SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2022 'Anyone wanting an example of never being beaten should look at the incredible Francis Benali.' - Alan Shearer 'Honest, revealing story of a strong man who pushed his body to its limits and beyond on and off the pitch. Incredible read.' - Henry Winter, The Times 'The iron man with a will of steel and a heart of gold. Truly fran-tastic!' - Jeff Stelling, Soccer Saturday ------- Francis Benali is a Southampton Football Club legend and a celebrated charity endurance athlete, and he's ready to tell his story. Francis 'Franny' Benali played football for 20 years for Southampton FC in nearly 400 games, almost his entire career. His utter dedication to the club caused him to be a hero to Saints fans around the world. Written with the acclaimed Daily Mail sportswriter Matt Barlow, this book details Benali's humble beginnings and has countless tales involving players, managers, and matches detailing Benali's illustrious football career. But his story is much more than that. The intense commitment he had as a player found a new outlet in the world of endurance sport. Through Ironman triathlons and marathons, he has raised more than GBP1 million for Cancer Research UK. Benali's story shows us what can be achieved through dedication and commitment on and off the pitch. Through football and charity, he has made a positive difference in countless people's lives. His is truly an inspirational story.

Chrissie Wellington is the world's No 1 female Ironman triathlete, a four times World Champion, having recently won the her fourth title in October 2011 and the World Record holder. In 2009 she was voted 'Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year' and in 2010 was awarded the MBE. She is the undefeated champion of Triathlon, having won thirteen Ironman titles from thirteen races. She set a new World Record of 8 hours19:13 at Quelle Roth Germany in 2010, which slashed over 14 minutes from the previous record and where she was only beaten by six men. She went on to improve this time by another minute in the 2011 race. She also set a new world record for the fastest ever Ironman sanctioned event at Ironman South Africa in April 2011. Chrissie has displayed unprecedented levels of stamina, strength and competitiveness in becoming Ironman World Champion in only her second event at Ironman level. Her victory in Kona, Hawaii in 2007 finishing five minutes ahead of her nearest rival was described as the 'biggest upset in Ironman history' and 'a remarkable feat, deemed to be near impossible task for any athlete racing as a rookie at their first Ironman World Championships'. She defended her World title in Hawaii in 2008 and again in 2009. However a bout of severe sickness on the eve of the 2010 event meant she was unable to make the start line to defend her title. She bounced back in 2011 to retain her title in her most fiercely competitive race to date, which adds another fantastic chaper to her extraordinary sporting career. This is the remarkable story of how a Norfolk girl - a 'sporty kid, swimming, playing hockey, running, but never excelling and always more interested in the social side of the sports scene' - became a world champion.

The Complete Book of Triathlon Training is for any athlete who wants to improve in, or convert to the fascinating sport of triathlon. Learn how to develop a training program and how to approach a competition. The book is an encyclopedic reference that covers all aspects of triathlon training. The triathlete and aspiring triathlete will have one reference with everything they need to know about triathlon, whether an endurance sport novice or an accomplished athlete in another sport. It tells you how to get started, what equipment to buy, the diet you will need, how to devise a training routine and how to arrange your busy life in order to accommodate it, and then explains how to finish a race, as well as how to recover from it. The Complete Book of Triathlon Training will tell you how to be the best that you can be in triathlon; not necessarily by training harder, but by training smarter. Every aspect of your life has the potential to affect your mental and physical performance, and you need to take this into account when devising your training in order to avoid both over-training and under-training. Marks system for monitoring training-stress levels which he has been successfully using for many years is unique to him but is revealed in this book. Use it and you can achieve your optimum performance

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.

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.

"Off-Road Running" explains the basics of training so that every runner can design a program unique to them. Practical explanations of nutrition and physiology complement advice on every aspect of training, from taking a compass bearing to preparing for a race. Topics covered include trail running, cross country, fell running, mountain running, orienteering, and mountain marathons.

Triathletes spend a lot of time and money making sure they have the right gear, optimizing their training plans, and selecting their races. And part of that preparation for big race days is taking care of diet to be sure the body is properly fed to maximize athletic performance. Enter "The Complete Nutrition Guide for Triathletes, a" thorough nutritional guidebook tailored specifically for the three-sport athlete to reach his triathlon goals and to cross the finish line with the best nutrition plan possible. Dr. Jamie A. Cooper brings to the book her expert knowledge about nutrition and exercise combined with her extensive experience as an active triathlete. The book covers each essential nutrient, offers up tailored nutritional plans for Sprint, Olympic, and Ironman races, and troubleshoots nutrition-related issues specifically concerning the triathlete.

Racing Weight is a proven weight-management program designed specifically for endurance athletes. Revealing new research and drawing from the best practices of elite athletes, coach and nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald lays out six easy steps to help cyclists, triathletes, and runners lose weight without harming their training. This comprehensive and science-based program shows athletes the best ways to lose weight and avoid the common lifestyle and training hang-ups that keep new PRs out of reach. The updated Racing Weight program helps athletes: Improve diet qualityManage appetiteBalance energy sourcesEasily monitor weight and performanceTime nutrition throughout the dayTrain to get-and stay-lean Racing Weight offers practical tools to make weight management easy. Fitzgerald's no-nonsense Diet Quality Score improves diet without counting calories. Racing Weight superfoods are diet foods high in the nutrients athletes need for training. Supplemental strength training workouts can accelerate changes in body composition. Daily food diaries from 18 pro athletes reveal how the elites maintain an athletic diet while managing appetite. Athletes know that every extra pound wastes energy and hurts performance. With Racing Weight, cyclists, triathletes, and runners have a simple program and practical tools to hit their target numbers on both the race course and the scale.

Run or Die by Kilian Jornet - the autobiography of the world's most dominating athlete in ultra running Shortlisted for the 2014 William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award National Geographic Adventurer of the Year 2014 Marca Legend Award 2014 'This man can run 100 miles. Up and down mountains. Without stopping. After skipping breakfast. Meet Kilian Jornet, the world's greatest ultra-runner' The Times At 18 months he went on his first hike. At 3, he climbed his first mountain. At 10, he entered his first mountain race. At 26, he plans to run up Everest - without an oxygen mask. Kilian Jornet has conquered some of the toughest physical tests on the planet. He has run up and down Mt. Kilimanjaro faster than any other human being, and struck down world records in every challenge that has been proposed - all before the age of 25. Dominating ultra marathons and races at altitude, he has redefined what is possible in running, astonishing competitors with his near-superhuman fitness and ability. In Run or Die Kilian shares his passion, inviting readers into a fascinating world rich with the beauty of rugged trails and mountain vistas, the pulse-pounding drama of racing, and an intense love for sport and the landscapes that surround him. In turns inspiring, insightful, candid, and deeply personal, this is a book written from the heart of the world's greatest endurance runner, for whom life presents one simple choice: Run. Or die. This is the next must-have read for those who enjoyed the endurance books Born to Run by Christopher McDougall and Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. 'Fascinating insight into the gruelling world of the ultimate ultra-runner' Daily Mail Kilian Jornet is a world champion ultra-runner, climber and ski mountaineer (a combination of skiing and mountaineering).He was voted the presitigious 'Adventurer of the Year 2014' award by National Geographic magazine, in honour of his latest project to break speed records up and down the world's 7 tallest mountains. The 4-year-project finishes with a running attempt up Everest in 2016.

"Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Therapy" provides a balanced introduction to the knowledge, skills, and clinical abilities that span the profession of athletic training. Students in athletic training, coaching, or other health care fields will find current information covering the breadth of theory and application of athletic training, including evidence-based practice, prevention and health promotion, clinical examination and diagnosis, acute and emergency care, therapeutic interventions, and health care administration. It also presents advanced topics of pathophysiology and psychological response to sport injury to better prepare students for continued study.

Compared to other introductory athletic training texts, "Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Therapy" is the only text that aligns with the newest athletic training education competencies from the National Athletic Trainers' Association (2011). Written by a team of respected athletic training educators with experience at the professional and collegiate levels, the text breaks new ground by condensing key concepts to a comprehensive level while not overwhelming students with content that will be addressed in depth in advanced courses. Numerous features assist students in learning the fundamentals:

- Each of the six parts opens with a discussion of the competencies that are covered in that part and concludes with a reference list of those competencies by description and number, making it easy to monitor the knowledge required.

- A companion web resource contains 41 clinical proficiency exercises, carefully chosen to complement the introductory level of the text and align with required educational objectives. The modules may be completed online or printed, and cross-references at the end of each chapter guide students to the appropriate modules to apply the chapter content.

- Case studies sprinkled throughout the text demonstrate real-world situations and include critical thinking questions that underscore principles of rehabilitation and exercise.

- Full-color photographs depict specific conditions and techniques, giving students an accurate picture of real practice.

- For instructors, a complete set of ancillaries assists in preparing and presenting lectures, leading class discussion, and planning assignments and assessments.

In addition, "Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Therapy" is the first text to offer a complete chapter on evidence-based practice, the newest educational competency required of entry-level athletic trainers by the NATA. The rest of the text introduces general information about life as an athletic trainer, such as training, education, licensure, certification, employment opportunities, and the roles in a sports medicine team. The core of the text then focuses on required knowledge and skills related to injury prevention, injury recognition and classification (including region-specific examination strategies, basic objective tests, physical exam strategies, and injury mechanisms), acute care, therapeutic interventions, and the role of pharmaceuticals in the healing process. To round out the text, it addresses health care administration and discusses strategies for the management of athletic training programs.

With learning features and a web resource that integrate clinical learning into an introductory course, "Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Therapy" is the essential resource for current and future athletic trainers. Long after its first use, it will prove a valuable reference for athletic training students as they progress through the curriculum, prepare for certificiation, and begin careers in the profession.

"Core Concepts in Athletic Training and Therapy" is part of Human Kinetics' Athletic Training Education Series. Featuring the work of respected authorities in athletic training, this collection of outstanding textbooks, each with its own supporting instructional resources, parallels and expounds on the content areas in the accreditation standards of the NATA Education Council.

This daring volume combines the best of writing on running with the appeal of the best literary writing, essays that take in the sights and sounds and smells of real life, of real risk, of real pain and of real elation. Emphasizing female voices, this collection of eleven personal essays set in different countries around the world offers a deep but accessible look at the power of running in our lives to make us feel more and to see ourselves in a new light. From acclaimed novelist Emily Mitchell and Portland attorney Anne Milligan to author Vanessa Runs and ESPN reporter Bonnie Ford, a diverse lineup of writers captures a variety of perspectives on running at night. These are stories that can inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to take on a thrilling new challenge. The contributors all have distinct tales to tell, but each brings a freshness and depth to their experiences that make Night Running a necessary part of every runner's library - and a valuable addition to the reading lists of all thoughtful readers.

I dont have time to run. The run will hurt or make me tired. I am too busy to run today. If youre always looking for any excuse to not go running, or put off starting a running regime, this book is for you! Athletes and people who just want to stay fit and exercise need to train their mind just as much as the body! Its easy to find excuses and stay at home, but with Jeff Galloways mental training strategies you will find yourself staying motivated and setting and reaching new goals in no time. In Mental Training for Runners you will find many useful tips on how to deal with stress. Jeff Galloway describes typical everyday situations and how to go out and run even if your brain is making up excuses. Jeff explains drills to help you rehearse a good response to those excuses so that over time you will change your habits; he presents training tools that will lower your stress and help you learn to set realistic goals. There is a section on better technique that will help you run better and achieve your next goal. Mental Training for Runners will put you on the path to a positive mental environment and will turn your mind, body, and spirit into a powerful team and tool. After reading and learning from this book, there will only ever be one answer to any challenge: I can do it!

Any runner can tell you that the sport isn't just about churning out miles day in and day out. Runners have a passion, dedication, and desire to go faster, longer, and farther. Now, "The Art of Running Faster" provides you with a new approach to running, achieving your goals and setting your personal best.

Whether you're old or young, new to the sport or an experienced marathoner, this guide will change how you run and the results you achieve. "The Art of Running Faster" challenges the stereotypes, removes the doubts and erases the self-imposed limitations by prescribing not only what to do but also how to do it. Inside, you will learn how to

-overcome the obstacles that prevent you from running faster, more comfortably, and with greater focus;

-rethink conventional training methods, listen to your body, and challenge traditional running 'norms';

-customize your training program to emphasize the development of speed, strength, and stamina;

-shift gears, reach that next level of performance, and blow past the competition.

In this one-of-a-kind guide, former world-class runner Julian Goater shares his experiences, insights and advice for better, more efficient and faster running.

Much more than training tips and motivational stories, "The Art of Running Faster" is your guide to improved technique and optimal performance. Let Julian Goater show you a new way to run faster, farther and longer.

As contributing editor of the US edition of Runners' World and best-selling author, Hal Higdon has helped countless runners achieve their distance goals. Now, he's created the definitive guide on today's most popular distance, the 13.1-mile, half marathon. This book contains everything needed to know about running the half marathon, including where to begin, what to focus on, pacing, how to avoid injury, how to track progress, how to stay the course and how to improve. Whether this is their first or their fiftieth half marathon, there is a plan for everyone. it provides customisable programmes, ranging from novice to advanced (there's even a walking-only plan), as well as tried and tested strategies, race day tips and motivation from other half-marathoners around the globe.

wo-time Olympian Kara Goucher shares her secrets to conquering self-doubt and improving running performance using proven tools from the field of sport psychology. This book includes tips, techniques and real-life experiences from Olympians Emma Coburn and Molly Huddle, and New York Times bestselling author Robin Arzon. Strong also offers perspectives from two experts in the field of sport psychology, including Kara's own sport psychologist, Dr. Stephen Walker.

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.

This book tells the story of two of Great Britain's finest Olympic athletes, Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams. Their achievements at the 1924 Paris Olympics, immortalised in the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, are the stuff of legend. They both won Olympic gold medals and became heroes of the day. But they also went on to lead fascinating lives after they retired from running. This beautiful book tells their remarkable stories with great charm and confirms the view that, as men, they shall always rank as among the finest this great sport of athletics has ever produced.

Coaching track and field is a unique challenge. The number of events, the specific technical skills to teach in each one, the event- and athlete-tailored training programs required for performing at a high level, and the planning and organization needed for practicing and competing effectively as a team can be difficult for even the most educated and experienced coaches. Track & Field Coaching Essentials provides the information and direction to make your first, or twenty-first, season a success. Starting with the fundamentals, moving on to the sport sciences, and then detailing each of the events, this is the most comprehensive and authoritative coaching resource in the sport. Experts such as Vern Gambetta on biomotor training for speed and power events, Joe Vigil on endurance events, and Jeremy Fischer on the jumps ensure the book contains the best and most current knowledge on each topic. Common technical faults and their corrections, as well as progressive performance drills, are included for every event, including relays. This primary text in USA Track & Field's coaching education program is also a go-to reference for veteran coaches. Be it races, jumps, or throws, Track & Field Coaching Essentials has what coaches need to know to help their athletes achieve their performance potential.

Japanese have been fervid long-distance runners for many centuries. Today, on a per capita basis, at least as many Japanese residents complete marathons each year as in the United States or any other country. Marathon Japan is the first comprehensive English-language chronicle of the history of this important part of Japanese sports culture. It traces the development of distance racing beginning with the Stockholm Olympics of 1912, when the Japanese government used athletics, and above all the marathon, as a means to continue its late nineteenth-century project of winning the respect of Western countries and achieving parity with the world powers. The marathon soon became the first event in a Western-derived sport in which Japanese proved consistently superior to athletes from other countries. During the 1920s and 1930s, Japanese runners regularly produced the fastest times in the world, and twice in the period after World War Two - in the 1960s and late 1970s-1980s - Japanese men again dominated world marathoning. Japanese women likewise emerged as some of the world's fastest in the 1990s and early 2000s. Meanwhile the general public took up distance running with enthusiasm, starting in the 1960s and continuing unabated today, symbolized most recently by massive open-entry marathons in Tokyo, Osaka, and other Japanese cities comparable in scale and challenge to major world races in Boston, New York, Chicago, London, and Berlin. In this book, Thomas Havens analyzes the origins, development, and significance of Japan's century-long excellence in marathons and long-distance relays (ekiden), as well as the reasons for the explosive growth of distance racing among ordinary citizens in more recent decades. He reveals the key role of commercial media companies in promoting sports, especially marathons and ekidens, from the 1910s to today and explains how running became a consumer commodity beginning in the 1970s as Japanese society matured into an age of capitalistaffluence. What comes to light as well are the relentlessly nationalistic goals underlying government policies toward sports - above all marathons, where Japanese have been so successful - throughout the modern era. The public craze for distance racing, both watching and running, has created a shared citizenship of civic participation among young and old, male and female, persons of every social background and level of education. The combination of speedy elite athletes and huge numbers of general-citizen runners means that Japan today is truly a marathon nation. Marathon Japan will appeal to Japan specialists interested in modern cultural and social history. It will engage recreational runners in Japan and abroad as well as anyone interested in the history of sports.