When Jamie Summerlin felt the calling to do something more meaningful with his life, the Marine Corps veteran came up with an extreme idea. His desire to bring attention and assistance to wounded veterans led to a 100-day, 3,452-mile run across America. His journey was intended to inspire those who sacrificed for America's freedom, but along the way Summerlin realized he was the one being inspired. Freedom Run not only tells the story of Summerlin's amazing run across America and his attempt to raise awareness and money for charitable organizations that serve wounded U.S. veterans, but it reveals the heartfelt stories of the many veterans he met along the way. Beginning in Coos, Oregon, and ending in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Summerlin's trek across the nation and the stories of the veterans he encountered serve as an inspiring and eye-opening tale of courage, determination, and honor in America.

Guardian's Best Sports Books SHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSS BRITISH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2015 LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2015 In Chase Your Shadow, journalist and author John Carlin tells the gripping story of Oscar Pistorius's tragic journey from sporting icon to accused murderer. Before Valentine's Day of 2013, Pistorius was best known as an extraordinary athlete, the 'Blade Runner' who became the first amputee in history to compete in the Olympics. Everything changed after he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead in the early hours of 14 February. Overnight, the Olympian's status as a role model was replaced by tales of erratic behaviour and a violent dark side. His seven-month trial was broadcast live around the globe, its twists and turns captivating millions. Carlin, who followed the drama inside the courtroom, provides a vivid first-hand account of Pistorius's wrenching emotional breakdowns, the merciless interrogation to which he was submitted by the prosecutor, and the highly controversial judgment. Carlin paints a portrait of a complex personality, a man whose life story reveals extremes of courage and insecurity, ambition and vulnerability, generosity and dangerous hot-headedness. Not since the O. J. Simpson case has the world been more riveted by a champion's heroic rise and calamitous fall.

In SpeedRunner, celebrated running coach Pete Magill reveals his 4-week training plan to make any athlete into a faster runner-no matter the sport, age, gender, experience, or goals. In every sport that includes running, the difference between the best and the rest is tenths of a second. In most team sports like football, soccer, basketball, baseball and in distance running and triathlon-simple leg speed makes champions. By targeting the neuromuscular system and strengthening muscle and connective tissue, Magill's SpeedRunner program builds speed, strength, agility, coordination, balance, proprioception, and explosive power so athletes can excel. Magill developed his SpeedRunner program over decades of experience coaching athletes of all ages from short sprints to the marathon. He's led his club to two dozen US National Masters Championships in road running and cross country. As a 5-time USA Masters Cross Country Runner of the Year and multiple American and world age-group record holder himself, Magill is proof that his training methods are effective. Over the four weeks of the SpeedRunner program, you'll focus on faster acceleration, top-end speed, strength, agility, and speed endurance. Magill also offers speed-only training and supplemental sessions to further hone your top-end speed, core musculature, and whole-body strength. The SpeedRunner plans balance training volume and intensity with recovery to ensure rapid, injury-free gains. Bottom line: The ability to run well is a fundamental skill required for success in any sport that includes running. SpeedRunner can transform your running performance.

"The results have been proven at every level, from the beginner to the elite, the Hanson's training system works." - Desiree Davila, Olympic marathoner With the right training, ANYONE can finish a marathon! Hansons First Marathon, from one of America's most successful marathon training groups, offers a smart, friendly guide to preparing for your first marathon. With their proven method, the coaches of the Hansons-Brooks Distance Project will show you how to break down the 26.2 miles into achievable daily workouts. By race day, you'll feel strong and confident of a race experience you'll be proud of. The Hansons-Brooks Distance Project has an amazing track record of turning normal runners into marathoners through their acclaimed Hansons Marathon Method. Now they have made the marathon not just something to check off your bucket list, but also an enjoyable, inspiring, and life-changing experience. Hansons First Marathon is for anyone who has decided to step up to the marathon. Whether you're a totally new runner who has never run a race, a recreational runner who enjoys occasional races, or even a competitive runner who is ready to go all the way-you'll find the right marathon training schedule for you in Hansons First Marathon. Author and coach Luke Humphrey starts you off on the right foot with a simple survey about your running experience, race goals, and your natural strengths and weaknesses. Then he guides you to the right plan to prepare you for the miles ahead. Hansons First Marathon covers everything you need to know: Finding your foot type and a good shoe for marathon training The types of workouts and how (and why) to do them Choosing your race wisely Training around travel, illness, and navigating injuries How to stretch and strength train for marathon Ways to recover from daily runs and after your race Science-based nutrition and hydration guidelines for workouts and race day What to do differently during the crucial final 6 weeks before your race How to get to the start line feeling confident, stress-free, and ready Setting an ideal marathon race strategy that puts you in control Marathons are an exciting, rewarding challenge for runners of all abilities, but how you get to the start line matters as much as how you finish. Choose Hansons First Marathon to start your marathon adventure and you'll set yourself up for success.

Running has been many things to Jenny Baker - a space to achieve new things, a way to keep fit and healthy, and a source of friendship and community. She had planned a year of running to celebrate her birthday; instead Jenny was hit with a bombshell which rocked her life when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had one question for her oncologist: can I keep running? It gave her a sense of identity through her chemotherapy, while her treatment was stripping away everything that was important to her. Run For Your Life is the story of how she kept running to help her beat cancer, and how it helped her get her life back on track after an intensive spell of treatment and a turbulent time in her life.

'Running with Karnazes is like setting up one's easel next to Monet or Picasso.' The New York Times In his follow-up to the bestselling Ultramarathon Man, Dean Karnazes is back with more mind-blowing tales of how he pushes his mind and body to limits which are inconceivable to most of us. In Run! Dean shares the pleasure - and considerable pain - of some of his most memorable adventures, including: - a gentle 350-mile canter through the surprisingly hilly Australian Outback; - his annual attempts at the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, California (typical temperature: 45 degrees); and - the notorious 4 Deserts races, a masochist's delight encompassing four separate 155-mile runs across the Atacama Crossing, the Gobi, the Sahara and Antarctica...with rationed water. Dean's entertaining and endearing stories are sure to inspire both dedicated and vicarious runners alike.

In Run Strong, Stay Hungry, running journalist Jonathan Beverly reveals the secrets of veteran racers who are still racing fast and loving the sport decades after they got their start. Beverly collects the habits and mindsets of more than 50 runners including Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Deena Kastor, Benji Durden, Colleen De Reuck, Dave Dunham, Kathrine Switzer, and Roger Robinson. Run Strong, Stay Hungry shares 9 keys from these veteran racers that let them keep running strong and staying hungry for competition. Are they biomechanically gifted? Stubborn? Simply lucky to have avoided injury? Turns out, there's a lot more to it. In his comprehensive research, Beverly discovers that these runners all share specific perspectives and habits that allow them to adapt to changing life circumstances, accept declining abilities, and rebound from setbacks. These keys not only keep them on their feet, but also allow them to continue to draw the same enjoyment from the sport whether they are winning championships or finishing in the middle of the pack, cranking out 100-mile weeks and doing blazing speed work on the track, or squeezing in just enough miles into a busy schedule to simply feel fit and fast and occasionally test that fitness in a race. Beverly interviews over 50 runners including Bill Rodgers, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Deena Kastor, Benji Durden, Colleen De Reuck, Dave Dunham, Kathrine Switzer, and Roger Robinson. From training methods to mental attitudes to finding community among their fellow runners, there are specific keys that help these masters runners to adapt, accept, and rebound from the hurdles that life and aging put in their path. By adopting the practices of these lifetime competitors, you too can enjoy a lifelong, healthy running career as well as boost your enjoyment of running and your racing performance.

Triathlons - three separate and gruelling tests of endurance in their own right, all rolled into on epic test of mind, body, and determination. Comprised of long distance running, swimming, and cycling, triathlons are the pinnacle of human endurance, taken on by men and women with a burning ambition to push themselves to the very limit. In the pages that follow you will discover inspirational quotes and words of wisdom that will make you smile and reach for your running shoes/swimming gear/cycling helmet with renewed vigour, learn need-to-know stuff, history, and tips from the experts. It might also become your passion, as you discover what it really takes to become a triathlete. The Little Book of Triathlon is a journey on to a path that is less trodden, but rich in fulfilment, self-discovery, and everything in-between. On your marks, set... and on we go.

With condemning, yet humorous, comments, Holly Zimmermann, mother of four young children, endeavors to take on some of the world's most difficult and dangerous foot races. A grueling 257-kilometer ultramarathon through the Sahara Desert, written in a daily journal-style format, is the core of the story. Interspersed between the adventures in the Sahara, Holly recalls other races, including when two bombs went off before her eyes at the Boston Marathon. After the Sahara Desert, the setting for her next challenge shifted to the opposite extreme: Greenland, for the Polar Circle Marathon. What makes this book distinctive are the Forrest-Gump-like happenstances which occur throughout, brought in as flashbacks. A colorful cast of characters as training partners include the world champion of ultradistance cycling as well as the grandson of Italian fashion icon Salvatore Ferragamo. Training, planning, and gear for ultramarathons as well as nutritional tips for fueling the body are also described, always with a touch of sarcastic humor. Ultramarathon Mom: From the Sahara to the Arctic tells a unique story and delivers an impactful message: Live your dreams.

As a distance runner, are you tired of long, slow runs? Do you often feel sluggish and flat and, despite doing your regular long runs, can never quite improve on your personal best times? If so, The Easy Interval Method may be just the book for you! Written by Klaas Lok, a 24-time Dutch national champion (on the cover photo running in front of Steve Ovett, former British world record holder and Olympic champion), the Easy Interval Method challenges many of the usual training protocols and guidelines associated with distance running. Avoiding long runs in favour of relaxed, easy interval training, Klaas presents a strong and intriguing case to get athletes moving smoother, stronger and faster with fewer injuries. The Easy Interval Method contains detailed schedules for all distances from 800m to marathon. Using the principles described in this book, elite athletes have won many Dutch titles, set several national and World Masters records and even won Olympic and World championship medals. More casual runners have also surprised themselves by greatly improving their personal best times, even after years of stagnation. The book is a bestseller in Holland and is now available for the first time in English.