for Tarayana, the Queen Mother's non-profit foundation. In Bhutan-the country that originated the concept of Gross National Happiness-Robinson-Smith discovered he had much to learn. His memoir portrays Bhutan and its people in rich detail at a transformative moment of the Kingdom's history. Touching and insightful, The Dragon Run is the perfect book for inveterate explorers, adventure sports enthusiasts, and armchair travellers alike.