Dawn Dais makes it a little more bearable--and a lot more funDawn Dais hated running. And it didn't like her much, either. Her fitness routine consisted of avoiding the stairs in her own house, because who really has the energy to climb stairs? It was with this exercise philosophy firmly in place that she set off to complete a marathon. The Nonrunner's Marathon Guide for Women is the ideal training manual for women who don't believe that running is their biological destiny but who dream of crossing the finish line nonetheless. Nonrunners offers a realistic training schedule and is chock-full of how-to's and funny observations, which she felt were lacking in the guides she had consulted. She also integrates entries from her journal, sharing everything would-be marathoners need to know about the gear, the blisters, the early morning workouts, the late-night carb binges, and most important of all, the amazing rewards. Running may not seem like a friendly endeavor, but with Dawn Dais, you can tame the beast and hit the marathon trail.

    This book will teach you how to become a fit, fast, and healthy lifelong runner by following the authors’ innovative 7-hour workout week. In this new approach, Bill Pierce and Scott Murr show how overall fitness and total body health are the secret to longevity as a runner.Runner’s World Train Smart, Run Forever is appropriate for all runners, but is especially helpful if you’re frustrated by injuries or looking to maintain your healthy lifestyle as you age. This book addresses the controversies surrounding the dangers of over training and the stress associated with the constant craving for faster race times. Complete with a comprehensive program to enhance overall fitness, improve race times,and support healthy aging, this book will show you how to achieve your fitness goals at any stage.

    Yet until now, they've had no nutritional resource specifically addressing their concerns.This comprehensive guide distills the newest thinking in the science of exercise nutrition into practical, hands-on tips that will help runners stay healthy, recover faster, enjoy better workouts, and race successfully. Readers will learn:• detailed information on nutritional topics important to runners, from balancing internal energy stores to proper hydration• how to customize their diets to their individual training needs• shopping tips and dining-out strategies to help runners maximize their nutritional intake• the top 5 pre-race meals and top 5 healthiest snacks for runners• nutritional tips for special populations, including women, children, diabetics, and older runners

    Through the journal of Lola, a nom de plume created to embody the spirit of all runners, Amy Marxkors chronicles her journey of self discovery as she decides to find out just how good she could be if she really tried. Humorous and endearingly candid, The Lola Papers reveals the universal truths and profound humanity hidden in the miles, showing that sometimes the greatest gift in life is getting more than what you bargained for.Each chapter in The Lola Papers serves a twofold purpose. On the topmost level, it is the direct account of a specific running experience—a training run, a blown workout, a solitary trail, or a grueling race. On a deeper level that reaches beyond running and into the soul of humanity, Lola’s stories are a reflection of the struggles and emotions of life, the supreme test of endurance. Dedication. Fatigue. Failure. Victory. Monotony. Adventure. Sorrow. Joy. Redemption. And the unshakeable determination to keep on going.The Lola Papers uses the sport of distance running as a lens to examine self, relationships, and the world around us.

    In Strides, heralded author Benjamin Cheever explores the role of running in human history while interspersing this account with revelations of his own decades-long devotion to the sport. Cheever has traveled the world writing features for Runner's World magazine, and he draws from this rich experience on every page. His adventures have taken him to Kenya in search of the secrets of the world's fastest long-distance runners and to a 10-K race with American soldeirs in Baghdad. Cheever celebrates the quotidian personal satisfaction of a morning run and the more exotic pleasures of the Medoc Marathon in Bordeaux, where fine wines are served at water stations and the first prize is the winner's weight in grand crus. He shares vivid moments from the New York Marathon and waxes rhapsodic about the granddaddy of American distance events--the Boston Marathon. But what truly distignuishes Strides as a memorable read is the unique lens through which this sparkling writer explores our deep bond to running, an experience he likens to that of being able to fly.

    She soon discovers she has a talent for long-distance running and trains for her first marathon. . She loves it – and soon sets her sights on the 2005 Melbourne Marathon. When she finishes in under three hours and in third place, Vanessa is offered commercial sponsorships and attracts the attentions of elite coaches. Instead of enjoying her win however, she is driven to improve her performance. She pushes her body harder and further, determined to become the best runner she can be. Despite her increasing success and her own training as a physiotherapist she soon finds herself trapped in a spiral of extreme dieting and exercise in order to improve her performances and maintain her ‘fit and healthy’ look.Ignoring the growing concern of her family and friends, Vanessa denies there is anything unhealthy about her fitness training, until the day she finds her body has started rebelling against her …A compelling story about the dangers of overexercising and chasing perfection in a society that rewards and applauds the fastest and the fittest.

    In The Grace to Race, she shares the no-nonsense spirit and deep faith that inspired her extraordinary journey from a prominent St. Louis family to a Catholic Convent and finally to championship finish lines all over the world. As a beautiful young woman, she became an elegant equestrian and accomplished amateur actress. But as she describes in this intimate memoir, she had a secret plan as early as 14: she wanted to devote her life to God. After being courted by the most eligible bachelors in her hometown, she chose a different path and became a Sister of the Good Shepherd. She lived a mostly cloistered life as a Nun until her late forties, when a Priest suggested she take a run on the beach. She dug up a pair of shorts in a pile of donated clothes, found a pair of second-hand tennis shoes, and had a second epiphany. This time, she discovered the spiritual joy of pushing her body to the limit and of seeing God’s natural world in all its splendor. More than thirty years later, she is known as the Iron Nun for all the triathlons she has won. Just five years ago, the age 75–79 category was created for her at the Hawaiian Ironman in Kona, where she completed a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a full 26.2-mile marathon in record time. Now she has set her sights on a new goal: inaugurating another new Ironman age group, 80–84, in 2010. Sister Madonna holds dozens of records, has broken dozens of bones, and tells of dozens of miracles and angels that propelled her to a far-flung race. "It is my faith that has carried me through life’s ups and downs," she writes. "Whenever injured, I wait for the Lord to pick me up again and set me on my feet, confidently reminding Him, ‘God, you know, my intent is to keep running toward you.’" The Grace to Race is the courageous story of a woman who broke with convention, followed her heart, and found her higher mission.

    With wit, self-deprecation, and the input of experts from around the world, he provides critical information on nutrition and hydration, selecting shoes, race strategy, pacing, proper form, motivation, and how to stave off injuries while continually crossing new finish lines. He shares running music recommendations provided personally by a variety of pop and rock stars, including Paul Simon, Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Ghostface Killah, Willie Nelson, Feist, and Norah Jones. Kaplan's infectious enthusiasm about running — and music — inspires the most recalcitrant runners to lace up their shoes and hit the pavement.

    When Meb Keflezighi ran his final marathon in New York City on November 5, 2017, it marked the end of an extraordinary distance-running career. As the first person in history to win both the Boston and New York City marathons as well as an Olympic marathon medal, Meb’s legacy is forever cemented. Meb's last marathon was also his 26th, and each of those marathons has come with its own unique challenges, rewards, and outcomes. In 26 Marathons, take on those legendary races alongside Meb—every hill, bend, and unexpected turn of events that made each marathon an exceptional learning experience, and a fascinating story. 26 Marathons offers the wisdom Meb has gleaned about life, family, identity, and faith in addition to tips about running, training, and nutrition. He shows runners of all levels how to apply the lessons he's learned to their own running and lives. Equal parts inspiration and practical advice, 26 Marathons provides an inside look at the life and success of one of the greatest runners living today.

    Get paid to travel and write about it.Only no one told Jules that it would mean eating oily seabirds, repeatedly falling off a husky sled, getting stranded on a Mediterranean island, and crash-landing in Iran.The exotic destinations come thick and fast – Hong Kong, Hawaii, Huddersfield – as Jules navigates what it means to be a travel writer in a world with endless surprises up its sleeve.Add in a cast of larger-than-life characters – Elvis, Captain Cook, his own travel-mad Dad – and an eye for the ridiculous, and this journey with Jules is one you won’t want to miss.

    It was to her utter surprise that this middle-aged, out-of-shape mother found herself on the starting line of a triathlon.In Women Who Tri, DiFabio explores the triathlon phenomenon that has gripped her town and swept the nation.Her memoir is both inspiring and informative as it explores the popularity, psychology, subculture, and transformative power of triathlons among -ordinary- women. Set in a small New Jersey town that now hosts America's largest women-only triathlon club, Women Who Tri weaves together the insights of a psychologist, the research of a journalist, and the deep insecurities of a daunted newbie.DiFabio shares her journey from nervous newcomer to triathlon finisher as she investigates one of the world's most challenging and inspiring sports. She profiles women who have overcome challenges to become athletes and tri for themselves and to help others. Women Who Tri will entertain, enlighten, and inspire any triathlon enthusiast, from tri-addicts to the tri-curious.

    When you meet her on the trail, you might be surprised to see she doesn’t quite fit the typical image of a long-distance runner. She’s neither skinny nor white, and she’s here to show just how misguided these stereotypes can be.In this prejudice-busting, body-positive memoir told with raw honesty, an adventurous spirit, and a sharp sense of humor, Valerio takes readers along on her journey from first-time racer to ultramarathoner and proves that anyone can become a successful athlete.

    It can’t help but improve your spirits and your running."—Runner’s WorldBy its very nature, running is extreme and pure, resulting in a great supply of extremely memorable quotes, jokes, barbs, and philosophical gems. The Quotable Runner gathers the best of these into one indispensable volume. Sir Roger Bannister compares running to classical drama. George Patton compares it to war. Bill Clinton finds it keeps him optimistic. And Oprah sums it up beautifully: "Running is the greatest metaphor for life, because you get out of it what you put into it."The Quotable Runner is like no other running book. Runners will read it again and again for inspiration, advice, and humor.

    Dean says Chicken Soup for the Soul helped him reinvigorate his passion for running... and life!Read ultramarathoner Dean Karnazes’s inspiring story about leaving the business world to follow his dream and becoming one of the most famous runners in the world. And then read about his best race ever... with his 10-year-old daughter. You’ll also read stories from runners at every level, from beginners to stars, about starting out, staying motivated, running with family and friends, even running in exotic locations. Get energized by runners training for 5Ks and runners training for 100-milers, including: Runners World’s Mark Remy on the camaraderie of running U.S. National Team marathoner Josh Cox on running 30 miles without water and the miracle that saved him Triathlete Magazine’s Matt Fitzgerald on persevering during the Boston Marathon in honor of his father Amputee Lindsay Nielsen on running the New York marathon two months after 9/11 Ultramarathon champion Roy Pirrung on how running saved him from smoking, drinking, and overeating Scott Maloney, who was declared brain dead after a fall, but ran the Boston Marathon two years later And a whole chapter on triathlons!

    The other was the most electrifying distance runner of his time. In 1982, they battled stride for stride for more than two hours in the most thrilling Boston Maraton ever run. Then the drama really began. . . ." Thus John Brant sets the stage for the epic race that took place 23 years ago between Alberto Salazar and Dick Beardsley. Since Beardsley was only 26 and Salazar 23 at the time, everyone assumed that this would be the start of a long and glorious rivalry.Instead Beardsley soon began a descent into drug addiction that brought him perilously close to dying. Salazar's decline was more gradual, his vigor slowly giving way to baffling symptoms that left him completely exhausted. Brant's portraits of the painkiller-addicted Beardsley and the depression-plagued Salazar are at once sensitive and hair-raising. The supporting characters are also richly drawn, from Alberto's father, Jose Salazar, a towering presence with a fascinating history and a former close friend of Fidel Castro, to Bill Squires, Beardsley's coach, a Casey Stengel–like figure whose oddball goofiness masks an encyclopedic knowledge of distance running. This elegantly written story is riveting nonfiction at its very best.