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The Race to Be Myself: A Memoir Hardcover - September 19, 2023 Castor Semenya World champion runner Caster Semenya offers an empowering account of her extraordinary life and career, and her trailblazing battle to compete on her own terms. Caster Semenya is one of the greatest athletes ever to run the 800 meter. Semenya went undefeated for almost four years, winning two Olympic gold medals and three World Athletics Championships, and set and broke numerous records. The Race to be Myself tells the coming-of-age story of an iconic athlete—of Semenya’s dramatic journey from a gifted and self-trained novice to the pinnacle of her sport—and takes readers behind the scenes of her inspiring battle to run in the “body that God gave me.” Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Up to Speed: The Groundbreaking Science of Women Athletes Christine Yu (Author) “Up to Speed is a roadmap and toolbox for athletes of all ages. Every coach should read it and discuss it with their athletes. I wish I had been able to read this book while I was competing.” —Kara Goucher, Olympic long-distance runner and author of The Longest Race How the latest science can help women achieve their athletic potential Over the last fifty years, women have made extraordinary advances in athletics. More women than ever are playing sports and staying active longer. Whether they’re elite athletes looking for an edge or enthusiastic amateurs, women deserve a culture of sports that helps them thrive: training programs and equipment designed to work with their bodies, as well as guidelines for nutrition and injury prevention that are based in science and tailored to their lived experience. Yet too often the guidance women receive is based on research that fails to consider their experiences or their bodies. So much of what we take as gospel about exercise and sports science is based solely on studies of men. The good news is, this is finally changing. Researchers are creating more inclusive studies to close the gender data gap. They’re examining the ways women can boost athletic performance, reduce injury, and stay healthy. Sports and health journalist Christine Yu disentangles myth and gender bias from real science, making the case for new approaches that can help women athletes excel at every stage of life, from adolescence to adulthood, through pregnancy, menopause, and beyond. She explains the latest research and celebrates the researchers, athletes, and advocates pushing back against the status quo and proposing better solutions to improve the active and athletic lives of women and girls. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Man of the Oval: The International Legacy of John Chaplin and WSU Track & Field Bruce Blizard (Author) "John Prescott Chaplin suggested the title for this book—Man of the Oval—very early in the writing process. When I asked why that title in particular, he explained that the oval shape of the track, combined with the 440-yard or 400-meter distance of a single lap, plus the demands of racing that one lap, seemed to characterize his career as an athlete, a coach, the chair of the International Competition Committee and chairman of the Men’s Track & Field Committee for USA Track & Field (USATF), and finally, an international technical official with the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF, now called World Athletics). "John Chaplin views his life in the sport not as a straight line but as an oval, encircling one lap of the quarter mile (440 yards or 400 meters) oval repeatedly. The one-lap race is long, hard, and it requires an unwavering commitment. The 400-meter athlete does not get to relax, coast, ease up, or slow down. After spending many hours with John Chaplin during the last twenty months, I’d agree that one hard lap of the oval is the perfect metaphor for John Chaplin’s career in track & field—an all-out sprint, tenacious and unrelenting." Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Ignite: Unlock the Hidden Potential Within Andre De Grasse (Author) Insightful, practical lessons on life, on and off the track, from an Olympic and world champion Not only is Andre De Grasse blazingly fast on the track, he’s also incredibly popular with his fans. His beaming smile and magnetic personality have won over millions of people around the world. Who could forget De Grasse’s friendly rivalry with sprinting legend Usain Bolt? Or when he became the first Canadian to capture medals in all three sprint events during a single Olympics? His gold medal victory in the 200-metre race at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics captivated Canadians witnessing a feat not accomplished by any other Canadian in close to a century. InIgnite, De Grasse shares important lessons from his improbable journey to becoming an Olympic champion. As one of the fastest humans alive, De Grasse has demonstrated what it takes to perform at your best under enormous pressure and to continue to push the limit of what seems impossible. De Grasse shares inspirational stories and lessons about the determination, resilience and perseverance it takes to become the best. Readers will gain from his insights from the track and beyond to unlock their own hidden potential and stare down life’s challenges whether at work, at home, or in pursuit of their dreams. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Run Faster 10Ks Greg McMillan (Author) "Greg is one of the best and smartest distance running coaches in America." -Amby Burfoot, Runner's World Magazine In Run Faster 10Ks,world renowned running coach Greg McMillan shares the top training plans and racing strategies he uses with his 10K racers. Successful with beginners, age groupers, and Olympians, Greg simplifies the often confusing world of 10K training.When you get it all right, your training improves and you don't just finish your race but you finish much faster. Run Faster 10Ksprovides everything you need to better prepare for and race your next 10K: • 10K Training Plans for Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced Runners • How to Better Perform 10K Workouts • How to Build 10K Legs • How to Fuel in Your 10K • How to Survive 10K Training • How to Survive the 10K Freak Out • How to Optimize Race Day - A Step by Step Guide • How to Pace Your 10K • And much, much more Get ready to master the 10K with Run Faster 10Ks. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Cancelled: The Left Way Back from Woke Umut Ozkirimli (Author) Right now, someone, somewhere is being cancelled. Off-the-cuff tweets or “harmless” office banter have the potential to wreck lives. The Left condemns the Right and the bigotry of the old elites. The Right complains about brain-dead political correctness. In reality, both sides are colluding in a reactionary politics that is as self-defeating as it is divisive. Can the Left escape this extremism and stay true to the progressive ideals it once professed? In this provocative book, Umut Özkirimli reveals how the Left has been sucked into a spiral of toxic hatred and outrage-mongering, retreating from the democratic ideals of freedom and pluralism that it purports to represent. Exploring the similarities between right-wing populism and radical identity politics, he sets out an alternative vision. It is only by focusing on our common humanity and working across differences that the Left will find a constructive and consensual way back from “woke.” Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Choosing to Run: A Memoir Des Linden (Author), Bonnie D. Ford Featuring both the story of an historic, unforgettable win and insight into the life of an indelible champion, Choosing to Run is a truly inspirational memoir from Boston Marathon winner and Olympian Des Linden, sharing her personal story and what motivates her to keep showing up. When Des woke up on April 16, 2018, the morning of the Boston Marathon, it was 39 degrees and raining, with high, gusty winds. The weather didn’t bother her. In fact, she thought it might be a blessing. She was far from peak form—recovering from illness and questioning her running future—and didn’t expect much of herself that day. But as she ticked off mile after mile in the brutal conditions, passing familiar landmarks on the course she knew by heart, something shifted. Opportunity unexpectedly presented itself. Des tapped into her inner strength and remembered all of the reasons she loved to race. Coming off Heartbreak Hill at Mile 22, Des took the lead and never relinquished it, becoming the 2018 Boston Marathon champion and the first American woman to win the race in thirty-three years. Her career has always been defined by tenacity and an independent spirit, stretching back to her first competitive race in San Diego, when she beat better-outfitted, more experienced kids. Des was a two-time All-American at Arizona State University, and as her collegiate years wound down, she decided she wasn’t done with the sport. Des gambled on herself and moved to Michigan to give professional running a try. As she rose through the elite ranks, she became increasingly determined to do things her way in an industry often bound by the status quo. In her first book, readers will learn the story behind that resolve: the way Des trains, the way she thinks, her relationships with other great runners of her generation, and how much she values her family and friends. They’ll read about her deep connection to the most famous marathon in the world, her two very different Olympic experiences, and how she defined new goals and set a world record at the 50-kilometer distance. Most of all, they’ll learn what makes her get up and run every day. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Take Back the Game: How Money and Mania Are Ruining Kids' Sports--and Why It Matters Linda Flanagan (Author) A close look at how big money and high stakes have transformed youth sports, turning once healthy, fun activities for kids into all-consuming endeavors—putting stress on children and families alike Some 75% of American families want their kids to play sports. Athletics are training grounds for character, friendship, and connection; at their best, sports insulate kids from hardship and prepare them for adult life. But youth sports have changed so dramatically over the last 25 years that they no longer deliver the healthy outcomes everyone wants. Instead, unbeknownst to most parents, kids who play competitive organized sports are more likely to burn out or suffer from overuse injuries than to develop their characters or build healthy habits. What happened to kids' sports? And how can we make them fun again? In Take Back the Game, coach and journalist Linda Flanagan reveals how the youth sports industry capitalizes on parents’ worry about their kids’ futures, selling the idea that more competitive play is essential in the feeding frenzy over access to colleges and universities. Drawing on her experience as a coach and a parent, along with research and expert analysis, Flanagan delves into a national obsession that has: * Compelled kids to specialize year-round in one sport. * Increased the risk of both physical injury and mental health problems. * Encouraged egregious behavior by coaches and parents. 8 Reduced access to sports for low-income families. A provocative and timely entrant into a conversation thousands of parents are having on the sidelines, Take Back the Game uncovers how youth sports became a serious business, the consequences of raising the stakes for kids and parents alike--and the changes we need now. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information When Women Stood: The Untold History of Females Who Changed Sports Alexandra Allred (Author) An unapologetically candid and illuminating history of women and their fight for equality, told through the influential world of sports. From early Amazons to modern-day athletes, women have been fighting for their rightful place in the world. The history of these female athletes—whether warriors on the battlefield or competitors in the sports arena—has often been neglected, yet it is through sports that women have changed society, gaining entry into education, travel, politics, and more. When Women Stood: The Untold History of Females Who Changed Sports is an eye-opening chronicle of the amazing women who refused to accept the status quo and fought for something better for themselves and for those who would follow. It includes the stories of female football players, Olympic athletes, powerlifters, and soccer stars, of historians, archeologists, crusaders, and scientists. It also reveals the surprisingly interwoven history of women’s fashion, scientific advances, feminine ideals, and more. Women’s sports history cannot be told without also telling the story of the fight for gender and racial equality, economics, medical biases, gay and transgender history, violence, religion, media, abuse, and activism. When Women Stood is the first to go beyond the record books and gold medal counts to truly dig into the vital role women and sports have played in instigating change in society as a whole. And it shows that, despite seemingly unsurmountable odds, the true spirit of the female athlete can never be restrained. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Coaching the Kenyans: Sharing the Secrets of the World’s Fastest Runners Jason R. Karp PhD | What happens when an American coach and exercise physiologist moves to a rural town in Kenya’s Great Rift Valley to coach a group of Kenyan runners? From training in groups and controlling the pace to running by feel and having a strong mindset, the Kenyan runners have specific habits and training methods that make them successful. Dr. Jason Karp brings his deep experience in world-class coaching to the epicenter of distance running—Iten, Kenya—where he helps develop some of their great talent, applies his decades of knowledge and experience, plus learns about himself as a runner and a coach. Part storytelling and part training guide, Coaching the Kenyans is a vivid account of living, training, and learning in this rural, high-altitude town with its agrarian lifestyle and the undisputed best runners in the world. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Girl Runner: A Novel Carrie Snyder (Author) Girl Runner is the story of Aganetha Smart, a former Olympic athlete who was famous in the 1920s, but now, at age 104, lives in a nursing home, alone and forgotten by history. For Aganetha, a competitive and ambitious woman, her life remains present and unfinished in her mind. When her quiet life is disturbed by the unexpected arrival of two young strangers, Aganetha begins to reflect on her childhood in rural Ontario and her struggles to make an independent life for herself in the city. Without revealing who they are, or what they may want from her, the visitors take Aganetha on an outing from the nursing home. As ready as ever for adventure, Aganetha’s memories are stirred when the pair return her to the family farm where she was raised. The devastation of WWI and the Spanish flu epidemic, the optimism of the 1920s and the sacrifices of the 1930s play out in Aganetha’s mind, as she wrestles with the confusion and displacement of the present. Part historical page-turner, part contemporary mystery, Girl Runner is an engaging and endearing story about family, ambition, athletics and the dedicated pursuit of one’s passions. It is also, ultimately, about a woman who follows the singular, heart-breaking and inspiring course of her life until the very end. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Endurance of Speed: The Revolutionary New Way to Train for Marathons & Half-Marathons Jason Karp (Author) Oftentimes, runners’ performances plateau not because of what they do, but because of what they don’t do. And one of the things that many runners don’t do when they start running as adults is work on their basic speed. They never become fast runners. What happens if runners turn the traditional model of distance running training on its head and train speed first before training endurance? What happens when runners train at the right speed rather than at the right distance? The Endurance of Speed is a revolutionary new method of marathon and half-marathon training, in which you’ll discover the remarkable answers to these questions, as you learn how to train your speed first and then how to improve your endurance of speed to reach and exceed your marathon or half-marathon goals. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running Periodization: Training Theories to Run Faster Jason Karp (Author) A groundbreaking and fascinating discussion of the theories of run training, from bestselling author, coach, and exercise physiologist Jason Karp, PhD, MBA. How do you know the precise combination and best order of workouts that will enable you to run faster? How do you know the right time to do another workout after doing a workout on Tuesday? How do you individualize training for runners of different strengths, weaknesses, adaptive abilities, developmental ages, and time frames? Sometimes, you need to break the rules. In the groundbreaking book, Running Periodization, Jason Karp, PhD, MBA explains a variety of training theories using theoretical and historical frameworks, scientific research, and documented empirical evidence from the world's best runners to discover how to optimally train. The book shows runners and coaches how to design training programs using several periodized approaches, including linear periodization, reverse linear periodization, block periodization, and undulating periodization, as well as how to periodize training for high school and college runners, strength training, and even a woman's menstrual cycle. Running Periodization shows you how to work on your training, not just in your training, to make you a world-class training strategist and the best runner you can be. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running While Black: Finding Freedom in a Sport That Wasn't Built for Us Alison Mariella Désir (Author A searing exposé on the whiteness of running, a supposedly egalitarian sport, and a call to reimagine the industry “Runners know that running brings us to ourselves. But for Black people, the simple act of running has never been so simple. It is a declaration of the right to move through the world. If running is claiming public space, why, then, does it feel like a negotiation?”   Running saved Alison Désir’s life. At rock bottom and searching for meaning and structure, Désir started marathon training, finding that it vastly improved both her physical and mental health. Yet as she became involved in the community and learned its history, she realized that the sport was largely built with white people in mind.   Running While Black draws on Désir’s experience as an endurance athlete, activist, and mental health advocate to explore why the seemingly simple, human act of long distance running for exercise and health has never been truly open to Black people. Weaving historical context—from the first recreational running boom to the horrific murder of Ahmaud Arbery—together with her own story of growth in the sport, Désir unpacks how we got here and advocates for a world where everyone is free to safely experience the life-changing power of movement.    As America reckons with its history of white supremacy across major institutions, Désir argues that, as a litmus test for an inclusive society, the fitness industry has the opportunity to lead the charge—fulfilling its promise of empowerment. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running Throughout Time By Roger Robinson (Author) Every runner's story is part of a great tradition of running stories. Running Throughout Time tells the best and most important of them. From Atalanta, the heroic woman runner of ancient Greece - when goddesses advised on race tactics - to the new legends of Billy Mills, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Allison Roe (the modern Atalanta), this book brings the greatest runners back to life. It's the perfect runner's bedside storybook. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Longest Race: Inside the Secret World of Abuse, Doping, and Deception on Nike's Elite Running Team By Kara Goucher In this unvarnished and affecting memoir, Olympian Kara Goucher reveals her experience of living through and speaking out about one of the biggest scandals in running. Kara Goucher grew up with Olympic dreams. She excelled at running from a young age and was offered a Nike sponsorship deal when she graduated from college. Then in 2004, she was invited to join a secretive, lavishly funded new team, dubbed the Nike Oregon Project. Coached by distance running legend Alberto Salazar, it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. Kara was soon winning a World Championship medal, going to the Olympics, and standing on the podium at the New York and Boston marathons, just like her coach. But behind the scenes, Salazar was hiding dark secrets. He pushed the limits of anti-doping rules, and created what Kara experienced as a culture of abuse, the extent of which she reveals in her book for the first time. Meanwhile, Nike stood by Alberto for years and proved itself capable of shockingly misogynistic corporate practices. Told with stunning honesty, The Longest Race is an unforgettable story and a call to action. Kara became a crusader for female athletes and a key witness helping to get Salazar banned from coaching at the Olympic level. Kara’s memoir reveals how she broke through the fear of losing everything, bucked powerful forces to take control of her life and career, and reclaimed her love of running. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Unfair Play: The Battle For Women's Sport By Sharron Davies and Craig Lord Available on Kindle April 20, 2023 “I’m excited to bring science, facts, specialist opinions and years of experience together in one book to show the struggles of the past and the much-maligned ongoing struggles woman’s sport still faces today. The basic right to equal opportunities of success in a career involving sport is still a much tougher challenge to anyone in this world who is female. “Biology has directly affected those and so many rights for millennia, allowing oppression and coercion of half the world’s population. By providing evidence I hope to help fight for what is fair, in a world where fair should matter.” Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Oregon Running Legend Steve Prefontaine By Paul C Clerici Author, Pat Tyson (Author), Bill Dellinger (Foreword) In the Footsteps of Oregon's beloved U.S. Olympic Athlete, Activist, and Icon Born in the small town of Coos Bay, Oregon, Steve Pre Prefontaine's meteoric rise to cross-country and track superstardom included national recognition in high school followed by state, national, and world records. From the University of Oregon track to a fourth-place finish in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games, he never stopped striving to make his mark on the world. Even today, his name conjures up images of athleticism, activism, and charisma. While his life tragically ended in a car accident at the youthful age of 24 - at which time he owned every American record from 2,000 to 10,000 meters and two to six miles - his legacy lives on. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Inner Touch: Developing Sensations in Sports It is the nightmare of every competitor: the “off day.” Those days when you can’t make a basket; you can’t feel your legs in a race; you completely lose connection with the ball. Forget the wonderful sensation of hitting a tennis ball solidly and with perfect fluidity. Forget the light sensation of your legs while running a long-distance race. Losing the feel—the sensation—for your sport can hinder your confidence, performance, motivation, and well-being. Get in sync with your sensations with the inner touch Feeling your body is so fundamental, that it is easy to take it for granted. Inner Touch gives you the keys to developing technical prowess in your sport. Unleash your unconscious mind! Become reactive, aware, and ready for the unexpected Use your body in a more precise and faster way, increasing your confidence, motivation, and enjoyment. Build a somatic repertoire that is unique to you Become attuned to your body and your sensations. Learn how to enhance the accuracy of your body maps and modify the way you feel. THE MENTAL ACCELERATOR® MISSION We believe in the power of sports to change lives. We also believe in the power of the mental game. Each of us has experienced the joy and impact of sports — as athletes, coaches, parents, or fans. Our mission is to assist athletes in handling adversity, thriving under pressure, and maximizing their potential. Stephanie Cunha, Ph.D. Author, Coach + CEO at Mental Accelerator®, Oregon Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Peak: The New Science of Athletic Performance That is Revolutionizing Sports An integrated and personalized approach to health, nutrition, training, recovery, and mindset Perfect for personal trainers, sports science students, fans of high level fitness (crossfit, marathon training, iron man, team sports) and gym heads! There is a new revolution happening in sports as more and more athletes are basing their success on this game-changing combination: health, nutrition, training, recovery, and mindset. Unfortunately, the evidence-based techniques that the expert PhDs, academic institutions, and professional performance staffs follow can be in stark contrast to what many athletes actually practice. When combined with the noise of social media, old-school traditions, and bro-science, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction. Peak is a groundbreaking book exploring the fundamentals of high performance (not the fads), the importance of consistency (not extreme effort), and the value of patience (not rapid transformation). Dr. Marc Bubbs makes deep science easy to understand, and with information from leading experts who are influencing the top performers in sports on how to achieve world-class success, he lays out the record-breaking feats of athleticism and strategies that are rooted in this personalized approach. Dr. Bubbs’s performance protocol is for the elite athlete, active individual, strength coach, nutritionist, or practitioner who wants to expand their potential by: Connecting the importance of sleep, digestion, the athlete microbiome, and blood glucose control metrics Creating personalized deep nutrition strategies for building muscle, burning fat, or “making weight” for competition Rethinking nutrition specifically for team sports Learning how elite endurance athletes fuel, including training techniques to boost performance Applying the new science of recovery that enhances performance Emphasizing the tremendous role of emotional intelligence and mindset in overcoming roadblocks and < achieving athletic success (the next frontier in performance) Analyzing the qualities of elite leaders and how to develop them authentically Dr. Bubbs expertly brings together the worlds of health, nutrition, and exercise and synthesizes the salient science into actionable guidance. Regardless if you’re trying to improve your physique, propel your endurance, or improve your team’s record, looking at performance through this lens is absolutely critical for lasting success. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Franz Stampfl. Genius Coach and Citizen of the World: A Biography By Andreas Maier (Author) , Andy Edwards (Translator) Franz Ferdinand Leopold Stampfl was the man behind Roger Bannister's first sub-four-minute mile, one of the great breakthrough performances in the history of athletics. He was arwarded the World Athletics Heritage Plaque as a "legendary and pioneering coach". His full story has never been told to an international readership before. Stampfl guided his athletes to Olympic gold medals and world records. Born in Vienna in 1913, he lived and worked in Austria, Great Britain and Australia. World sports and world history intersected in his person. He served as an assistant coach for the Austrian team at the Olympic Games in Hitler's Germany in Berlin 1936. During World War II he innocently was declared an "enemy alien" in Great Britain. Together with 2,500 prisoners, he got deported to Australia and was subsequently interned. After years he made his way back and became a celebrated coach. The search for the right place in the world remained one of his life's themes. Sport was a way of creative expression for him, comparable to creating works of art like the "Mona Lisa". "Running is an art, and every runner must be thought of as an artist," is one of his sayings. Stampfl was able to transfer visionary goals to others and had an unconditional drive to persevere in difficult situations. He particularly needed this ability for the last 14 years of his life, when his arms and legs were paralysed after a car accident. He remained a gifted teacher of movements even out of complete immobility. Franz Stampfl died in Melbourne, Australia, in 1995. His story is a discovery of great moments in athletics, a panoramic ride through the 20th century up to the present and an inspiring tale of the impossible that he made come true with charisma and willpower. The author Andreas Maier researched this biography through conversations with athletes and eyewitnesses in Austria, Great Britain and Australia, by use of existing literature, through research in archives in cooperation with historians and based on long conversations with Anton Stampfl, the son of Franz Stampfl, who provided extensive personal material about his father. Andy Edwards translated the original German text into English and added to it with great understanding of the content. „The legacy of Franz Stampfl? Don’t accept limitations!“ -Sir Roger Bannister, neurologist, former Master of Pembroke College, Oxford. The first human to run the mile in under four minutes. “For him there was only one standard and that was world-standard. The goal was never to finish second. He always said: “You have to go out and win." Our relationship was almost like father and son. Without him I would never have got to where I did.” -Ralph Doubell, Australia. 800m Olympic champion, 1968 „He seemed to us as if he had come from another time and from another world. He was certainly one of the great characters of the 20th century.” - Sir Christopher Chataway, former UK government minister for Post, Telecommunications and Industry. Former 5,000m world record holder. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running Throughout Time: The Greatest Running Stories Ever Told By Roger Robinson (Author) Every runner's story is part of a great tradition of running stories. Running Throughout Time tells the best and most important of them. From Atalanta, the heroic woman runner of ancient Greece - when goddesses advised on race tactics - to the new legends of Billy Mills, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Allison Roe (the modern Atalanta), this book brings the greatest runners back to life. It's the perfect runner's bedside storybook. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man's World By Lauren Fleshman (Author) Fueled by her years as an elite runner and advocate for women in sports, Lauren Fleshman offers her inspiring personal story and a rallying cry for reform of a sports landscape that is failing young female athletes Lauren Fleshman has grown up in the world of running: one of the most decorated collegiate athletes of all time and a national champion as a pro, she was a major face of women’s running for Nike before leaving to shake up the industry with feminist running brand Oiselle and now coaches elite young female runners. Every step of the way, she has seen the way that our sports systems—originally designed by men, for men and boys—fail young women and girls as much as empower them. Girls drop out of sports at alarming rates once they hit puberty, and female collegiate athletes routinely fall victim to injury, eating disorders, or mental health struggles as they try to force their way past a natural dip in performance for women of their age. Part memoir, part manifesto, Good for a Girl is Fleshman’s story of falling in love with running as a girl, being pushed to her limits and succumbing to devastating injuries, and daring to fight for a better way for female athletes. Long gone are the days when women and girls felt lucky just to participate; Fleshman and women everywhere are waking up to the reality that they’re running, playing, and competing in a world that wasn’t made for them. Drawing on not only her own story but also emerging research on the physiology and psychology of young athletes, both male and female, Fleshman gives voice to the often-silent experience of the female athlete and argues that the time has come to rebuild our systems of competitive sport with women at their center. Written with heart and verve, Good for a Girl is a joyful love letter to the running life, a raw personal narrative of growth and change, and a vital call to reimagine sports for young women. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Marathon Wisdom: An Elite Athlete's Insights on Running and Life By Mara Yamauchi This book of 42.195 insights the number of kilometers in a marathon distills the wealth of wisdom and experience Mara has gained as a world-class athlete. From planning training, optimizing nutrition, and preparing effectively for racing to coping with disappointments and struggles with mental illness, Mara shares everything she has learned good and bad as one of the world s top marathoners. Still, she does not spoon-feed her readers with training plans; instead, she encourages them to think critically to understand how to improve and set their own goals. This book also takes the reader into the revered world of distance running in Japan, one of the world s marathon superpowers. It has something for everyone, from beginner runners to competitive athletes and those aspiring to the very top. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Dirtiest Race in History: Ben Johnson, Carl Lewis and the 1988 Olympic 100m Final By Richard Moore 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. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Comeback Quotient: A Get-Real Guide to Building Mental Fitness in Sport and Life By Matt Fitzgerald A good comeback makes a great story. In The Comeback Quotient, sports journalist Matt Fitzgerald shares the stories of top athletic comebacks, to give you inspiration and tools for your own comeback in sport or life. Every sports fan loves a great comeback. Is there a special quality shared by top athletes who triumph over great challenges? And can anyone acquire it? In The Comeback Quotient, celebrated sportswriter Matt Fitzgerald supplies the answer to both questions. He identifies these mega-achievers of astounding athletic comebacks as “ultrarealists,” men and women who succeed where others fail by fully accepting, embracing, and addressing the reality of their situations. From ultrarunners like Rob Krar to triathletes like Mirinda Carfrae to rowers, skiers, cyclists, and runners all over the world, Fitzgerald highlights and speculates on just what makes these comebacks so compelling. As for whether anyone can stage his or her own great comeback, the answer is a resounding yes: Anyone can become an ultrarealist to some degree. In the tradition of his best-selling How Bad Do You Want It?, The Comeback Quotient combines gripping sports stories with mind-blowing science to deliver a book that will forever change how you perceive the challenges you face, giving you the inspiration and the tools to make the next great comeback you witness your own. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Equal Play: Title IX and Social Change By Nancy Hogshead-Makar (Editor), Andrew Zimbalist (Editor) One of the least understood issues in federal sports policy, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 reflects the nation's aspirational belief that girls and boys, women and men, deserve equal educational opportunities in athletics. Equal Play shows how this ideal has been implemented -- and thwarted -- by actions in every branch of the federal government. This reader addresses issues in sports before Title IX and the backlash that has resulted from the policy being instituted. The editors have collected the best scholarly writing on the landmark events of the last four decades and couple these with new original essays, primary documents from court cases, administrative regulations, and relevant supporting sources. The result is the most comprehensive single-volume work on the subject. Equal Play includes essays by many well-known sports journalists who discuss how government actions have shaped, supported, and hindered the goal of gender equality in school athletics. They discuss the history of women in sports, analyze the meaning of "equal opportunity" for female athletes, and examine shifts in arguments for and against Title IX. Equal Play will interest anyone who is concerned with gender issues in American athletics and the growth of college sports. Contributors include: Susan Cahn, Donna de Varona, Julie Foudy, Jessica Gavora, Bil Gilbert, Christine Grant, Mariah Burton Nelson, Gary R. Roberts, Don Sabo, Larry Schwartz, Michael Sokolove, Welch Suggs, Nancy Williamson, and the editors. About the Author Nancy Hogshead-Makar is a Professor at the Florida Coastal School of Law. She is a former President of the Women's Sports Foundation (1992-94) and currently serves as its legal advisor. She has testified in Congress numerous times on the topic of gender equity in athletics, written numerous scholarly and lay articles, serves as an expert witness in Title IX cases, and has written amicus briefs representing athletic organizations in the U.S. Supreme Court. Professor Hogshead-Makar is an Olympic Champion from the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, wining three gold medals and one silver medal in swimming. Andrew Zimbalist is Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College. He is the author or editor of eighteen previous books, including The Bottom Line: Observations and Arguments on the Sports Business (Temple) and In the Best Interest of Baseball? The Revolutionary Reign of Bud Selig. He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Journal of Sports Economics, and has consulted extensively in the sports industry for players associations, leagues, cities, and owners. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Villanova Track Story: 1966-1981: Touching Greatness, Forever Together By Jerry Bouma (Author), Jaclyn Draker (Contributor), & 2 more Touching Greatness, Forever Together - The Villanova Track Story: 1966-1981 is an inside account of how a small private university in eastern USA became the greatest middle-distance track & field power in the world. For 16 consecutive years, the Villanova Track Team won the Championship of America Distance Medley Relay at the Penn Relays – a winning streak that is unrivalled in the world of amateur and professional sports. Astonishingly, during this same period, Villanova won a total of 52 Championship of America relay races including the One Mile, Two Mile, Sprint Medley and Four Mile at the Penn Relays as well as producing numerous IC4A and NCAA Champions, World Records and World Bests. Written by Jerry Bouma, a former Villanova track athlete (1970-74) and Co-Captain with John Hartnett in his senior year, the book provides front line insights of the philosophy and approach of the great Coach Jumbo Elliott. He describes in detail the ascendency of such national and international stars as Dave Patrick, Charlie Messenger, Frank Murphy, Tom Donnelly, Dick Buerkle, Marty Liquori, Chris Mason, Donal Walsh, Davey Wright, Wilson Smith, John Hartnett, Ken Schappert, Brian McElroy, Eamonn Coghlan, Tom Gregan, Ed Takacs, Phil Kane, Mark Belger, Don Paige, Tony Tufariello, Sydney Maree, Dean Childs, John Burns, John Hunter, Mike England and Marcus O’Sullivan and describes in detail the leaders who emerged from this accomplished group to inspire the team year after year, each in their own unique way. All supported and guided by another key contributing factor - Coach Jack ‘Mother’ Pyrah who played a critical role in the success of the team. Bouma addresses the fundamental questions of how and why the Villanova University Track Team sustained such a successful program for such a long period of time. He identifies and analyses several critical factors that encompasses coaching, training, the unique characters, leadership, team culture, and the uniqueness of the location of Villanova University itself including the training environment. Touching Greatness, Forever Together - The Villanova Track Story: 1966-1981 is a must read for any coach, aspiring runner or athlete from all sports. Additionally, the principles that generated success for Villanova Track year after year, can also be applied to any individual or business. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Breakthrough Women's Running: Dream Big and Train Smart By Neely Spence Gracey (Author), Cindy Kuzma (Author) Breakthrough Women’s Running is written just for you—a woman runner who has big goals and needs a plan to achieve them. In her trademark fun and upbeat style, professional runner and coach Neely Spence Gracey will set you up for success with an inside look at her own story in the sport—paired with the science, experience, strategies, and insights that have worked for her and countless other female runners who set challenging goals and achieved them. Told with engaging storytelling and packed with colorful images and practical recommendations to improve your running, Breakthrough Women’s Running offers 5K, 10K, half-marathon, marathon, and run-walk training plans to suit your current distance or pacing goals. With the strength and mobility workouts included in the plans, you don’t have to wonder where and how to fit in these important (but often overlooked) components of a successful running training program. Learn how to breathe in rhythm and how to focus with mantras and mindfulness exercises. Get specific guidance on how to best manage unique challenges that women confront such as hormone fluctuations; training through the menstrual cycle, while pregnant, or after childbirth; and training while also raising a family. Know how to train to prevent injury as well as how to return to running should an injury occur. And fuel your training with five simple recipes that are nutrient dense and simple to prepare. You’ll hear from well-known, successful women runners such as Sara Hall and Nell Rojas on how even elite runners experience highs and lows in their training as well as how they themselves overcame obstacles to reach their goals. At the ends of chapters, you’ll find Breakthrough Goals—a section of small, tangible actions that you can apply in your own training to overcome specific obstacles. If you’re looking for a strategic and progressive approach for breaking through your physical or mental barriers to achieve more successful and fulfilling running, you’ve found it with Breakthrough Women’s Running. CE exam available! For certified professionals, a companion continuing education exam can be completed after reading this book. The Breakthrough Women’s Running Online CE Exam may be purchased separately or as part of the Breakthrough Women’s Running With CE Exam package that includes both the book and the exam. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Tokyo Countdown -Kindle Edition Only By Geoff Wightman Geoff Wightman was one of the athletics stadium announcers for the Tokyo Olympic Games. His son Jake was aiming to qualify for Team GB. It was on schedule in January 2020 and then Covid-19 hit the world. This is the story of a winding and rocky road to Japan. Re-live Tokyo in this behind-the-scenes diary for athletics fans, told from the unique perspective of an announcer and coach. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information How She Did It: Stories, Advice, and Secrets to Success from Fifty Legendary Distance Runners By Molly Huddle, Sara Slattery An essential guide for female athletes navigating the world of competitive running, featuring 50 candid interviews with women who've made it How She Did It begins with the kind of prescriptive information that any athlete needs to be healthy and successful in the world of competitive running, with advice and findings from the nation's top bone health experts, sports endocrinologists, nutritionists, sports psychologists, and more. It's an Olympic caliber support team at your fingertips to ensure you're training and competing efficiently—and, most importantly, safely. The book then moves into the payload: unflinching and intimate interviews with 50 well-known female runners who reveal their deepest fears, their worst choices, and their greatest achievements. Collectively, these voices are the embodiment of strength, meant to educate, inspire, motivate, and direct developing athletes who want to see how far—and how fast—they can go. With Molly and Sara's personal stories interspersed in sidebars throughout, How She Did It serves as a friendly, encouraging mentor for anyone navigating the world of long-distance running. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Pregruncy: AN ELITE RUNNER’S JOURNEY TRAINING THROUGH PREGNANCY By Dr. Natasha LaBeaud Anzures (Author), Marco Anzures (Author) I decided to write Pregruncy as soon as I found out that I was pregnant. Like many others, I have always been fascinated with the notion of exercise during pregnancy, and what the entire pregnancy experience would be like. Years before I ever became pregnant, I would read any articles that came my way about the topic. I was never the person who said that they were going to have a family, or became starry-eyed when thinking about cradling my stomach during the third trimester. No, I have always been more curious about the process of pregnancy. Curious about the stages of growth and how different people cope with the cards that they are dealt. But, I noticed that there were few resources available for the elite runner trying to navigate the world of training during pregnancy. There were morsels of details deep in Instagram posts, but there was no consistent stream of information available that showed what each day of training looked like, and that was what I was on a quest to share. My husband, who is also my coach, and I decided that I would use my own personal experiences to help others navigate pregnancy. While I understand that this is a very small n-value (n=1) with just me, I also knew that I had not found a resource that chronicled each day of training and the pregnancy experience. I kept thinking about how helpful it would be to know what the whole journey looked like for someone, as opposed to snippets along the way. I also know that my experiences with pregnancy are my own and may not match someone else’s. I wanted to see what was possible during pregnancy. I had heard so many notions about what a woman can and can’t do while they are baking a baby for over nine months, and most of the guidance errs on the ‘can’t’ side without much evidence supporting it. Marco and I decided that he would also keep his own notes during this process so that we could have two perspectives. He never read my notes during the pregnancy, and I never read his. The notes were combined later so that the “coach’s notes” could be sprinkled in throughout. What we learned is that the human body can do some amazing things and withstand an incredible amount of pain. We also learned that the healthcare system in the United States has a long way to go in terms of care for pregnant women. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Anatomy of Speed By Bill Parisis While speed is often viewed as the defining characteristic of elite athletic performance, there remains plenty of misinformation and confusion about what speed truly is and how it can be developed. Speed is far more than seconds on a stopwatch—it is the result of multiple anatomical systems working together in highly coordinated unison, from the cross-body co-contractions of deep myofascial tissues to the pulsing contract-and-release cycle of the nervous system. The Anatomy of Speed is a resource like no other. Bill Parisi, the internationally recognized expert and founder of Parisi Speed School, delves deep into the physiological mechanisms of speed through in-depth interviews with top experts and researchers in the field. The text provides scientifically proven exercises and drills for developing speed that will help performance coaches and athletes more effectively maximize development of this precious attribute. Using detailed photo sequences, enhanced with anatomical overlays, you will understand the different manifestations of speed, the biomotor systems that drive them, and scientifically proven drills and exercises for developing these abilities: * Acceleration * Maximum velocity * Deceleration * Change of direction * Agility * Maneuverability * Speed-specific strength The Anatomy of Speed converts the science into practical application, allowing you to select the most effective drills and exercises, and tailor a training program unique to your athlete’s needs. The exercises—which are each designated as basic, moderate, or advanced—are organized by complexity and speed-related categories. Exercises aimed at improving range of motion and priming the nervous system set the stage for optimal results. Speed-specific strength exercises use equipment like free weights, medicine balls, and sleds to target important speed and change-of-direction qualities. A practical programming chapter helps you assemble it all into individualized training based on sport, position, body type, skill level, movement preference, and training history. Speed comes in many forms. It is a physical skill that can be developed and improved with targeted training and a solid understanding of mechanics. The Anatomy of Speed offers equal parts science, art, and practical application to do just that. CE exam available! For certified professionals, a companion continuing education exam can be completed after reading this book. The Anatomy of Speed Online CE Exam may be purchased separately or as part of The Anatomy of Speed With CE Exam package that includes both the book and the exam. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Chasing Excellence: The Remarkable Life and Inspiring Vigilosophy of Coach Joe I. Vigil Pat Melgares (Author), Billy Mills (Foreword) Dr. Joe I. Vigil—known simply as “Coach” to virtually everybody he has ever met—rose from poverty to become a towering figure in the running world. Coach has won 19 national championships and coached 425 All-Americans, 22 Olympians…and an army of “Vigilantes” who seek to emulate his unique blend of compassion, competitive spirit, and commitment to others.In this long-overdue biography about America’s preeminent distance-running coach, author and Vigilante Pat Melgares shares Coach Vigil’s tale not just through the consummate storyteller’s own words but also through those of more than 50 family members, friends, former runners, and foes who have been shaped by his presence over a lifetime.Coach Vigil is driven by a persistent desire to learn, a deep faith in people, and an unwavering loyalty to his hometown of Alamosa, Colorado. His life is an American dream—a must-read for anyone who loves an underdog or seeks to understand the timeless qualities that forge a leader. “Chasing Excellence” has been Coach Vigil’s mantra for decades, for himself and those he teaches. At age 90, he’s as relentless as ever in that quest. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Abdi's World: The Black Cactus on Life, Running, and Fun By Myles Schrag MS (Author), Abdi Abdirahman (Author), Mo Farah (Foreword) Abdi’s World is a quirky place where the only American distance athlete to qualify for five Olympics shares the stories that shaped his enduring love of running and his laid-back approach to life. Abdi Abdirahman arrived in Tucson, Arizona, as a teenager when his family escaped civil war in their home country of Somalia. How the “Black Cactus,” as he is affectionately known, stumbled upon a career as one of the world’s most durable and beloved track and road racers of the 21st century is a story of resilience, commitment, and respect for friends and competitors alike—told here in a guide that is part life lessons, part training tips, part autobiography, and all Abdi. He has traveled the globe and shared his joie de vivre at every stop, showing a magician’s ability to balance work and play that anyone young or old, in or out of running, could learn from to live a more meaningful life. Enter Abdi’s World to join him on his insightful journey—and see what happens when you meet his stride. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Joy of Sweat: The Strange Science of Perspiration By Sarah Everts (Author) A New York Times Most Anticipated Book of the Summer A taboo-busting romp through the shame, stink, and strange science of sweating. Sweating may be one of our weirdest biological functions, but it’s also one of our most vital and least understood. In The Joy of Sweat, Sarah Everts delves into its role in the body—and in human history. Why is sweat salty? Why do we sweat when stressed? Why do some people produce colorful sweat? And should you worry about Big Brother tracking the hundreds of molecules that leak out in your sweat—not just the stinky ones or alleged pheromones—but the ones that reveal secrets about your health and vices? Everts’s entertaining investigation takes readers around the world—from Moscow, where she participates in a dating event in which people sniff sweat in search of love, to New Jersey, where companies hire trained armpit sniffers to assess the efficacy of their anti-sweat products. In Finland, Everts explores the delights of the legendary smoke sauna and the purported health benefits of good sweat, while in the Netherlands she slips into the sauna theater scene, replete with costumes, special effects, and towel dancing. Along the way, Everts traces humanity’s long quest to control sweat, culminating in the multibillion-dollar industry for deodorants and antiperspirants. And she shows that while sweating can be annoying, our sophisticated temperature control strategy is one of humanity’s most powerful biological traits. Deeply researched and written with great zest, The Joy of Sweat is a fresh take on a gross but engrossing fact of human life. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us By Carole Hooven Through riveting personal stories and the latest research, Harvard evolutionary biologist Carole Hooven shows how testosterone drives the behavior of the sexes apart and how understanding the science behind this hormone is empowering for all. Since antiquity?from the eunuchs in the royal courts of ancient China to the booming market for “elixirs of youth” in nineteenth-century Europe?humans have understood that typically masculine behavior depends on testicles, the main source of testosterone in males. Which sex has the highest rates of physical violence, hunger for status, and desire for a high number of sex partners? Just follow the testosterone. Although we humans can study and reflect on our own behavior, we are also animals, the products of millions of years of evolution. Fascinating research on creatures from chimpanzees to spiny lizards shows how high testosterone helps males out-reproduce their competitors. And men are no exception. While most people agree that sex differences in human behavior exist, they disagree about the reasons. But the science is clear: testosterone is a potent force in human society, driving the bodies and behavior of the sexes apart. But, as Hooven shows in T, it does so in concert with genes and culture to produce a vast variety of male and female behavior. And, crucially, the fact that many sex differences are grounded in biology provides no support for restrictive gender norms or patriarchal values. In understanding testosterone, we better understand ourselves and one another?and how we might build a fairer, safer society. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Ageless Intensity: High-Intensity Workouts to Slow the Aging Process By Pete McCall Are you age 40 or over and want to maintain your workout intensity even as your body starts to age? Are you not yet ready to give up intense sweat sessions? Ageless Intensity offers a research-backed perspective on how high-intensity exercise can not only maximize health benefits past age 40 but also help minimize the physiological effects of aging. Fitness expert Pete McCall provides straightforward science-based information on how the same high-intensity exercise that provides a number of health benefits—from increased lean muscle mass to burning fat to reduced heart rate—can also influence human physiology in a way that can reduce the biological effects of time. Learn about the impacts of aging on the body and how to keep getting results from working out hard and pushing yourself to your limits while doing it safely, lowering the risk of injury, and building in the needed recovery for a body that may be starting to show signs of aging. You'll gain practical knowledge on the importance of strength and power, mobility work, and recovery as the keys to boosting your efforts to build and maintain muscle, burn calories, and help joints stay mobile as the body ages. The exercises included are designed to be challenging and deliver tangible benefits to middle-aged and older adults. Save time with the predesigned workouts or customize a complete workout plan to maximize your results and combat the effects of aging. Reaching the "over-the-hill" milestone doesn’t mean you have to slow down. Ageless Intensity is your guide to maintaining fitness with high-intensity exercise and workouts to remain active, stay in shape, and enjoy your favorite activities for the rest of your life. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Unsporting: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport By Linda Blade (Author), Barbara Kay (Author) The face of female sports is changing. Radical gender activists are using a pseudoscientific theory of human biology to hijack sports and subvert the long-established concepts of fair play — forcing women and girls to risk their safety, pushing them aside for male athletes using the excuse of “inclusivity.” Anyone who questions this dogma risks being branded as a transphobe and having their social and professional lives “cancelled”. In the new book, Unsporting: How Trans Activism and Science Denial are Destroying Sport, former Canadian track champion Linda Blade and renowned National Post columnist Barbara Kay, examine the dangers of gender ideology in sports. They document the attack on biological facts upon which the level playing field of sports rests. Tackling issues few have the courage to say out loud, Unsporting shows the harm inflicted on female athletes, and identifies the institutions driving this movement. What does the future hold for sports if biological reality is ignored? Blade answers that question, and concludes with a reasonable plan to reverse course. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Genius of Athletes: What World-Class Competitors Know That Can Change Your Life Hardcover By Noel Brick (Author), Scott Douglas (Author) Whatever your biggest goals are in life, learning to think like an athlete is a game changer. If you ask research psychologist Noel Brick and bestselling fitness author and journalist Scott Douglas, the “dumb jock” stereotype is way out of bounds. Modern advances in sports psychology confirm what fans have known all along: No world-class athlete—whether an Olympic runner, swimmer, or cyclist, or a pro basketball, baseball, or football player—gets to the top without a strong mental game. Champion competitors have unique ways of taking stock of a situation, self-motivating, and even thinking about time. Cutting-edge discoveries (including those by Dr. Brick) reveal exactly how they do it—and how we can, too. You don’t need to be facing a literal hurdle to use elite athletes’ tool kits of strategies: They can help you stick the landing at a job interview or get your thesis to the finish line. Brick and Douglas pair groundbreaking science with a highlight reel of instructive moments from across the sports realm to show how legendary marathoner Meb Keflezighi runs on self-talk and how making if-then plans at practice buoyed Michael Phelps to a gold medal at the Olympics. Wherever you are in your own ambitions—from the “middle muddle” to the final stretch—The Genius of Athletes will put you right in the zone. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Relentless: Secrets of the Sporting Elite Hardcover – Aug. 31 2021 Alistair Brownlee In his quest to define ‘sporting greatness’, double Olympic champion Alistair Brownlee has spent nearly 4 years interviewing and training with some of the greatest minds in sport to discover what it takes to become – and remain – a champion. Featuring: Ian Poulter • Ronnie O’Sullivan • Alastair Cook • Paula Radcliffe • Ian Botham • Alex Danson • Michael Owen • Shane Williams • Mark Cavendish • Donna Fraser • Denis Irwin • Anna Hemmings • Richard Dunwoody • Chris Froome • Kilian Jornet • Mark Webber • AP McCoy • Stuart Lancaster • Adam Peaty • Michael Johnson • Ian Thorpe From the age of 10 Alistair Brownlee has been obsessed with being the very best, and not just improving his sporting performance across his three specialist triathlon disciplines of swimming, cycling and running, but also understanding how a winner becomes a dominant champion. Winning gold in consecutive Olympic Games has only strengthened this need and desire. Over the last 4 years Alistair has been on a journey to learn from the best, talking to elite figures across multiple sports – including Chris Froome, Ronnie O’Sullivan, Alastair Cook, Paula Radcliffe, Ian Poulter, Shane Williams, Ian Botham, Mark Webber, AP McCoy, Adam Peaty, Michael Johnson, and Ian Thorpe – as well as leading thinkers and scientists, to understand what enabled these remarkable individuals to rise to the very top, and to push the limits of human capability in their relentless pursuit of perfection. Alistair uses these fascinating interviews, along with extensive research, to explore a range of sports and environments – athletics, cycling, football, rugby, horseracing, hockey, cricket, golf, motor racing, snooker and ultra-running – to reveal how talent alone is never enough and how hard work, pain, pressure, stress, risk, focus, sacrifice, innovation, reinvention, passion, ruthlessness, luck and even failure can all play a crucial part in honing a winning mentality and achieving sustained success. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Unforgiving Line By Paul C. Maurer 'For some, running is a cornerstone in their lives. To those individuals, there is an unquenchable need to run on roads, trails and track. They cannot explain it, but that does not matter. Running is who they are. It is for them The Unforgiving Line is written. Blending past and present, the glorious history of distance running is woven into the tale. Mac, a running warrior from a past era, cannot erase his failure at the worst of times: the 1968 Olympic trials fifteen-hundred meters. D.J., a talented but emotionally fractured sixteen-year old, carries scars garnered from a troubled home life. Mac and D.J. form an unlikely pairing, but each carries the other on a path that encounters rejection, failure, and broken dreams in the quest of finding love and redemption. The Unforgiving Line delivers through the final stride. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running Within: A Guide to Mastering the Body-Mind-Spirit: A Guide to Mastering the Body-Mind-Spirit Connection for Ultimate Training and Racing By Jerry Lynch and Warren Scott 'Runners know all too well the physical and mental challenges of their sport. Plodding for miles through inclement weather, rising before dawn to squeeze a daily run into a busy schedule, overcoming minor aches and lethargy that pose a threat to an active lifestyle, these are but a few of the familiar obstacles faced by millions of runners like you. Running Within addresses the mental and physical factors of importance to runners and offers positive, practical recommendations for infusing the body, mind, and spirit with new energy and passion for running. It also provides solid information on training and racing. It will help you perform better, have more fun, and experience a deeper connection with running. Written by top sport psychologist, best-selling author, and runner Jerry Lynch, along with physician and elite triathlete Warren Scott, this book presents prescriptions, tools, and strategies for runners to fulfill their potential. Included are: - goal-setting guidelines, - relaxation and visualization exercises, - affirmation-building tips along with 63 examples, - strategies for learning from setbacks, - ways to take better risks, - fatigue- and injury-coping strategies, - motivation boosters, and - prerace and race strategies. Running Within will push your performance and enthusiasm to new heights. See how much better running can be with the body, mind, and spirit in synch and primed for every run you take. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Exercised: Why Something We Never Evolved to Do Is Healthy and Rewarding By Daniel Lieberman (Author) 'If exercise is healthy (so good for you!), why do many people dislike or avoid it? These engaging stories and explanations will revolutionize the way you think about exercising—not to mention sitting, sleeping, sprinting, weight lifting, playing, fighting, walking, jogging, and even dancing. "Strikes a perfect balance of scholarship, wit, and enthusiasm." - Bill Bryson, New York Times best-selling author of The Body *If we are born to walk and run, why do most of us take it easy whenever possible? *Does running ruin your knees? *Should we do weights, cardio, or high-intensity training? *Is sitting really the new smoking? *Can you lose weight by walking? *And how do we make sense of the conflicting, anxiety-inducing information about rest, physical activity, and exercise with which we are bombarded? In this myth-busting book, Daniel Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and a pioneering researcher on the evolution of human physical activity, tells the story of how we never evolved to exercise—to do voluntary physical activity for the sake of health. Using his own research and experiences throughout the world, Lieberman recounts without jargon how and why humans evolved to walk, run, dig, and do other necessary and rewarding physical activities while avoiding needless exertion. Exercised is entertaining and enlightening but also constructive. As our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have contributed to skyrocketing rates of obesity and diseases such as diabetes, Lieberman audaciously argues that to become more active we need to do more than medicalize and commodify exercise. Drawing on insights from evolutionary biology and anthropology, Lieberman suggests how we can make exercise more enjoyable, rather than shaming and blaming people for avoiding it. He also tackles the question of whether you can exercise too much, even as he explains why exercise can reduce our vulnerability to the diseases mostly likely to make us sick and kill us. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia By Michael Crawley (Author) 'Full of wonderful insights and lessons from a world where the ability to run is viewed as something almost mysterious and magical.' Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the Kenyans 'Ethiopia is a place where I have been told that energy is controlled by angels and demons and where witchdoctors can help you to acquire another runner's power. It is a place where an anonymous runner in the forest told me, miming an imaginary scoreboard and with a completely straight face, that he had dreamt that he would run 10km in 25 minutes. It is a place where they tell me that the air at Mount Entoto will transform me into a 2.08 marathon runner. It is a place, in short, of wisdom and magic, where dreaming is still very much alive.' Why does it make sense to Ethiopian runners to get up at 3am to run up and down a hill? Who would choose to train on almost impossibly steep and rocky terrain, in hyena territory? And how come Ethiopian men hold six of the top ten fastest marathon times ever? Michael Crawley spent fifteen months in Ethiopia training alongside (and sometimes a fair way behind) runners at all levels of the sport, from night watchmen hoping to change their lives to world class marathon runners, in order to answer these questions. Follow him into the forest as he attempts to keep up and get to the heart of their success. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Athlete's Gut: The Inside Science of Digestion, Nutrition, and Stomach Distress By Patrick Wilson PhD RD PhD RD The Athlete’s Gut is an in-depth look at a system that plagues many athletes. This guide offers a much-needed resource for troubleshooting GI problems. The majority of endurance athletes suffer from some kind of gut problem during training and competition. Symptoms like nausea, cramping, bloating, side stitches, and the need to defecate can negatively impact an athlete’s performance. Why are gut problems so common during exercise? And what can athletes do to prevent and manage gut symptoms that occur during training and competition? The Athlete’s Gut makes sense of the complicated gastrointestinal tract and offers solutions to the tummy troubles that keep athletes from enjoying and excelling in their sport. Written by Patrick Wilson, professor of exercise science and registered dietitian, this gut guide for athletes combines the latest research on exercise and the gut with humorous descriptions and relatable stories. Athletes will better understand the inner workings of their own gut and will be equipped to make the needed changes to diet and exercise to perform?and feel?better. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Science of Running: Analyze your Technique, Prevent Injury, Revolutionize your Training By Chris Napier (Author) Discover the hard science that will help you run faster, endure for longer, and avoid injury. Analyze your running style and learn how to enhance your gait for optimum efficiency and safety. Transform your performance with exercises targeting strength, flexibility, and recovery - each exercise annotated to reveal the muscle mechanics so you know you're getting it right. Understand the science behind your body's energy systems and how to train to maximize energy storage and conversion. Follow training and exercise programs tailored to different abilities and distances, from 5K to marathon. Whether you are new to running or an experienced runner, this book will help you achieve your goals and stay injury-free. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Girls Running: All You Need to Strive, Thrive, and Run Your Best By Melody Fairchild (Author), Elizabeth Carey (Author) Running can shape a young athlete in healthy, positive ways for the rest of her life. Girls Running offers the guidance and tools girls need to thrive on their running journey, right from the start. With straight talk on training, physiology, menstruation, sports nutrition, a winning mindset, body image issues, gear, team-building, and competition, Girls Running educates and empowers young runners to achieve their potential and love running more. Inspired by high-school phenom Melody Fairchild’s groundbreaking running journey, and with the coaching insight from Fairchild and coauthor Elizabeth Carey, Girls Running is a valuable toolkit for middle- and high-school runners. Backed by science, research, and over 100,000 miles of experience, this resource answers the most timely and sensitive questions that girls face when their bodies change and the miles increase. Girls, parents, and coaches will see ways to navigate puberty, mental health, eating disorders, and the pressures of competitive running. Girls Running is a go-to guide for everything girls need to know to run better?and love the journey while doing it! Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Russian Affair: The True Story of the Couple who Uncovered the Greatest Sporting Scandal By David Walsh (Author) It was the story that shocked the world: Russian athletics was revealed to be corrupt from top to bottom, with institutionalised doping used to help the nation's athletes win medals they did not truly deserve. There had always been suspicions, but now WADA had the clearest evidence of what had gone on. As a result, Russia was banned from international athletics until they could show that they were competing clean. With the Rio Olympics imminent, it was a shattering blow to the country's prestige. At the heart of it all, however, was a very personal story of a couple who had risked everything. Vitaliy Stepanov had been part of the Russian anti-doping squad, and during his work he had met and fallen in love with Yuliya, one of the country's most promising 800m athletes. But soon Vitaliy discovered that his bride was not all she seemed: she was taking performance-enhancing drugs. It could have been the end of their relationship, but instead they decided they would reveal the scale and the scope of the corruption in Russian athletics - the bribes, the drugs, the abuse. At enormous personal risk to their marriage and even their lives, they recorded and filmed athletes and officials involved in the scandal, and then escaped to Germany to pass on their devastating evidence. Now, with award-winning journalist David Walsh, the man who broke the Lance Armstrong story, they reveal the full truth of what went on in Russia, and the corrupt system that surrounded everything they did. But it is not only an unrivalled and comprehensive account of the biggest sporting scandal, it is a warm and human story of a couple fighting to tell the truth and to save their family at the same time. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Rodchenkov Affair: How I Brought Down Russia’s Secret Doping Empire By Grigory Rodchenkov (Author) The full story behind Oscar award-winning Icarus One of the Financial Times's 'Fifty people who shaped the decade' 'The biggest sports scandal the world has ever seen' In 2015, Russia's Anti-Doping Centre was suspended by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) following revelations of an elaborate state-sponsored doping programme at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Involving a nearly undetectable steroid delivery system known as 'Duchesse cocktail', tampering and switching of urine samples, and a complex state-sanctioned cover-up, the programme was masterminded by Grigory Rodchenkov. The Rodchenkov Affair tells the full, unadulterated story that was first glimpsed in Bryan Fogel's award-winning documentary and still continues to captivate and shock the world. Charting the author's childhood growing up under the Iron Curtain, his first encounter with doping as a 22-year-old student athlete at Moscow State University, and his subsequent career working for the Soviet Olympic Committee, this breathtakingly candid journey reveals a rigged system of flawed individuals, brazen deceit and impossible moral choices. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information With the Wind: Finding Victory Within By Sam Chelanga (Author), Paul Tergat (Foreword) With the Wind reveals the key to finding the triumph from within and the champion within everyone. Many people find themselves living a life they in no way predicted or foresaw. With the Wind is an attempt to show that although people are different in so many ways, they are more alike than they may realize. It is there in that place of likeness that lays the root to the joy that is sought after. The joy, just as the likeness, was there all along. With the Wind is a true story, written by the man himself who ran his way out of poverty in Rural Kenya, to becoming a collegiate track star and National Champion, to now wearing the Army Green and serving in the US Military. Within its pages, Sam Chelanga gives his raw and inspirational take on life and paves the way to finding the champion within everyone. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Olympic Pride, American Prejudice: The Untold Story of 18 African Americans Who Defied Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler to Compete in the 1936 Berlin Olympics By Deborah Riley Draper (Author), Blair Underwood (Author), Travis Thrasher (Author) Discover the astonishing, inspirational, and largely unknown true story of the eighteen African American athletes who competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games, defying the racism of both Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow South. Set against the turbulent backdrop of a segregated United States, sixteen black men and two black women are torn between boycotting the Olympic Games in Nazi Germany or participating. If they go, they would represent a country that considered them second-class citizens and would compete amid a strong undercurrent of Aryan superiority that considered them inferior. Yet, if they stayed, would they ever have a chance to prove them wrong on a global stage? To be better than anyone ever expected? Five athletes, full of discipline and heart, guide readers through this harrowing and inspiring journey. There’s a young and sometimes feisty Tidye Pickett from Chicago, whose lithe speed makes her the first African American woman to compete in the Olympic Games; a quiet Louise Stokes from Malden, Massachusetts, who breaks records across the Northeast with humble beginnings training on railroad tracks. We find Mack Robinson in Pasadena, California, setting an example for his younger brother, Jackie Robinson; and the unlikely competitor Archie Williams, a lanky book-smart teen in Oakland takes home a gold medal. Then there’s Ralph Metcalfe, born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, who becomes the wise and fierce big brother of the group. Drawing on over five years of research, Draper and Thrasher bring to life a timely story of perseverance and the will to beat unsurmountable odds. From burning crosses set on the Robinsons’s lawn to a Pennsylvania small town on fire with praise and parades when the athletes return from Berlin, Olympic Pride, American Prejudice is full of emotion, grit, political upheaval, and the American dream. Capturing a powerful and untold chapter of history, the narrative is also a celebration of the courage, commitment, and accomplishments of these talented athletes and their impact on race, sports and inclusion around the world. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running the Dream: One Summer Living, Training, and Racing with a Team of World-Class Runners Half My Age By Matt Fitzgerald A book every that every endurance athlete should own...A page-turning read both for the narrative content and hard information...For all athletes drawn to pushing up against the red line to see what they've got. At the highest level of sport, it's often not physiology but psychology that separates the best from the rest. Matt goes well beyond just telling stories of great athletes (though he's really good at doing that, too) and delves deep into cutting-edge brain science to show us all how we can strengthen our own mental muscle. Extremely well-done...a must for marathoners! Fitzgerald has been writing about the psychology of endurance performance for more than a decade now and is really one of the pioneers in terms of trying to take this body of research out of the laboratory and into the field for everyone to try. His latest book examines a series of notable races through the lens of Samuele Marcora's "psychobiological" theory of endurance. The races make it a fun read, and the psychology is thought-provoking. Fitzgerald is going to go down as one of the most competent and prolific authors of books for serious runners covering just about every legitimate aspect of the all-important runner's lifestyle. If you're looking to get to your peak performance weight or explore the mind-body connection of running, writer Matt Fitzgerald has some advice for you....Fitzgerald, an expert in endurance training and nutrition, explores a wide range of topics and cutting-edge developments from the world of running and endurance sports. The mind is the next frontier for significant performance gains...Mental fitness, says Fitzgerald, means becoming your own sports psychologist and developing coping mechanisms to help you suffer better. Which, while not entierly satisfying, is a good start. About the Author Matt Fitzgerald is an acclaimed endurance sports and nutrition writer and certified sports nutritionist. His most recent book, Iron War, was long-listed for the 2012 William Hill Sports Book of the Year, and he is the author of the best-selling Racing Weight. Fitzgerald is a columnist on Competitor.com and Active.com, and has contributed to Bicycling, Men’s Health, Triathlete, Men’s Journal, Outside, Runner’s World, Shape, Women’s Health and has ghostwritten for sports celebrities including Dean Karnazes and Kara Goucher. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Fast Girls: A Novel of the 1936 Women's Olympic Team By Elise Hooper "Fast Girls is a compelling, thrilling look at what it takes to be a female Olympian in pre-war America...Brava to Elise Hooper for bringing these inspiring heroines to the wide audience they so richly deserve." -Tara Conklin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Romantics and The House Girl Acclaimed author Elise Hooper explores the gripping, real life history of female athletes, members of the first integrated women’s Olympic team, and their journeys to the 1936 summer games in Berlin, Nazi Germany. Perfect for readers who love untold stories of amazing women, such as The Only Woman in the Room, Hidden Figures, and The Lost Girls of Paris. In the 1928 Olympics, Chicago’s Betty Robinson competes as a member of the first-ever women’s delegation in track and field. Destined for further glory, she returns home feted as America’s Golden Girl until a nearly-fatal airplane crash threatens to end everything. Outside of Boston, Louise Stokes, one of the few black girls in her town, sees competing as an opportunity to overcome the limitations placed on her. Eager to prove that she has what it takes to be a champion, she risks everything to join the Olympic team. From Missouri, Helen Stephens, awkward, tomboyish, and poor, is considered an outcast by her schoolmates, but she dreams of escaping the hardships of her farm life through athletic success. Her aspirations appear impossible until a chance encounter changes her life. These three athletes will join with others to defy society’s expectations of what women can achieve. As tensions bring the United States and Europe closer and closer to the brink of war, Betty, Louise, and Helen must fight for the chance to compete as the fastest women in the world amidst the pomp and pageantry of the Nazi-sponsored 1936 Olympics in Berlin. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Win at All Costs: Inside Nike Running and Its Culture of Deception By Matt Hart Hardcover - September 22, 2020 Game of Shadows meets Shoe Dog in this explosive behind-the-scenes look that reveals for the first time the unsettling details of Nike's secret running program—the Nike Oregon Project. In May 2017, journalist Matt Hart received a USB drive containing a single file—a 4.7-megabyte PDF named “Tic Toc, Tic Toc. . . .” He quickly realized he was in possession of a stolen report prepared a year earlier by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) for the Texas Medical Board, part of an investigation into legendary running coach Alberto Salazar, a Houston-based endocrinologist named Dr. Jeffrey Brown, and cheating by Nike-sponsored runners, including some of the world’s best athletes. The information Hart received was part of an unfolding story of deception which began when Steve Magness, an assistant to Salazar, broke the omertà—the Mafia-like code of silence about performance-enhancing drugs among those involved—and alerted the USADA. He was soon followed by Olympians Adam and Kara Goucher who risked their careers to become whistleblowers on their former Nike running family in Beaverton, Oregon. Combining sports drama and business exposé, Win at All Costs tells the full story of Nike’s running program, uncovering a corporate win-at-all-costs culture. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Born to Coach: The Story of Bill Squires, the Legendary Coach of the Greatest Generation of American Distance Runners By Paul Clerici (Author) From tasting his own blood while running hard as a Notre Dame miler to producing the top US marathon legends in the epicenter of the running boom of the 1970s and into the 80s, Bill Squires not only survived being born with a misdiagnosed and potentially fatal defective heart, but the late-developing skinny kid also amassed numerous track records as a collegiate All-American while struggling academically. As the first coach of the groundbreaking Greater Boston Track Club, Bill Squires was the key figure in the creation of the greatest generation of American distance runners. Coaching for years at all levels, it is with this vast accumulation of firsthand knowledge and experience that legendary Olympians and major marathon champions such as Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Greg Meyer, Dick Beardsley, wheelchair champ Bob Hall, and more, individually and with GBTC dominated the landscape and set the pace for future generations via Bill's innovative race simulators and group-training techniques that are still used today. Proof of his determination and perseverance appeared early as he survived the physical and emotional childhood trauma and effects of a misdiagnosis that stunted his emotional and physical growth. He continually pushed himself through personal pain in competition and maturation; found his eventual athletic calling as a record-setting runner; and became the highly sought-after benevolent ambassador of running as a coach. He is proof that one should never give up. "Coach Bill Squires turned a bunch of wacky, individualistic Boston runners into marathon elites in part because he shared the same traits - he's wacky and individualistic. And very, very smart about training for road-race success. I only got to train with Squires and the Greater Boston Track Club a couple of times in my career, but those workouts were among the hardest - and most fun - I ever did. I''ll never forget those runs." Ambrose "Amby" Burfoot, 1968 Boston Marathon winner, Runner's World editor-at-large, author "Coach Billy Squires, as we affectionately called him, is a remarkable human being as well as a brilliant coach. He is always generous with his time and we've had many conversations over the years. I know him as a very thoughtful and articulate man with a sense of humor. Not only did he train Alberto Salazar, Dick Beardsley, Bill Rodgers, and Greg Meyer, to name a few, but he takes time to chat with many of us in the running community. I remember him at the Boston Marathon year after year and we'd sit and talk about the old days and the new days. I never had a coach, but if I had, I would have wanted it to be Coach Squires. He often said he wished he'd known me 40 or 50 years ago, and I'd smile. I always look forward to our chats and wish there had been more of them. He's a great coach and a wonderful person. I have a huge amount of respect and affection for him." - Roberta "Bobbi" Gibb, three-time winner of the Boston Marathon (1966-68) and the first woman to finish the race Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Virgin Territory: The Story of Craig Virgin, America's Renaissance By Randy Sharer (Author) Nearly 40 years ago, Craig Virgin had enough confidence to think he could dominate American distance running in all its forms. For three years, he did just that while displaying the spirit of a renegade and the soul of a champion. He remains the only U.S. male to win the world cross country title, a feat he accomplished twice. At every stage of his journey to the top in cross country, track, and road racing, he hurdled roadblocks which cut short the careers of many contemporaries. "Virgin Territory: The Story of America's Renaissance Runner" provides a thrilling look at the rough-and-tumble running boom of the 1970s and 80s when Craig competed against legends such as Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, Alberto Salazar, Nick Rose, Rod Dixon, Greg Meyer, and Herb Lindsay many times and once raced the late great Steve Prefontaine. Craig would be better known if not for the Olympic boycott of 1980, the year he ran the world's fastest 10K. The son of an Illinois farmer, he survived a life-threatening health scare as a youngster. Those now making road race participation boom again will be inspired by this overlooked legend, who helped transform his sport from amateur to professional. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Oval Office: A Four-Time Olympian's Guide to Professional Track and Field By Lauryn C. Williams (Author) Success as a track and field athlete involves much more than training and beating the competition; it’s about building a brand and a business. Olympic Sprinter Lauryn Williams wished she had a guide to help her navigate the many decisions that came her way throughout her career. Instead, she was left to figure it out on her own.In The Oval Office Lauryn shares her advice for winning on and off the track from her perspective both as an Olympic athlete and a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. This book serves as a how-to guide with valuable information about:• Choosing an agent and a coach• Branding yourself• Understanding sponsorships and contracts• Optimizing earnings and savings• Traveling internationally As an athlete you are the CEO and president of your brand. You decide the direction you will go and what kind of success you will achieve. This book offers you the tools to lay a healthy foundation for making the most of a track and field career. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Peter Snell: From Olympian to Scientist By Garth-Gilmour-Peter-Snell (Author) The modern era of distance running began in the early years of the last century. The classic distances for competition have been the five and ten thousand metres. Over this period, the records for both distances have been broken many times by a variety of athletes from many different countries. The records of today are far removed from those set from earlier eras. The world records of today would have been largely unimaginable only a few decades ago. Over the period covered in this book, the five thousand metre record has been reduced by some two minutes, while the ten thousand metre record has come down by almost five minutes. Despite the obvious similarities between the two events, only ten men have succeeded in breaking the world record in both distances, making for a very select group. The group comprises runners from Finland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Russia, Australia, Kenya and Ethiopia. This book looks at the careers of those ten men, the eras in which they competed, the types of training they undertook, and their lives outside of their sporting careers. As such, it is of interest for the social and political times in which they lived in addition to their purely sporting achievements. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Five and Ten Men: Ten Men Who Redefined Distance Running By Richard Amery (Author) The modern era of distance running began in the early years of the last century. The classic distances for competition have been the five and ten thousand metres. Over this period, the records for both distances have been broken many times by a variety of athletes from many different countries. The records of today are far removed from those set from earlier eras. The world records of today would have been largely unimaginable only a few decades ago. Over the period covered in this book, the five thousand metre record has been reduced by some two minutes, while the ten thousand metre record has come down by almost five minutes. Despite the obvious similarities between the two events, only ten men have succeeded in breaking the world record in both distances, making for a very select group. The group comprises runners from Finland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Russia, Australia, Kenya and Ethiopia. This book looks at the careers of those ten men, the eras in which they competed, the types of training they undertook, and their lives outside of their sporting careers. As such, it is of interest for the social and political times in which they lived in addition to their purely sporting achievements. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Go Ahead, Stop & Pee: Running During Pregnancy and Postpartum By Mihevc Edwards, Kate (Author), Blair Green (Author) Slow down. Stop running. Pregnant and postpartum women have heard this advice since the beginning of time. Many runners have no idea what they can and cannot do during pregnancy and postpartum, leaving them unsure, scared, and susceptible to injury. This book throws out all those old wives’ tales and proves that women can keep running—during and after pregnancy. All they need is the right information. Written by two moms and physical therapists who also have a passion for running, Go Ahead, Stop and Pee is a fresh voice that empowers women to maintain their running lifestyle during pregnancy and postpartum. Combining first-hand experiences as well as science, this book: Dispels some common myths about running pregnant and postpartum Presents key exercises for pregnant runners Helps women understand and care for their postpartum bodies Offers tips on maintaining a running lifestyle after the baby For any soon-to-be or new mom who doesn’t want to "slow down", Go Ahead, Stop and Pee is the catalyst that will inspire her to keep going. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Racing Shadows: A Novel By James K Dill In May of 1984, the summer Olympic Games will return to America. Jeff Dillon prepares to run in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in Buffalo, New York. He will face the deepest field ever assembled. It is the pinnacle of his professional running career. Unfortunately, the marathon goddess does not smile on Jeff as he crosses the finish line last, exhausted and depressed. His misery is interrupted by Bill Atlee, an Olympian who won the 1928 marathon trials. Bill offers to coach the struggling runner, an unexpected silver lining on the day. Jeff returns to graduate school to be coached by Bill and the prospect of a fall come-back race. Through the many miles of training, a secret is revealed and an agreement struck. Everything points to Jeff's next marathon. There are questions to be answered and redemption sought by both athlete and coach. The race will provide a second chance to compete, to strive for the podium, and face everything that lies beyond the finish. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Building a Better Runner: Science-Based Training for Peak Performance By Terry Hamlin (Author), Bill Rodgers (Foreword) "Building A Better Runner is your ultimate guide to distance running. Whether you are a teenager who enjoys running the mile, a hobby runner who wants to be fitter and faster, or a high-level athlete aiming for Olympic gold, this book has training tips and plans to suit your needs. There is a specific way that the body improves. If the right phases of training are used at the right times, then an athlete (from a beginner or hobby runner to an elite, high-level runner) can benefit from this scheduling. By using a scientific method developed by author and runner Terry Hamlin, this book utilizes physiology, biochemistry, and periods of stress and recovery to create the most effective program for runners looking to better themselves athletically. Hamlin wants runners to understand how the body works on a kinetic and cellular level. Additionally, he hopes to help runners understand that it’s possible to remove your frustration with not improving and make the sport of running an exciting, lifelong pursuit. Are you ready to run the distance? Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed By Matthew Futterman (Author) "Athletes in any sport stand to learn from Larsen's methods, and Futterman turns in a fluent yarn reminiscent of Plimpton and McPhee." --Kirkus Visionary American running coach Bob Larsen assembled a mismatched team of elite California runners . . . the start of his decades-long quest for championships, Olympic glory, and pursuit of "the epic run." In the dusty hills above San Diego, Bob Larsen became America's greatest running coach. Starting with a ragtag group of high school cross country and track runners, Larsen set out on a decades-long quest to find the secret of running impossibly fast, for longer distances than anyone thought possible. Himself a former farm boy who fell into his track career by accident, Larsen worked through coaching high school, junior college, and college, coaxing talented runners away from more traditional sports as the running craze was in its infancy in the 60's and 70's. On the arid trails and windy roads of California, Larsen relentlessly sought the 'secret sauce' of speed and endurance that would catapult American running onto the national stage. Running to the Edge is a riveting account of Larsen's journey, and his quest to discover the unorthodox training secrets that would lead American runners (elite and recreational) to breakthroughs never imagined. New York Times Deputy Sports Editor Matthew Futterman interweaves the dramatic stories of Larsen's runners with a fascinating discourse of the science behind human running, as well as a personal running narrative that follows Futterman's own checkered love-affair with the sport. The result is a narrative that will speak to every runner, a story of Larsen's triumphs--from high school cross-country meets to the founding of the cult-favorite 70's running group, the Jamul Toads, from national championships to his long tenure as head coach at UCLA, and from the secret training regimen of world champion athletes like Larsen's protégé, American Meb Keflezighi, to victories at the New York and Boston Marathons as well as the Olympics. Running to the Edge is a page-turner . . . a relentless crusade to run faster, farther. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Passion Paradox: A Guide to Going All In, Finding Success, and Discovering the Benefits of an Unbalanced Life By Brad Stulberg, Steve Magness "Should we throw everything to the wind and follow our passions? Or should we strive for balance and let our passions cool? This book offers the surprising, nuanced, and research-backed answer." - Daniel H. Pink, Bestselling author of When and Drive. "I feel like this book was written for me. I had to resist underlining every sentence."- Shalane Flanagan. New York City Marathon Champion, Four-Time Olympian, and New York Times bestselling author. The coauthors of the bestselling Peak Performance dive into the fascinating science behind passion, showing how it can lead to a rich and meaningful life while also illuminating the ways in which it is a double-edged sword. Here's how to cultivate a passion that will take you to great heights--while minimizing the risk of an equally great fall. Common advice is to find and follow your passion. A life of passion is a good life, or so we are told. But it's not that simple. Rarely is passion something that you just stumble upon, and the same drive that fuels breakthroughs--whether they're athletic, scientific, entrepreneurial, or artistic--can be every bit as destructive as it is productive. Yes, passion can be a wonderful gift, but only if you know how to channel it. If you're not careful, passion can become an awful curse, leading to endless seeking, suffering, and burnout. Brad Stulberg and Steve Magness once again team up, this time to demystify passion, showing readers how they can find and cultivate their passion, sustainably harness its power, and avoid its dangers. They ultimately argue that passion and balance--that other virtue touted by our culture--are incompatible, and that to find your passion, you must lose balance. And that's not always a bad thing. They show readers how to develop the right kind of passion, the kind that lets you achieve great things without ruining your life. Swift, compact, and powerful, this thought-provoking book combines captivating stories of extraordinarily passionate individuals with the latest science on the biological and psychological factors that give rise to--and every bit as important, sustain--passion. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Running for My Life: One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games By Lopez Lomong (Author), Mark Tabb (Author) Running for My Life is not a story about Africa or track and field athletics. It is about outrunning the devil and achieving the impossible faith, diligence, and the desire to give back. It is the American dream come true and a stark reminder that saving one can help to save thousands more. Lopez Lomong chronicles his inspiring ascent from a barefoot lost boy of the Sudanese Civil War to a Nike sponsored athlete on the US Olympic Team. Though most of us fall somewhere between the catastrophic lows and dizzying highs of Lomong's incredible life, every reader will find in his story the human spark to pursue dreams that might seem unthinkable, even from circumstances that might appear hopeless. "Lopez Lomong's story is one of true inspiration. His life is a story of courage, hard work, never giving up, and having hope where there is hopelessness all around. Lopez is a true role model." ?MICHAEL JOHNSON, Olympic Gold Medalist "This true story of a Sudanese child refugee who became an Olympic star is powerful proof that God gives hope to the hopeless and shines a light in the darkest places. Don't be surprised if after reading this incredible tale, you find yourself mysteriously drawn to run alongside him." - RICHARD STEARNS, president, World Vision US and author of THe Hole in Our Gospel Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Racing Heart: A Runner's Journey of Love, Loss and Perseverance By Kate Mihevc Edwards What do you do when you’re forced to give up the thing you love? Kate Mihevc Edwards was a passionate runner for years and lived for endurance sports. Until the day doctors told her she’d have to stop—or possibly die. After being diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), Kate was forced to mourn the loss of a lifestyle she loved and face a very scary question: What now? With the grit and determination that made her such an accomplished runner, Kate embarked on a journey that taught her to let go of her former self and claim a new life filled with strength, gratitude, and peace. Racing Heart is Kate’s testament to this journey as she walks readers through her transition from a runner eager to finish the race to a woman who values the preciousness of the present. Written for anyone facing a major life change or hungering for a life beyond the mundane, Racing Heart is the inspirational reminder that it is often from the most painful experiences that true joy and passion emerge. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Good to Go: What the Athlete in All of Us Can Learn from the Strange Science of Recovery By Christie Aschwanden An eye-opening exploration of how the human body can best recover and adapt to sports and fitness training. In recent years recovery has become a sports and fitness buzzword. Anyone who works out or competes at any level is bombarded with the latest recovery products and services: from drinks and shakes to compression sleeves, foam rollers, electrical muscle stimulators, and sleep trackers. In Good to Go, acclaimed FiveThirtyEight science writer Christie Aschwanden takes readers on an entertaining and enlightening tour through this strange world. She investigates whether drinking Gatorade or beer after training helps or hinders performance; she examines the latest trends among athletes, from NFL star Tom Brady’s infrared pajamas to gymnast Simone Biles’ pneumatic compression boots to swimmer Michael Phelps’s “cupping” ritual; and she tests some of the most controversial methods herself, including cryochambers, float tanks, and infrared saunas. At a time when the latest recovery products and services promise so much, Good to Go seeks answers to the fundamental question: Do any of them actually help the body recover and achieve peak performance? Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Life Is a Marathon: A Memoir of Love and Endurance By Matt Fitzgerald An endurance athlete and coach reveals how the marathon transforms the lives of everyone who attempts it--and how it has helped his own family cope with serious adversity Step after step for 26.2 miles, hundreds of thousands of people run marathons. But why--what compels people past pain, lost toenails, 5.30 am start times, The Wall? Sports writer Matt Fitzgerald set out to run eight marathons in eight weeks across the country to answer that question. At each race, he meets an array of runners, from first timers, to dad-daughter teams and spouses, to people who'd been running for decades, and asks them what keeps them running. But there is another deeply personal part to Matt's journey: his own relationship to the sport--and how it helped him overcome his own struggles and cope with his wife Nataki's severe bipolar disorder. A combination of Matt's own How Bad Do You Want It? and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Life Is a Marathon captures the magic of those 26.2 miles. At the end of the day--and at the end of the race--the pursuit of a marathon finish line is not unlike the pursuit of happiness. You will pick up the book for a powerful personal story about what running does for the people for whom it does the most. You will put it down with a greater understanding of what it means to be alive in this world. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Ralph Doubell - Do Not Worry, It Is Only Pain By Ralph Doubell On the biggest day of his sporting life, he ran the perfect race. 'Beautifully executed right through,' is how the BBC's David Coleman called Doubell's 800 metres live. The Mexico City Olympics in 1968 were highly controversial, but Doubell pushed that turmoil from his mind. His winning time would have won the 800m gold at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.As Doubell reveals his secrets, the book becomes essential reading for any aspiring athlete. He possessed a powerful inner-drive - as a runner, a student at the University of Melbourne and Harvard, and later as an investment banker in New York. He was coached by the legendary Franz Stampfl, mentor to Sir Roger Bannister. He was tactically astute and impervious to injury. He grew up in a famous era for Australian athletics, following John Landy, Herb Elliott and Ron Clarke. His blunt opinions on the decline of Australian middle-distance running will cause controversy. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information A Hurdler's Hurdler: The Life of Rodney Milburn, Olympic Champion By Steven McGill (Author) In September 1972, Rodney Milburn of Opelousas, Louisiana, won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 110-meter high hurdles. Raised amid segregation and poverty in the 1950s and 60s, Milburn honed his skills on a grass track over wooden hurdles. In a career that spanned more than a decade, he established himself as the greatest hurdler of his era and one of the greatest athletes in track history. This biography chronicles Milburn's rise from poverty to international athletic stardom. Loved ones, as well as track legends Renaldo Nehemiah, Dwight Stones, Tonie Campbell, Brian Oldfield and Bill Collins, relate Milburn's remarkable achievements and humble nature. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life By Stacy Sims (Author), Selene Yeager Women are not small men. Stop eating and training like one. Because most nutrition products and training plans are designed for men, it’s no wonder that so many female athletes struggle to reach their full potential. ROAR is a comprehensive, physiology-based nutrition and training guide specifically designed for active women. This book teaches you everything you need to know to adapt your nutrition, hydration, and training to your unique physiology so you can work with, rather than against, your female physiology. Exercise physiologist and nutrition scientist Stacy T. Sims, PhD, shows you how to be your own biohacker to achieve optimum athletic performance. Complete with goal-specific meal plans and nutrient-packed recipes to optimize body composition, ROAR contains personalized nutrition advice for all stages of training and recovery. Customizable meal plans and strengthening exercises come together in a comprehensive plan to build a rock-solid fitness foundation as you build lean muscle where you need it most, strengthen bone, and boost power and endurance. Because women’s physiology changes over time, entire chapters are devoted to staying strong and active through pregnancy and menopause. No matter what your sport is—running, cycling, field sports, triathlons—this book will empower you with the nutrition and fitness knowledge you need to be in the healthiest, fittest, strongest shape of your life. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Racing Heart: A Runner's Journey of Love, Loss and Perseverance By Kate Mihevc Edwards (Author) What do you do when you’re forced to give up the thing you love? Kate Mihevc Edwards was a passionate runner for years and lived for endurance sports. Until the day doctors told her she’d have to stop—or possibly die. After being diagnosed with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), Kate was forced to mourn the loss of a lifestyle she loved and face a very scary question: What now? With the grit and determination that made her such an accomplished runner, Kate embarked on a journey that taught her to let go of her former self and claim a new life filled with strength, gratitude, and peace. Racing Heart is Kate’s testament to this journey as she walks readers through her transition from a runner eager to finish the race to a woman who values the preciousness of the present. Written for anyone facing a major life change or hungering for a life beyond the mundane, Racing Heart is the inspirational reminder that it is often from the most painful experiences that true joy and passion emerge. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Varsity Seven By Peter Hawkins (Author), Pat Tyson (Foreword) What football is to the South, distance running is to the Northwest. And in Spokane, Washington cross country running is king. Each fall thousands of elementary, middle, and high school students traverse the roads and trails, training and competing for their chance to win. Just as some of the greatest Kenyan runners in the world come from one small town, in an area called the Rift Valley, Spokane continues to supply some of America's greatest runners. The Greater Spokane League (GSL) is comprised of 10 teams. Five of those high schools, half of the league, have competed at the coveted Nike Cross Nationals since the inaugural race in 2004. Since 1979 Spokane has sent male or female distance runners to 24 of the 38 Foot Locker National Championships: that is over 60% of the time one town has been represented on a National level. There are over 266,000 male high school distance runners and 226,000 female high school runners comprising over 29,000 teams in the United States. The GSL is a statistical outlier in every respect. What makes this small city a Rift Valley of American Distance Running? By delving into the history of the athletes, coaches, volunteers and families that have set this city apart the answer becomes clear. Varsity Seven is more than just a story of top teams and times. It is the journey of the Hawkins family. From 1993 to 2010 these seven children competed during one of the most competitive eras and in one of the most competitive leagues in the country. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Eliud Kipchoge - History's fastest marathoner: An insight into the Kenyan life that shapes legends *Kindle Edition* By Tait Hearps (Author), Matt Inglis Fox (Author) Forty-two thousand, one hundred and ninety-five metres. In under two hours? Some would claim that the two-hour marathon is an inevitable progression of the sport of athletics, akin to the once impenetrable barrier of the four-minute mile. However, many would argue that this is a much more formidable obstacle, one that is at odds with human physiology. This was the case, until in May 2017, Nike staged the Breaking2 project in Monza, Italy. Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya came so close to achieving just that. What many regarded as a moon shot, the combination of Eliud’s extraordinary talent, strength and mental fortitude, with Nike’s technology and their legion of exercise scientists, came so close to culminating in an achievement that so many regarded as futuristic, if not impossible. Although not ratified by the IAAF as an official world record, Eliud’s magnificent run opened many people’s eyes to the imminent possibility, if not the inevitability, of a sub-two-hour marathon. Kipchoge’s efforts were subsequently diverted to Berlin, a world record beckoning. In an effort to unearth the formula that enables such incredible performances, we decided to travel to Kenya in August 2017, seeking to observe Kipchoge and his counterparts in preparation for the race. Detailing the experience of spending several weeks immersed in Kenya’s rich running culture - an incubator of running’s elite - and the most striking components of Eliud’s training, the book explores the ascetic devotion of this group of men and the aspects of Eliud’s life that have supported and propelled him to reach such vertiginous heights. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Tigerbelle: The Wyomia Tyus Story "Wyomia Tyus may not be as well known as Wilma Rudolph or Billie Jean King, but her athletic accomplishments and life story are equally captivating, as related in this remarkable and inspiring memoir...This deeply moving book by one of our greatest athletes makes indelible statements about integrity, growing up black in the South, social activism, gender equality, and inclusion." --Booklist, STARRED review "A half-century after her triumph, a record-setting Olympic champion recieves her due...[Tyus] has lived a life of accomplishment and meaning. An inspirational story that deserves to be told." --Kirkus Reviews "[Dave] Zirin's Edge of Sports imprint at Akashic is publishing Tigerbelle (Sept.), a memoir from two-time Olympic gold medalist sprinter Wyomia Tyus. The daughter of a tenant farmer in rural Georgia, she won top honors at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics. In the book, coauthored by Elizabeth Terzakis, she recalls her turbulent path to the top and her struggle to find recognition afterward." --Publishers Weekly, Sports Preview "Tigerbelle offers a fresh perspective on the history of women's sports in the United States. From her one-of-a-kind accomplishments on the track to her contributions to equal pay and publicity for women through the Women's Sports Foundation, Wyomia Tyus has earned her place in the pantheon of American sports sheroes and heroes." --Billie Jean King "Wyomia Tyus's story is truly an American story. It is one of profound loss and quiet courage, illustrating the contradictions of race and gender in this country and an unrelenting commitment to growth in spite of life's obstacles. From a dairy farm in Griffin, Georgia, to the annals of American sports history, Tyus inspires and teaches us all about 'getting out of the blocks' with humility, grace, and power. Her story gives true meaning to the phrase Black Girl Magic!" --Eddie S. Glaude Jr., chair of the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University "Wyomia Tyus has been an eyewitness to the cutting edge of history. Along with her Tigerbelle teammates, she pioneered sporting opportunities for women. As a great Olympic champion, she became the first person to successfully defend an Olympic hundred-meter-dash title. As a black woman, she saw how America treated her heroes, and how quickly they were cast aside. Wyomia's perspective is observant, thoughtful, and full of hope?a voice of her generation that needs to be heard." --John Naber, five-time Olympic medalist swimmer In 1968, Wyomia Tyus became the first person ever to win gold medals in the 100-meter sprint in two consecutive Olympic Games, a feat that would not be repeated for twenty years or exceeded for almost fifty. Tigerbelle chronicles Tyus's journey from her childhood as the daughter of a tenant dairy farmer through her Olympic triumphs to her post-competition struggles to make a way for herself and other female athletes. The Hidden Figures of sport, Tigerbelle helps to fill the gap currently occupying Black women's place in American history, providing insight not only on what it takes to be a champion but also on what it means to stake out an identity in an often hostile world. Tyus's exciting and uplifting story offers inspiration to readers from all walks of life. With a foreword by MSNBC host Joy Reid, and an afterword by sportswriter Dave Zirin. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information University of Nike: How Corporate Cash Bought American Higher Education The dramatic expose of how the University of Oregon sold its soul to Nike, and what that means for the future of our public institutions and our society. In the mid-1990s, facing severe cuts to its public funding, the University of Oregon—like so many colleges across the country—was desperate for cash. Luckily, the Oregon Ducks’ 1995 Rose Bowl berth caught the attention of the school’s wealthiest alumnus: Nike founder Phil Knight, who was seeking new marketing angles at the collegiate level. And so the University of Nike was born: Knight has so far donated more than half a billion dollars to the school in exchange for high-visibility branding opportunities. But as journalist Joshua Hunt shows in University of Nike, Oregon has paid dearly for the veneer of financial prosperity and athletic success that has come with this brand partnering. Hunt uncovers efforts to conceal university records, buried sexual assault allegations against university athletes, and cases of corporate overreach into academics and campus life—all revealing a university being run like a business, with America’s favorite “Shoe Dog” calling the shots. Nike money has shaped everything from Pac-10 television deals to the way the game is played, from the landscape of the campus to the type of student the university hopes to attract. More alarming still, Hunt finds other schools taking a page from Oregon’s playbook. Never before have our public institutions for research and higher learning been so thoroughly and openly under the sway of private interests, and never before has the blueprint for funding American higher education been more fraught with ethical, legal, and academic dilemmas. Encompassing more than just sports and the academy, University of Nike is a riveting story of our times. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Strong: A Runner's Guide to Boosting Confidence and Becoming the Best Version of You "Equal parts inspiration and tactical advice that you can put into place immediately, Strong is the ultimate guide to dreaming big and reaching your goals?whether that’s qualifying for the Boston Marathon or scoring the big promotion at work. I’ve admired Kara’s luminous energy, grace, grit and many running accomplishments from afar for many years. Coach and author are natural roles for her: There is no better person to encourage you to power onwards and upwards with confidence." -- Liz Plosser Editor-in-Chief, Women’s Health Running is a head game. There are two options: Let your mind wander, or focus. To compete, you must focus. Kara Goucher shares her secrets to conquering self-doubt and improving running performance using proven tools from the field of sport psychology. Strong includes tips, techniques, and real-life experiences from Olympians Emma Coburn and Molly Huddle, and New York Times best- selling author Robin Arzón. Strong also offers perspectives from two experts in the field of sport psychology, including Kara’s own sport psychologist, Dr. Stephen Walker. This Comprehensive Guide To Developing Confidence Includes: Kara’s stories, experiences, and glimpses inside her personal confidence journal. Insights from inspiring women in the field of running. Guided activities to incorporate eight confidence techniques into your own training, including: Positive Self Talk, Mantra, Setting Goals, Enclothed Cognition, Power Pose, Visualization Techniques, Power Words, and Social Connections. Tools to starting your own Kara-style confidence journal, with over 25 prompts to get you started. "Mental conditioning is an important part of an athlete's training regimen. Winning and losing are more a matter of mental preparation and toughness." -- Dr. Stephen Walker, Kara's Sport Psychologist Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information 80/20 Triathlon: Discover the Breakthrough Elite-Training Formula for Ultimate Fitness and Performance at All Levels A breakthrough program for triathletes--beginner, intermediate, and advanced--showing how to balance training intensity to maximize performance--from a fitness expert and elite coach Cutting-edge research has proven that triathletes and other endurance athletes experience their greatest performance when they do 80 percent of their training at low intensity and the remaining 20 percent at moderate to high intensity. But the vast majority of recreational triathletes are caught in the so-called "moderate-intensity rut," spending almost half of their time training too hard--harder than the pros. Training harder isn't smarter; it actually results in low-grade chronic fatigue that prevents recreational athletes from getting the best results. In 80/20 Triathlon, Matt Fitzgerald and David Warden lay out the real-world and scientific evidence, offering concrete tips and strategies, along with complete training plans for every distance--Sprint, Olympic, Half-Ironman, and Ironman--to help athletes implement the 80/20 rule of intensity balance. Benefits include reduced fatigue and injury risk, improved fitness, increased motivation, and better race results. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The John Carlos Story: The Sports Moment That Changed the World 2012 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Literary Work—Biography/Autobiography "A powerful and poignant memoir."—Cornel West, from the foreword "John Carlos is an American hero. And finally he has written a memoir to tell us his story—and a powerful story it is. I couldn't put this book down."—Michael Moore Seen around the world, John Carlos and Tommie Smith's Black Power salute on the 1968 Olympic podium sparked controversy and career fallout. Yet their show of defiance remains one of the most iconic images of Olympic history and the Black Power movement. Here is the remarkable story of one of the men behind the salute, lifelong activist John Carlos. John Carlos is a former track and field athlete and professional football player, and a founding member of the Olympic Project for Human Rights. He won the bronze medal in the 200-meter race at the 1968 Olympics, where his Black Power salute on the podium with Tommie Smith caused much political controversy. Dave Zirin is the author of four books, including Bad Sports: How Owners are Ruining the Games We Love, A Peoples' History of Sports in the United States, and What's My Name, Fool? Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Training Plans for Multisport Athletes by Gale Bernhardt Based on reader demand for the sample daily workouts she publishes in Triathlete magazine, an experienced instructor and coach provides training plans for varying training periods as well as tips for measuring exertion and proper nutrition Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Runner's World Training Journal by Runner's World Magazine (Editor), Amby Burfoot (Introduction) From the editors of Runner's World, the world's biggest running magazine, comes a training journal for runners of all abilities--that's fun to read, too! The Runner's World Training Journal provides the perfect framework to help you reach all of your running goals. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Physiological Aspects of Sport Training and Performance by Jay Hoffman This new, in-depth sport physiology reference provides a strong introduction to the physiological principles underlying sport training and performance. Plus, it delivers the best guidance available on applying the principles to athletes who are training to improve sport performance. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The CTS Collection: Training Tips for Cyclists and Triathletes by Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong, Jim Rutberg Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Getting Real About Running by Gordon Bakoulis Whether you're a beginning or experienced runner, Getting Real About Running offers "information, inspiration, and guidance to assist you in a running lifestyle that works for you," promises Gordon Bakoulis, and she delivers. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information The Lance Armstrong Performance Program: Seven Weeks to the Perfect Ride by Lance Armstrong, et al It's hard to argue with success; it's even tougher to emulate it. But if you want to train like a Tour de France winner, you couldn't do much better than learning the tricks of the trade from two-time champion (1999 and 2000) Lance Armstrong. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information From Publishers Weekly "My whole life was `special.' I rode a `special' bus, went to a school with a `special' program.... But I wasn't special, I was angry," observes Olympic runner Runyan. Rendered partially blind by Stargardt's disease, Runyan tells the story of her trials en route to the Olympics Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Training Plans for Multisport Athletes (Ultimate Training Series) Whether you are training for your first sprint-distance triathlon or qualifying for an iron man, Training Plans for Multisport Athletes will help you attain your goal! Highlights include: · Sample training plans for different levels of multisport events. · Specific workouts for each type of plan · How to train for your first multisport event. · Generic training plans useful to all ability levels of multisport athletes. · Rating exertion levels and measuring training exertion. All plans are presented in a clear, concise manner, and Bernhardt includes instructions on how to make modifications to tailor them to meet your specific training needs. Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information Click on the graphic to order the book or for more information