Running Sports

As recently as 1966, women were forbidden to run in the marathon. Professionals - including doctors - believed it was physically impossible and dangerous for women to run more than a mile and a half. But as with many other barriers women have faced over time, we fought our way in. Today, women make up almost half of the marathoning population. Yet most marathon training manuals are written by men. And while these men are experts when it comes to how men can and should train, women need training programs tailored to our bodies....

Anna McNuff had never run a mile without shoes on before. And yet, one British summer, she set off to run a (very) wiggly route from the Shetland Islands to London–on a mission to cover the distance of 100 marathons…in bare feet.

Est-il possible de reprendre la course une fois qu'on a tout laissé tomber? Après un arrêt complet de la course à pied, l'ultramarathonien Joan Roch entreprend un long retour vers son sport. Il raconte son parcours, cinq années semées de doutes, de douleurs et de joies. Le point culminant: son arrivée triomphale au sommet du mont Royal, à Montréal, au terme d'un périple improvisé de 1135 km amorcé en Gaspésie.

More than a century ago, a woman ran in the very first modern Olympic marathon. She just did it without permission. Award-winning journalist Maggie Mertens uncovers the story of how women broke into competitive running and how they are getting faster and fiercer every day—and changing our understanding of what is possible as they go.

From Monday Night Football to Super Bowl Sunday, the NFL is a dominating force in the lives of millions of fans who tune in and passionately cheer for their favorite teams. And when the games are over, the conversation is just getting started. Who's the greatest player of all time? Which coaches truly shaped the game we known and love today? Why is professional football such an undeniable part of our culture? Three-time Super Bowl winner Michael Lombardi has done it all—from scout to executive to coach—and now he sets the record straight on these questions and more.

In most sports the pinnacle is Wheaties-box notoriety. But in the world of pool, notoriety is the last thing a hustler desires. Such is the dilemma that faces one Danny Basavich, an affable, generously proportioned Jewish kid from Jersey, who flounders through high school until he discovers the one thing he excels at - the felt - and hits the road.

Is there a large arse-shaped dent in your sofa? Unwatched workout DVDs gathering dust on your shelves? An eye-wateringly expensive (and rarely used) gym membership burning a hole in your bank account? Does the sight of your wobbly thighs leave you cowering under the duvet? Then it's time you faced the truth: the only option is to lace up and hit the ground running. Straight-talking, funny, and brutally honest, Run Fat Bitch Run will give you - yes, you - the push you need to get out of the door, pounding the pavements and shedding pounds.

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. 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.

Champions, as the familiar adage preaches, are not born—they're made. Reaching the top of any sport, or any aspect of life, takes years upon years of dedication and proper preparation. But if there's a huge pool of individuals who have undertaken the same commitment and steps towards becoming the best, what truly separates the winners from everyone else? Joanna Zeiger believes proper mental preparation is the answer. The Champion Mindset is a much-needed and long overdue look into how to program a competitor's mind to achieve optimal success.

Marathons have become too easy for some runners. What was once the pinnacle of achievement in a runner's life is now a stepping stone for extraordinary adventure in ultramarathoning. The number of ultrarunners - those running distances of 50k (31 miles), 50 miles, 100k (62 miles), or 100 miles - is growing astronomically each year. To date, there has been no practical guide to ultramarathoning. Now, Bryon Powell has written Relentless Forward Progress, the first how-to manual for aspiring ultrarunners.

When Bernd Heinrich decided to write a memoir of his ultramarathon running experience, he realized that the preparation for the race was as important, if not more so, than the race itself. In Why We Run, Heinrich considers the flight endurance of birds, the antelope's running prowess and limitations, and the ultra-endurance of camels to understand how human physiology can or cannot replicate these adaptations. Heinrich offers an original and provocative work combining the rigors of science with the passion of running.

To take Arne Haase as a role model: Germany's oldest marathon runner is still doing 20 kilometers twice a week at the age of 90. And it doesn't have to be that sporty. But wouldn't the Haase model be a nice vision of you in your old days, being "trapped" in the body of a 45-year-old? For millions of people, regular exercise is part of their lives. But almost all of us run the wrong way. To stay mobile from now until old age, we can make up our minds for a fundamental change. E.g. we mostly, unconsciously run as if we were training for a competition.

Predictably Irrational meets Moneyball in ESPN veteran writer and statistical analyst Keith Law's iconoclastic look at the numbers game of baseball, proving why some of the most trusted stats are surprisingly wrong, explaining what numbers actually work, and exploring what the rise of Big Data means for the future of the sport.

Twenty-six point two miles isn’t enough anymore. Obstacle course racing, which combines the endurance challenges of a marathon with the mind-bending rigors of overcoming obstacles along the way, is taking the world by storm. At the center of this phenomenon is Joe De Sena, the driving force behind the enormously popular Spartan Race. De Sena offers a simple philosophy: commit to a goal, put in the work, and get it done.

The former middle-distance Olympic runner and high-end escort speaks out for the first time about her battle with mental illness and how mania controlled and compelled her in competition but also in life. This is a heartbreakingly honest yet hopeful memoir reminiscent of Manic, Electroboy, and An Unquiet Mind.

I've never had many friends. The only one I thought I could count on ended up stealing my scholarship—and then my boyfriend. Now, instead of spending my fall semester abroad, I'm stuck here in Iowa, with zero funds and even less hope that I'll get to study abroad at all before I graduate this spring. Even worse? My mentor asked me to take on the impossible—tutoring arrogant running back Logan Ford and helping him finally pass Chem 101. I'm about to give up before I start. But then I get a crazy idea. What if I can get Logan to be my date for the winter science ball?

This incredible story of how an ordinary mum ran her way into the record books will inspire beginner runners and die-hard marathon devotees alike, proving that, no matter where life takes you, it’s never too late to achieve your dreams and do the impossible. When Mimi first started jogging on a treadmill as an unfit 36-year-old mother of three, she never imagined she would go on to become a world-record-breaking ultrarunner.

Featured in the best-selling book Born to Run, coach and performance guru Eric Orton has spent a lifetime learning and thinking about running and about the limitless possibilities of the human body and mind. In The Cool Impossible, Orton shares his wealth of knowledge in an inspiring step-by-step guide that will open up a new world of achievement for runners of all levels of ability and experience. The truth is: Athleticism is awareness. That simple phrase is at the core of The Cool Impossible.

This book has a single purpose - to inspire you to run! Through sharing a detailed account of my first three years of pursuing running from the middle to back of the pack, it will hopefully show you you are capable of much more than you may think. After my dad's major health scare, it was time for me to change everything. Little did I know how much I would learn after taking on some physical exercise. A radical diet change allowed me to lose a forth of my body weight and it gave me boundless energy to get outside and explore.

Ultramarathons are races that go beyond the lengths of a common marathon. They can go for several hours or even days. If you are a newbie in this sport, you have the right audiobook in your hands. We will guide you to the dos and don’ts of ultra-running, give valuable tips, and offer encouragement so you can get started in this fascinating sport.