At the turn of the century, Track and Field was the bastion of the rich and privileged. While baseball and prize-fighting attracted the top sportsmen from the lower orders of society, athletic clubs generally filled themselves with the America's top sporting graduates from private colleges and the sons of the rich. Except one! The Irish-American Athletic Club was a New York organization that bucked the trend. Founded by immigrants and their sons, it was populated by immigrants, the sons of immigrants, and not necessarily the sons of Irish immigrants. Jews, African-Americans, Scandinavians, Italians, even a handful of Englishmen joined the club. It would dominate New York and American athletics for over a decade, forcing the renowned New York Athletic Club into perennial second place. It would lay claim to the title of best athletic club in the world following the 1908 Olympic Games. It would break the "color-line". It would bend the rules on amateurism. It would challenge the ban on Sunday entertainments and succumb to the fallout from the First World War, Prohibition and a growing city swallowing up real estate for urban housing, yet endow us some of the greatest myths and legends in American athletics. This is its story.

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.

100 Trailblazers: Great Women Athletes Who Opened Doors for Future Generations shines an admiring spotlight on the accomplishments of women in sport whose life stories are important but not necessarily well known. Research and personal interviews reveal the groundbreaking work of effective administrators, dedicated coaches, determined reformers, and spirited athletes who excelled in tennis, golf, skating, swimming and diving, gymnastics, track and field, soccer, softball and baseball, basketball, volleyball, and motor sports. These fascinating profiles chronicle the achievements of women who overcame innumerable obstacles, broke down walls, and opened doors for future generations.

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.

Chris Thrall set out to run an ultramarathon a day from John O'Groats to Land's End, solo, unsupported and sleeping in a tent by the side of the road. He'd not trained for two years, having been disabled whilst awaiting major spinal surgery. His backpack alone for the 999-mile slog Weighed over fifteen kilograms. Most said Chris couldn't do it. The former commando promised he would. Because to a Royal Marine success is simply a State of Mind ...

OLYMPIAN, WORLD CHAMPION RUNNER AND IRISH SPORTING LEGEND 'Sonia walked to the start line with the other athletes, her tummy full of butterflies. She could feel the eyes of the crowd upon them. Sixty-five thousand people, all here to watch their race. She had dreamt about this moment for so long, and now it was here.' As a little girl, playing with her friends in Cobh, Co. Cork, Sonia O'Sullivan was known as the fastest runner. When she joined a running club and started to win races, she began to dream of the Olympic Games. Through her talent, dedication and her ability to get back up and dust herself down when things went wrong. Sonia went from an ordinary girl who loved to run to an extraordinary world class athlete. The story of one of Ireland's greatest ever athletes -- and a dream made real.