***Updated and expanded new edition*** An Updated, Interactive Guide to Take Your Running to the Next Level With 20 years of running and competing around the world under her belt, Krissy Moehl is a top female ultramarathon runner, respected by her peers and an inspiration to runners everywhere. With enhanced chapter information, quotes from pillars in the sport and her updated training plans--including write-in running logs to keep track of progress--you'll be able to train for your first ultra like a pro. Moehl's experience translates into the most effective and easy-to-follow training method, broken down into phases to help all runners take it to the next level and accomplish their goals. She will guide you on everything from choosing the right race for you to injury prevention and picking the right gear. She also shares her love of the sport by providing helpful tips, bonus content and personal stories. With this book, you will find all the resources and encouragement you need to succeed in challenging your mind and body with an ultramarathon!

A raw, uplifting story from one of the most important hidden figures in track and field history. When Pauline Davis first began to run, it wasn't with any thought of future Olympic glory. A product of the poor neighborhood of Bain Town in The Bahamas, she carried the family's buckets every day to fetch fresh water-and ran sideways, sprinting barefoot from bullies, to get the buckets of water home without spilling. But when a seasoned track coach saw Pauline sprinting, he saw the heart of a champion. In Running Sideways, Pauline Davis shares her inspiring story. Born and raised in the ghetto, Pauline fought through poverty, inequality, racism, and political machinations from her own country to beat the odds and become a two-time Olympic gold medalist, the first individual gold medalist in sprinting from the Caribbean, the first woman of color on the World Athletics council, and a central figure in the Russian anti-doping campaign. A casualty herself of the doping plague that hit track and field-she wouldn't be awarded her individual gold medal until after Marion Jones was infamously stripped of her medals for doping-Pauline dedicated her years on the World Athletics council to clean sport and fair play. Running Sideways is a book about determination, faith, focus, and an incredible will to succeed. It's about a trailblazer in women's sports, not just in The Bahamas, not just in track and field, but on the global stage.

On the 50th anniversary of American Track and Field icon Steve Prefontaine’s tragic death comes an essential reappraisal of his life and legacy, a powerful work of narrative history exploring the forces and psychology that made Prefontaine great and separating the man from the myths.

In the fifty years since his tragic death in a car crash, Steve Prefontaine has towered over American distance running. One of the most recognizable and charismatic figures to ever run competitively in the United States, Prefontaine has endured as a source of inspiration and fascination—a talent who presaged the American running boom of the late 1970s and helped put Nike on the map as the brand’s first celebrity-athlete face.

Now on the anniversary of his untimely death, author Brendan O’Meara, host of the Creative Nonfiction podcast, offers a fresh, definitive retelling of Prefontaine’s life, revisiting one of the most enigmatic figures in American sports with a twenty-first-century lens. Through over a hundred and fifty original interviews with family, friends, teammates, and competitors, this long-overdue reappraisal of Prefontaine—the first such exhaustive treatment in almost thirty years—provides never-before-told stories about the unique talent, innovative mental strength, and personal struggles that shaped Prefontaine on and off the track. Bringing new depth to an athlete long eclipsed by his brash, aggressive running style and the heartbreak of his death at twenty-four, O’Meara finds the man inside the myth, scrutinizing a legacy that has shaped American sports culture for decades.

What emerges is a singular portrait of a distinctly American talent, a story written in the pines and firs of the Pacific Northwest back when running was more blue-collar love than corporate pursuit—the story of a runner whose short life casts a long, fast shadow.

In the sporting world, everyone wants to be faster. This book demonstrates how to structure an evidence-based, progressive strength training program that will accelerate you toward your speed goals with maximum power and efficiency. Speed is integral to the successful performance of individuals and teams in most sports: knowledge of the ways in which high-performance athletes train to develop this quality is key. Strength Training for Speed is a one-stop resource for coaches and athletes looking to enhance sprinting performance through effective strength training methods. The latest scientific research is used to underpin training solutions presented within this book, including strength programs followed by international level athletes. The scope of applicable content will be of particular interest to coaches, athletes, and students. Boasting a comprehensive video library and a series of example periodised plans, readers will learn how to devise effective strength training programs for any athlete-from the recreational to elite performer. Learn all about: * How to elicit key physiological adaptations necessary for improving strength, power and ultimately speed * The biomechanics of sprinting during the acceleration and maximum velocity phases * The associations of strength qualities with performance during different sprint phases * How to design individual strength training sessions * The periodisation of strength training for speed development

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.

Crashing the Old Boys' Network is the first book to examine the intense, and sometimes hostile, debate about Title IX and its application to girls and women in all areas of athletics. The facts and figures are highlighted by spirited commentary from Billie Jean King, Donna Lopiano, Pat Summitt, Chris Berman, and many others. By using the commentary of well-known personalities and experts in a variety of relevant disciplines, this book uncovers the roots of this controversy at all levels of athletics. While many believe Title IX and gender equity to be applicable only to intercollegiate athletics, its reach touches girls in high school athletics as well. While not protected by Federal law, girls in youth sports, women in professional sports, and women in the sports media also suffer the negative effects of gender discrimination. While detailing many personal accounts and documenting a host of legal battles, the greatest value in this book lies in the successful examples it provides. Many opponents proclaim Title IX to be a grim reaper for football and men's basketball. The author provides examples demonstrating how Title IX and gender equity can be achieved with rational, well-designed plans of action.

The story of two very different athlete's lives (Kenny Stuart and John Wild [RAF] up till 1983 (biogs), followed by an in-depth analysis of the 1983 Fell Championships season. It tells of how an international steeplechaser from the Midlands moved to the fells to go head-to-head with a Cumbrian fell runner who later became a 2-11 marathon runner. The Championship in 1983 was much tougher than it is now. After 15 races the title was decided by just 20 seconds at the final race. Then it covers what happened next with the two athletes, and what they are doing now.

Over the last forty years, running has grown from a niche sport for a handful of committed club athletes into one of the Western world's most popular pastimes. In Running, Identity and Meaning, Neil Baxter asks: What kinds of people have been drawn to running in such numbers? What do they seek from the sport? And what does running's popularity tell us about ourselves and the society we live in today? Delving into the great paradox of running: that despite its low cost of entry and inclusive ethos, the sport remains riven by inequalities, Baxter showcases how gender, class, age and ethnicity influence whether and how different groups participate in the sport, and explores its role in the reproduction of social structure and the search for distinction. By considering running simultaneously as a technique of self-cultivation, a social field in which forms of capital and status are at stake, and an important source of meaning and identity for millions of people across the world, this book equips readers to understand the many diverse links between the sport, society, and individual identities.

Wilma Rudolph was born into a large family and struggled with health problems for the first several years of her life, including polio. Though she had trouble even walking, her love of sport and movement motivated her to rehabilitate her legs. Rudolph would blossom into athletic talent and after earning a scholarship to Tennessee State, qualified for the 1960 Olympic Games where she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field. Throughout her life, Wilma Rudolph faced many barriers and yet she was able to overcome the odds to become an Olympic gold medalist. After hanging up her spikes, Wilma would teach second grade and coach track at her former high school. This work describes her life in detail, and includes a timeline of significant events in her life.

'A captivating and detailed account ... it reads like a thriller, which is exactly the right tone to adopt by author Richard Moore for a story dripping with skulduggery and intrigue ... compelling' The Sunday Express The 1988 Seoul Olympics played host to what has been described by some as the dirtiest race of all time, by others as the greatest. The final of the men's 100 metres at those Olympics is certainly the most infamous in the history of athletics, and more indelibly etched into the consciousness of the sport, the Olympics, and a global audience of millions, than any other athletics event before or since. Ben Johnson's world-record time of 9.79 seconds - as thrilling as it was - was the beginning rather than the end of the story. Following the race, Johnson tested positive, news that generated as many - if not more - shockwaves as his fastest ever run. He was stripped of the title, Lewis was awarded the gold medal, Linford Christie the silver and Calvin Smith the bronze. More than two decades on, the story still hadn't ended. In 1999 Lewis was named Sportsman of the Century by the IOC, and Olympian of the Century by Sports Illustrated. Yet his reputation was damaged by revelations that he too used performance-enhancing drugs, and tested positive prior to the Seoul Olympics. Christie also tested positive in Seoul but his explanation, that the banned substance had been in ginseng tea, was accepted. Smith, now a lecturer in English literature at a Florida university, was the only athlete in the top five whose reputation remains unblemished - the others all tested positive at some stage in their careers. Containing remarkable new revelations, this book uses witness interviews - with Johnson, Lewis and Smith among others - to reconstruct the build-up to the race, the race itself, and the fallout when news of Johnson's positive test broke and he was forced into hiding. It also examines the rivalry of the two favourites going into it, and puts the race in a historical context, examining its continuing relevance on the sport today, where every new record elicits scepticism.

Drawing on his work with some of the top teams in professional sports, noted sport psychology consultant Gary Mack shares with you the same techniques and exercises he uses to help elite athletes build mental muscle. These 40 accessible lessons and inspirational anecdotes will help you gain the head edge over the competition.

This book provides the first detailed history of one of the most powerful international sport organisations, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since 2019 known as World Athletics. The book critically assesses the internal power relations within the IAAF by focusing on the IAAF leadership. Based on extensive archival research, Power and Politics in World Athletics offers a nuanced analysis of the institutionalised strategies that developed as a reflection of the IAAF's interests and aims to create a broader understanding of the global sport system. With only six presidents in over a century of existence, the IAAF's leaders had profound impacts on other international institutions, national stakeholders and sporting participants. Through four sections, the book identifies various key turning points in the history of the governing body of athletics, and explores the IAAF's foundation, the policies of past IAAF presidents, and controversial issues such as doping, corruption and manipulation through a socio-historical lens. The book shows that while anyone could take part in athletics, policies enacted by each president served to ostracize those groups who did not fit into the IAAF's vision of an equal playing field. This book is essential reading for anyone with an interest in sport history, sport sociology, the politics of sport, sport management, sport governance, or international organisations.

The Hash House Harriers - sometimes called the drinking club with a running problem. It is the largest non-competitive running club in the world. Hashing involves running from a pub, following a trail of flour around a circular course for five miles or so, and then returning to the pub for a beer or ten. This is four years in the life of 'Navigator' - a geographically-challenged hasher from the Isle of Wight. He travels with the Hash to wonderful places like Denmark, Germany, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bradford, Howarth and Cardiff. He also visits Harwich; 'miss Harwich' - no, not a beauty contest - more a piece of lifestyle advice Hashing involves running, drinking, singing - and in some cases taking your clothes off, but not necessarily in that order. It is a fun activity that should not be taken seriously in any way. This is a light-hearted yet highly entertaining read, laced with the mischief and adventures that befall an 'adult' social club with a wickedly-juvenile approach to their shared hobby; running.. or was that drinking?

This collection of essays is the third iteration in a series of publications dealing with Olympic studies that initially developed out of the tripartite relationship between Western University (Canada), Victoria University, Melbourne (Australia), and the German Sport University Cologne (Germany). However, for this collection, papers were solicited from around the world in order to approach the topic from different and much wider perspectives. To this end, this book combines a diverse range of scholarly analyses that seek to understand how the recognition of the voices of athletes have developed over many decades. In essence, the sequence of chapters in this book are based around three perspectives, namely: the lives and biographical profiles of athletes; the decision-making processes of, and for, athletes; and the formal and informal institutional representation of athletes. While the touchstone is primarily the voices of athletes associated with Olympic-related sports, consideration is also given to the actions and opinions of athletes expressed in other sporting spheres. This book was originally published as a special issue of The International Journal of the History of Sport.

A text that is unique in encompassing the political, management/marketing and social impact aspects of running events. Combines theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence, thereby grounding concepts in real-world scenarios and synthesizing their meaning. Tracks event development trends and identifies theoretical, methodological and practical issues determining the future of events.

'Jenny Tough writes with the same talent, imagination, and sheer courage that she displays in her athletic endeavours. This book will broaden the horizons of all who venture between its covers.' - Emily Chappell, author of Where There's a Will 'I love that SOLO is part-self help and part adventure story. Jenny shows us all that the journey to self-belief comes with just as many ups and downs as the mountains she traverses and that, with a little trust in ourselves (and a few good cups of coffee) the next seemingly insurmountable pass is never beyond our reach.' - Anna McNuff, author of Bedtime Adventure Stories for Grown Ups Jenny Tough is an endurance athlete who's best known for running and cycling in some of world's most challenging events - achieving accolades that are an inspiration to outdoor adventurers everywhere. But SOLO tells the story of a much more personal project: Jenny's quest to come to terms with feelings and emotions that were holding her back. Like runners at any level, she knew already that running made her feel better, and like so many of us, she knew that completing goals independently was empowering, too. So she set herself an audacious objective: to run - solo, unsupported, on her own - across mountain ranges on six continents, starting with one of the most remote locations on Earth in Kyrgystan. SOLO chronicles Jenny's journey every step of the way across the Tien Shan (Asia), the High Atlas (Africa), the Bolivian Andes (South America), the Southern Alps (Oceania), the Canadian Rockies (North America) and the Transylvanian Alps (Europe), as she learns lessons in self-esteem, resilience, bravery and so much more. What Jenny's story tells us most of all is that setting out to do things solo - whether the ambitious or the everyday - can be invigorating, encouraging and joyful. And her call to action to find strength, confidence and self-belief in everything we do will inspire and motivate.

Since the outstanding success of his New Zealand athletes Snell, Halberg, and Magee at the 1960 Rome Olympics, Arthur Lydiard’s name has been synonymous with the best training methods used by the world’s top middle- and long-distance runners. Arthur Lydiard’s methods are just as relevant today as they were 60 years ago and are still used by top athletes looking to enhance their performance. This new edition presents Lydiard’s high-performance training techniques and includes systematic, detailed training programs based on his definition of fitness. Each runner can tailor the programs to his or her goal. Also included are tips for the best running gear, nutrition, preventing injury, and therapy, and the book even delves into the relationship between the coach and the athlete—making it a must-have for all runners and coaches

Sixty-five off-road routes for beginner and experienced trail runners. These tried and tested paths and tracks cover the south-east of England. The routes range in length from 5km to 69km … and they are all great runs! Selected for their runnability, landscape and scenery, they include easily-accessible trails close to towns, cities and popular holiday destinations, as well as unforgettable runs in the more remote parts of the South East’s hills and coast. The selection is deliberately diverse including beaches, woodland, marshes, riverbanks, clifftops, heathland, parkland and ridgetops, and is chosen to highlight the incredible diversity of trail running adventures that the South East offers. Trail running is a great way to explore the South East and to immerse yourself in its magnificent landscapes. This guide is intended to inspire runners of all abilities to develop the skills and confidence to seek out new trails in their local areas as well as further afield. This is a companion book to South West Trail Running, also by Mark Rainsley.

The New England Small College Athletic Conference has won glowing appraisals in the sporting press since its founding in 1971. Established to strengthen intercollegiate sports in harmony with the high academic standards of its members-11 prestigious liberal arts colleges-the NESCAC is committed to equity and inclusion in athletic programs, and to providing only need-based financial aid. The Conference's reputation attracts many gifted student athletes. Drawing extensively on campus archives, media reports and interviews, this book compares the NESCAC's lofty strategy to reality, with a focus on recruiting, admissions, financial aid and diversity goals.

While the earliest evidence of organized running can be traced back to Egypt in 3800 BCE, the modern sport of track and field evolved from rural games and church and folk festivals, and rules were drawn up in the final quarter of the 19th century in those advanced societies where enough people had the leisure time to indulge their fancies. Today, in addition to the running events, track and field includes such events as the high jump, pole vault, long jump, shot, discus, javelin, hammer, and decathlon. The Historical Dictionary of Track and Field covers the history of this sport through a chronology, an introductory essay, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 500 cross-referenced entries on key figures, places, competitions, and governing bodies within the sport. This book is an excellent access point for researchers, students, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of track and field.