'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.

Welcome to Japan, the most running-obsessed nation on earth, where: a long-distance relay race is the country's biggest annual sporting event; companies sponsor their own running teams, paying the athletes like employees; and marathon monks run a thousand marathons in a thousand days to reach spiritual enlightenment. Adharanand Finn - award-winning author of Running with the Kenyans - moved to Japan to discover more about this unique running culture and what it might teach us about the sport and about Japan. As an amateur runner about to turn forty, he also hoped find out whether the Japanese approach to training might help him keep improving. What he learned - about competition, about team work, about beating your personal bests, about form and about himself - will fascinate anyone who is keen to explore why we run, and how we might do it better.

In this book, Olympian Jeff Galloway details how to set up a training program, how to monitor progress, and how to schedule each workout. Included are 52 weeks of daily journal entries, with data analysis tables. Jeff Galloway tells how to set up a successful training program to avoid injury, improve endurance, and run faster. Galloway's "magic mile" is used to predict performance and set a safe pace for long runs. Specific run-walk-run strategies are set up based upon the runner's current ability. Galloway details how to use the training journal to schedule long runs, drills, speed workouts, rest days, etc. The 52-week journal is easy to use and easy to analyse.This new edition is characterized by a modern and more practice-oriented design that facilitates logging your progress as a runner. In this way, it might help you to keep your motivation.

LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD SHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR The definitive biography of one of the greatest, most extraordinary runners and Olympic heroes of all time, from the author of running classic Feet in the Clouds. Emil Zatopek won five Olympic medals, set 18 world records, and went undefeated over 10,000 metres for six years. He redefined the boundaries of endurance, training in Army boots, in snow, in sand, in darkness. But his toughness was matched by a spirit of friendship and a joie de vivre that transcended the darkest days of the Cold War. His triumphs put his country on the map, yet when Soviet tanks moved in to crush Czechoslovakia's new freedoms in 1968, Zatopek paid a heavy personal price for his brave defence of 'socialism with a human face'. Rehabilitated two decades later, he was a shadow of the man he had been - and the world had all but forgotten him. Today We Die A Little strips away the myths to tell the complex and deeply moving story of the most inspiring Olympic hero of them all.

Tap into a powerful mind-body connection to optimize performance and boost happiness-on and off the running trails. What if the key to improving your running, shaping your body, and boosting your happiness was all in your mind? In Mindful Running, lifelong runner, coach, and fitness journalist Mackenzie L. Havey recounts her personal practice of meditative running and the influence it has had on her life. She taps a wide range of sources--from weekend warriors to Olympic runners, from coaches and sports psychologists to neuroscientists and meditation experts--to examine how training mental fitness through mindfulness can enhance your running practice and lead to a more contented existence. The research is clear: Mindfulness changes the very structure of the brain. Paired with physical training, mindful running has the potential to give you an edge when you're out logging miles, as well as help you hone the ability to exist in the present, endure challenges and hardship with ease and find greater happiness in all things big and small. Mindful running is a total body and mind fitness regimen with serious benefits that continue even when the race is over. Regardless of your fitness level, the Mindful Running process is the same: We focus in on the body, mind and surroundings and begin to notice what thoughts, feelings and sensations exist in that moment; we fathom that information, consider how it all fits together from a holistic standpoint, and decide if we need to make adjustments; and by following these steps we enter flow, a state that embodies present moment awareness, concentration, confidence, optimal performance and joy.

The ultimate stretching guide, designed to help runners of all abilities run further, avoid injuries and achieve better times.

Stretching is an incredibly important aspect of running and yet it is frequently overlooked or poorly executed. This book details and explains all the stretches that can ease pain, build strength and enhance running performance.

Written by the globally respected physiotherapist, Paul Hobrough, who works with Olympic and World Champion athletes, The Runner's Expert Guide to Stretching will help runners to understand their bodies, identify weaknesses and develop a natural defence against injury.

With easy-to-understand explanations of anatomy and physiology, and a comprehensive directory of running stretches, runners of any age or ability will find an ideal range of stretches, clearly organised by body part, as well as a detailed strength and conditioning programme. With more than 2 million of us running at least once a week in the UK alone, this is the go-to guide for every runner.

Get the most out of your body! Learn how to eat well, lose weight and have energy to exercise even when you are pressed at time. Author of the bestseller The Run-Walk-Run(R) Method, Jeff Galloway now offers an expansive, state-of-the-art book on the importance of proper nutrition for runners. Jeff's trademarked Run-Walk-Run(R) method has helped hundreds of thousands of average people to get off the couch and start running. Nutrition for Runners goes even further by including all the relevant information for runners to treat their body well off the track as well as on. Proper nutrition is a key component to staying healthy. In order to treat our body right, we need to both exercise and eat well. Using material from renowned nutritionist Nancy Clark, Galloway gives the reader tips on how to get the most out of your body. This book offers a detailed program to help you set up your training and change your nutrition in order to reach the goal you have set for yourself. The book is loaded with tips on what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and how to combine all that with your training schedule while still retaining the chance to enjoy other aspects of life.

Lake District Trail Running is a comprehensive guide to off-road running in the Lake District National Park. With 20 runs, from 5.1km to 17km in length, this book is suitable for runners of all abilities. The fells and valleys of the Lakes are a playground for the adventurous runner - this is the home of many classic fell races, and of course the legendary Bob Graham Round. In this book, author Helen Mort has collected together many of her favourite Lakeland runs, from low-lying and scenic lakeside cruises, to steep mountain climbs and remote and wild enchainments. Discover Grasmere, pick your way along the Haystacks ridge, explore Grisedale or run around Lakeland icons, such as Buttermere and Ennerdale Water. More experienced runners can challenge themselves on bigger and longer excursions to Fairfield and above Troutbeck. Features clear and easy-to-use Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps, easy-to-follow directions, details of distance and timings, refreshment stops and local knowledge, and a detailed appendix.

How Not To Run: A Journey to the Roof of the World is the story of a weekend runner who only ever wanted to keep fit to ride her horses with a little more finesse. Shauney always said she would never race. 'I just don't see the point. I don't think it would be for me,' she used to say. However, four and a half years later she found herself standing in the midst of the towering Himalayas, on the start line of the Everest Marathon, one of the toughest races anywhere in the world. With numerous 10Ks, half-marathons, full marathons, trail races and ultra-marathons already under her belt, the road from adamant non-racer to extreme long-distance runner had not been a smooth one - and was about to reach new heights of risk, danger and near disaster. Follow Shauney's journey over thousands of painful yet joyous miles, from some of the most beautiful, hidden parts of Scotland, via unforgettable, eye-watering races, all the way to the heights of the Himalayas - for the pinnacle of her racing and fundraising career so far.

Renowned marathon expert and leading sports scientist Professor John Brewer reveals why many of the concepts surrounding marathon training and running are wrong -- and suggests how the latest sports science research transforms the way marathons should be approached. Run Smart uses the latest scientific research to show how preparing for, and running, marathons can be made easier, and in doing so challenges many of the myths that surround marathon running. The book will draw on the author's experience as one of the UK's leading sports scientists, his extensive research background in marathon running, and his experience as a marathon runner, to provide credible advice to runners to support their preparation for a marathon. The book will challenge many current concepts, myths and ideas, and provide science-based alternatives in areas such as training and nutrition that will optimise and ease a runner's preparation for, and completion of, the 26.2 mile distance. This highly accessible book will use the latest scientific findings to support new runners training for their first marathon and help more experienced athletes improve and train smarter.

A guide to running for the unathletic, told by a man who fell into the sport almost by accident. Progressing cautiously on a reluctant and unexpected journey to 100 Marathons (and beyond), he learned the hard way from years of getting it wrong. Unlikely to break any records or become a national figure for the standards he sets, he nonetheless has enhanced his life and fitness, taking his long-suffering family along with him. In this witty account, he writes about his unsteady progress while knocking the stuffing out of running pomposity.

'We're not at parkrun any more,' I mutter to myself, quietly longing for the presence of nice marshals in high-visibility vests. Failure is an Option is the story of an average runner who sets out to discover just how far he can go. With the support (and misgivings) of his family, and aware that his quickest years are behind him, Matt Whyman leaves the Saturday morning 5K to push towards 100-mile ultramarathons and beyond. By slowing things down to run a very long way, he joins a growing number of men and women from all walks of life striving to do something extraordinary. A newcomer to a world that can often seem off-limits, Matt finds his feet as an ultrarunner by learning the hard way. He battles monster hallucinations on endurance races spanning day and night, loses himself on tantalising trails across landscapes far from home, and forges bonds with fellow competitors in which small, kind gestures mean more than any medal. Determined to touch the boundaries of his running world before it starts to shrink, ultimately Matt sets his sights on a six-day mountain ultra that even hardened veterans consider to be the most formidable on earth: the Dragon's Back Race. Brimming with good humour, honesty and joy, Failure is an Option pits ambition against ability to uncover human truths that resonate with us all. A mid-pack competitor who could win prizes for enthusiasm - if nothing else - Matt takes us on a journey far beyond his comfort zone and with no guaranteed outcome of success. The results are entertaining from start to finish, often very funny and at times deeply moving.

Running Up That Hill is a celebration of endurance running. Of running ridiculous distances - through cities, over mountains and across countries. Distances most people couldn't even imagine. But sports presenter Vassos Alexander is hooked!

Why else would he run an ultra in Paris, backwards, having missed the start? Why head to Wales for the world's hardest mountain race with a badly sprained ankle? And why follow in some unforgiving, ancient footsteps and attempt the oldest and toughest footrace on earth, the 153-mile Spartathlon?

There's joy to be found here. Really there is. Vassos recalls his own assaults on these gruelling races, along with ultra-running legends including Scott Jurek, Jasmin Paris, Kilian Jornet, Mimi Anderson and Dean Karnazes. They all testify to the transformative power of endurance running.

It's about the astonishing highs that come from pushing your body to the limit. The confidence and peace when you challenge yourself and succeed. All told, this is a cracking tale of what keeps ultra-distance runners running, mile after mile after mile.

Mental Toughness for Runners gives the reader highly effective methods for successful mental training, including self-coaching, well-founded training psychology, and thought-provoking strategies for self-reflection. The mental training presented in this book has been proven successful by numerous coaching sessions and by endurance athletes throughout the world who have achieved significant and often dramatic achievements after improving their motivation, performance, and well-being with this mental training. In addition, the exercises are supplemented with case studies from various coaching sessions. The book also delves into the science of mental training so that the reader may understand the reasons behind certain training concepts, but always the focus remains on practicing and directly applying the methods to the runner's training. This book will guide the reader through a personal assessment of his training so that he may develop an individually tailored mental training plan which can then be integrated into everyday sports life. Every runner who reads this book will improve his mental training and ultimately his running performance. The book presents in a unique way the experiences and the know-how of a sports psychological expert, who coaches numerous runners and other endurance athletes psychologically, who also researches psychological aspects in running, regularly reports on his work in lectures, at scientific congresses and in magazine articles and who repeatedly achieves top 10 placings in international (extreme) races.

'The Perfect Run is sure to increase your appreciation and enjoyment on the run, and that's a big payback' - Runner's World

The "perfect" run, when you are in a full flow and feeling totally unstoppable, can be elusive, but this practical expert guide, written by a celebrated Runner's World writer Mackenzie Havey, will ensure you find it time and time again and in the process transform your running performances.

At some point in every runner's career they experience the "perfect" run, when they are in full flow and feel totally unstoppable. Your worries about the day and physical aches and pains melt away. Your body and mind are in complete sync and the run feels effortless.

Even still, the path to achieving the perfect run remains mysterious. It often materializes in the unlikeliest of circumstances-in adverse weather or on a day when everything else seems to be going wrong. Conversely, when we try hard to create the right conditions for that perfect run, it often doesn't come about.

In The Perfect Run, Mackenzie L. Havey reveals everyone has the potential to enjoy more joyful and flow-driven running, no matter your experience, pace, or sporting ambitions.

This ground-breaking book features insights from elite athletes, neuroscientists, coaches, and everyday runners to provide a road map for how to cultivate the right conditions for the "perfect" run. These ideas will not only help facilitate the potential for more successful running but, more significantly, can also be translated into other areas of your life to help provide a sense of calmness, self-control, and fulfillment far beyond the running trails.

Brecon Beacons Trail Running is a comprehensive guide to off-road running across the national park, including the Black Mountains, the Brecon Beacons themselves and the Black Mountain. With 20 runs from 5.3km to 17.5km in length, this book is suitable for runners of all abilities. The hills and valleys of the Brecon Beacons offer a wide variety of running, all sharing the same mountainous scenery and stunning views in this beautiful part of South Wales. Local authors Lily Dyu and John Price have compiled many of their favourite runs, including accessible loops around Carreg Cennen Castle and Table Mountain, through to big days out around Fan y Big, Pen y Fan and Fan Brycheiniog. Summit the Sugar Loaf and The Blorenge on the outskirts of Abergavenny, explore the waterfalls by Ystradfellte, or trace the Cat's Back along the Welsh-English border; there's something for everyone. Each route features clear and easy-to-use Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 maps, easy-to-follow directions, details of distance and timings, and refreshment stops and local knowledge.

Ask any serious runner and they'll tell you that being mentally sound is vital to success in the sport. The ability to enter a flow state of mind is something that Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has devoted his entire career to understanding. In Running Flow, Dr. Csikszentmihalyi is joined by fellow psychologist Christine Weinkauff and running journalist and coach Philip Latter. This landmark work is the first book dedicated to helping runners achieve the state of flow in competitive and training environments. You'll find comprehensive coverage of the phenomenon, unique practice exercises that stimulate its occurrence, and firsthand accounts from elite runners about their flow experiences. The psychological barriers associated with training and competition can be as demanding as the physical ones. Destined to become a running classic, Running Flow will open your mind not only to better performance but also to a better, healthier, and more enjoyable experience.

Running is one of the world's most widely practiced sports and recreations but until now it has intended to elude serious study outside of the natural sciences. John Bale brings the sport into the realm of the humanities by drawing on sources including literature, poetry, film, art and sculpture as well as statistics and training manuals to highlight the tensions, ambiguities and complexities that lie hidden beneath the commonplace notion of running.
The text explores both local and personal, as well as communal and global aspects of running and its practitioners. It examines the streets, tracks and stadiums where athletes run, the races in which they compete, and the running relationships such as exist between the athlete and the coach, between runners and between the athlete and spectator. It discusses the importance of speed and records, how running has been used to symbolise resistance and transgression, and the extent to which it can be associated with a healthy lifestyle.
Running Cultures provides new ways of seeing a familiar sporting phenomenon. it will appeal to both students and researchers with an interest in running in particular, and sport and leisure cultures more generally.

***WINNER OF THE TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2021 - SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR*** 'Utterly joyous!' - Bryony Gordon 'The best book about running I have read' - Nick Cohen, The Critic 'The funniest book about running I have ever read. In fact it is the only book about running I have ever read, but it is HILARIOUS!' - David Walliams '...insightful, inspiring and laugh-out-loud funny!' - Michael McIntyre 'Pain. Hope. Misery. Joy. All the big stuff. Excellent.' - Dara O Briain 'This book is funny (which I expected) and concerns running (ditto), but it is also exceptionally moving and profound. Don't be fooled: it's not really about completing a marathon. It's about life and all its joy and weirdness. Recommended to all...' - Miranda Sawyer 'Very good book... very funny, very insightful, very inspiring' - Chris Evans, Virgin Radio 'Fabulous book' - Radio 2 The hilarious trials and tribulations of stand-up comedian Paul Tonkinson as he attempts to beat the much lauded 3-hour mark at the London Marathon. With a supporting cast of fellow comedians, this is a warmly written and wonderfully honest adventure-through-sport that will both entertain and inspire. Along the way, we are introduced to the characters helping Paul with his quest. Celebrity names such as Bryony Gordon, Russell Howard, Roisin Conaty and Vassos Alexander pop up with wit and wisdom, alongside an alpine adventure to the Mayr Clinic with Michael McIntyre that pushes Paul to the limit. And not forgetting the 'words of wisdom' and derision from Paul's anti-running friend, Richard.

Dovetailing on the success of Training for the New Alpinism and Patagonia's own emphasis on all mountain use, Training for the Uphill Athlete translates theory into methodology to allow you to write your own training plans and coach yourself to endurance goals. Steve House, one of the best mountaineers, and his coach Scott Johnston, an Olympic-level cross country ski coach, along with Kilian Jornet, hands-down best endurance athlete at this time, present training principles for the multisport mountain athlete who regularly participates in a mix of distance running, ski mountaineering, and other endurance sports that require optimum fitness and customized strength. This is an authoritative but accessible training manual for athletes and coaches who feel most alive in the mountains or pushing the uphill ascent. Distance running, ski mountaineering, skimo, and skyrunning are becoming increasingly popular all over the world, and are often undertaken by the same person during a single year. This book collects the scientifically backed and athlete-tested wisdom and experience of three of the best uphill athletes and coaches and extrapolates both to educate outdoor athletes of all stripes to perform their best. The book includes the same mix of theory, application, and experiential essays from experts in the field, as well as instructional illustrations as in Training for the New Alpinism. Contributions by Kilian Jornet increase the worldwide appeal of the book.

Dawn Dais hated running. And it didn't like her much, either. Her fitness routine consisted of avoiding the stairs in her own house, because who really has the energy to climb stairs? It was with this exercise philosophy firmly in place that she set off to complete a marathon. The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women is the ideal training manual for women who don't believe that running is their biological destiny but who dream of crossing the finish line nonetheless. Fully updated with today's best technology for runners and an exploration of running for different bodies, Dais provides readers with a doable training schedule alongside helpful how-tos and funny observations from the pavement. She also integrates entries from her own running journal, sharing everything would-be marathoners need to know about the gear, the blisters, the early morning workouts, the late-night carb binges and most important of all, the amazing rewards. Running may not seem like a friendly endeavour, but with Dawn Dais, you can tame the beast and hit the marathon trail.

Despite believing he was bionic as a child, Ira Rainey was far from an elite athlete with superhuman running abilities like the ones he read about in books. He was in fact an overweight and unfit slacker who felt a bit sorry for himself because he had sore feet. Sure he ran a bit, but he also sat around a lot and ate and drank too much. Why? Because he could, and because he was a delusional optimist who thought everything would always be just fine. That was until a friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given months to live. It was an event that would push Ira to tackle his apathy towards life and take on the challenge of becoming an ultramarathon runner, pushing himself to go further than he had ever gone before. Award winning, Fat Man to Green Man: From Unfit to Ultramarathon is a warm and humorous account of one man's quest to uncover his true super powers as he journeys from fat to fit, and taking in everything that came between the two. It is a story of fields and friendships; mud and maps; but more importantly learning how to push yourself to achieve what you would never believe you could - and how to deal with the consequences. Fat Man to Green Man is shortlisted for the British Sports Book Awards 2014 (Best New Writer) and won the silver award for running books in The 2014 Running Awards, an award voted for by runners.

Every year, roughly 2 million people participate in marathons and half marathons in the United States, and, no matter what level they are, every one of these runners has likely hit"The Wall," running out of muscle fuel in the final miles and slowing down precipitously. This setback and other common running disappointments are nutritional (or metabolic) in nature. In The New Rules , renowned fitness journalist and training coach Matt Fitzgerald cuts through the myths,distilling the most up-to-date science to help runners overcome the universally experienced nutritional barriers that prevent success in the marathon and half marathon.From basic tenets of training to nutrition guidelines, The New Rules is the first resource for runners to fully integrate nutrition with training for a complete and systematic preraceplan. Fitzgerald's powerful and easy-to-use tools will enable runners of all levels to attain their ideal racing weight, calculate their precise daily energy needs, and formulate a custom nutrition plan.

Shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year In the summer of 1952 Emil Zatopek became the king of the running world with an unprecedented distance treble at the Olympic Games in Helsinki. Together with his wife Dana, who won another gold medal in the javelin, they were the embodiment of sporting romance. Born on the same day, they were champions on the same day too. Yet in 1968 this affable but eccentric Czech solider was betrayed by his Communist paymasters and cast out into wilderness. Hidden from world view, monitored by the secret police and forced to live in a caravan in mining country, he became the invisible hero. Endurance is the first biography to document the remarkable rise, fall and rehabilitation of a man voted the 'greatest runner of all time' by Runner's World. It is also the story of a golden age of sport played out against a backdrop of Cold War politics and paranoia. From the London Olympics of 1948 to Czech concentration camps, this is an uplifting and harrowing story of survival. As Emil rises to global fame, his old coach is locked up and tortured by StB henchmen. Their diverging paths expose the fickleness of popularity and eventually cross again when Zatopek's world is torn asunder. All both men can do is endure. Due to extensive access to those involved, including Dana herself, Broadbent has written a vivid history involving blood and guns and a love that sustained the cruellest twists of fate. From heady nights at White City to the brave resistance during the Prague Spring, this is a book that plants the son of a carpenter at the very centre of a revolution. Whether talking to his rivals on the track or Red Army troops as tanks roll into Prague, Zatopek's humanity shines through and carries all.