Most marathon books and training programs focus primarily on building stamina—but they often don’t address how running all those miles may be seriously harming your body. Chi Marathon debunks the myth that marathons require pushing through and beyond pain and presents a technique-based plan for pain-and-injury-free high performance half and full marathons. Chi Marathon also shows you how to improve your performance by developing your own race-specific training plan tailored to your event.In Chi Marathon, author Danny Dreyer, a highly respected running coach and accomplished distance runner, takes a whole-body approach to running—much like Tai Chi—making ease and efficiency of movement the prime goal of one’s training. Danny and Katherine Dreyer launched the Chi Running movement twelve years ago and now have over 200 certified Chi Running Instructors around the world as well as a strong selling line of DVD’s and training programs. The Dreyers also present Chi Running workshops at many of the U.S. marathons and have a 40,000 subscriber newsletter as well as receiving 50,000 hits a month on their website. Chi Marathon is the book that distance runners have been waiting for. With Chi Marathon runners can revolutionize their technique, their approach to distance running…and their lives.

    Ed Ayres exemplifies the latter; having run in over 600 races across fifty-five years, he is arguably the most experienced American distance runner still competing today. A book no one else could have written, The Longest Race is his urgent exploration of the connection between individual endurance and a sustainable society.The Longest Race begins at the starting line of the 2001 JFK 50 Mile—the nation’s oldest and largest ultramarathon and, like other such races, an epic test of human limits and aspiration. At age sixty, his sights set on breaking the age-division record, Ayres embarks on a course over the rocky ridge of the Appalachian Trail, along the headwind-buffeted towpath of the Potomac River, and past momentous Civil War sites such as Harpers Ferry and Antietam.But even as Ayres focuses on concerns familiar to every endurance runner—starting strong and setting the right pace, the art of breathing, overcoming fatigue, mindfulness for the course ahead—he finds himself as preoccupied with the future of our planet as with the finish line of this 50-mile race.A veteran journalist and environmental editor who harbors deep anxiety about our longterm prospects, Ayres helps us to understand how the skills and mindset necessary to complete an ultramarathon are also essential for grappling anew with the imperative to endure—not only as individuals, but as a society—and not just for 50 miles, but in the longest race we are all called upon to run.

    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.

    He has run over mountains, across Death Valley, and to the South Pole-and is probably the first person to eat an entire pizza while running. With an insight, candor, and humor rarely seen in sports memoirs (and written without the aid of a ghostwriter or cowriter), Ultramarathon Man has inspired tens of thousands of people-nonrunners and runners alike-to push themselves beyond their comfort zones and be reminded of what it feels like to be truly alive, says Sam Fussell, author of Muscle.Ultramarathon Man answers the questions Karnazes is continually asked:- Why do you do it?- How do you do it?- Are you insane?And in the new paperback edition, Karnazes answers the two questions he was most asked on his book tour:- What, exactly, do you eat?- How do you train to stay in such good shape?

    He has interviewed serial killers and been in the line of fire. But the most terrifying moment of his life didn't occur on the job--it occurred at home, when his 18-year old daughter asked, "How would you feel about running a marathon with me?" At the time, Foreman was approaching 51 years old, and his last marathon was almost 30 years behind him. The race was just sixteen weeks away, but Foreman reluctantly agreed. Training with his daughter, who had just started college, would be a great bonding experience, albeit a long and painful one. My Year of Running Dangerously is Foreman's journey through four half-marathons, three marathons, and one 55-mile race. What started as an innocent request from his daughter quickly turned into a rekindled passion for long-distance running--for the training, the camaraderie, the defeats, and the victories. Told with honesty and humor, Foreman's account captures the universal fears of aging and failure alongside the hard-won moments of triumph, tenacity, and going further than you ever thought possible.

    That's the premise of this book: how to cook what Zen Buddhists call "the supreme meal"—life. It has to be nourishing, and it has to be shared. And we can use only the ingredients at hand. Inspired by the thirteenth-century manual of the same name by Dogen, the founder of the Japanese Soto Zen tradition, this book teaches us how we can "enlarge the family we're feeding" if we just use some imagination. Bernie Glassman founded Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York, in 1982 to employ those whom other companies deem unemployable—the homeless, ex-cons, recovering addicts, low-skill individuals—with the belief that investing in people, and not just products, does pay. He was right. Greyston has evolved into an $8 million-a-year business with clients all over New York City. It is the sole supplier of brownies to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, and has even sold cakes to the White House. But financial profit is only one of two bottom lines that Greyston is committed to. The other one is social impact, and this goal is certainly being met. The bakery enterprise has led to the creation of the Greyston Foundation, an integrated network of organizations that provide affordable housing, child care, counseling services, and health care to families in the community. Using entrepreneurship to solve the problems of the inner city, Greyston has become a national model for comprehensive community development. Its giving back is more than just sloughing off a percentage of its profits and donating it to charity; it's about working with the community's needs right from the beginning—bringing them from the margins to the core. As its company motto goes, "We don't hire people to bake brownies. We bake brownies to hire people." This book is as much a self-manual as a business manual, addressing such concepts as    • Beginner's mind    • The Middle Way of Sustainability    • The "hungry ghosts" of Buddhism as a picture of all humanity    • Working with our faults    • Indra's Net and the interconnectedness of life    • Leaving no trace

    It’s not her year. With lots of free time on her hands, she remembers watching the Boston Marathon years ago and, inspired by that memory, decides to join a marathon training group, hoping that running 26.2 miles will give her something show for an otherwise entirely unproductive time in her life. A few months later, she crosses the finish line but is far from a Boston qualifying-time.But Amy has caught the marathon bug, and is determined to qualify for Boston, even if it’s just as a squeaker, a runner who just manages a BQ time. Eleven marathons later, and Amy finally squeaks by, signing up for the 2011 Boston Marathon. She completes it, qualifying again for the following year, and then again for 2013, the fated year of the Boston Marathon Bombing.Due to an injury, Amy crosses the 2013 finish line in a little over four hours, minutes before the bombs goes off. Her world is forever changed as she is shaken to her core. She chronicles the ups and downs of her training, delving into the mystical appeal of the greatest marathon in the world and how it attracts those who return to it year after year.Inspiring and funny, Becoming Boston Strong is for every person who ever dreamed of belonging to something bigger than themselves.

    How did a penniless artist, a young shepherd, and a playboy poet believe they could carry out such a remarkable feat of strength and endurance, smuggling the general past thousands of Nazi pursuers, with little more than their own wits and courage to guide them?  McDougall makes his way to the island to find the answer and retrace their steps, experiencing firsthand the extreme physical challenges the Resistance fighters and their local allies faced. On Crete, the birthplace of the classical Greek heroism that spawned the likes of Herakles and Odysseus, McDougall discovers the tools of the hero—natural movement, extraordinary endurance, and efficient nutrition. All of these skills, McDougall learns, are still practiced in far-flung pockets throughout the world today. More than a mystery of remarkable people and cunning schemes, Natural Born Heroes is a fascinating investigation into the lost art of the hero, taking us from the streets of London at midnight to the beaches of Brazil at dawn, from the mountains of Colorado to McDougall’s own backyard in Pennsylvania, all places where modern-day athletes are honing ancient skills so they’re ready for anything.  Just as Born to Run inspired readers to get off the treadmill, out of their shoes, and into the natural world, Natural Born Heroes will inspire them to leave the gym and take their fitness routine to nature—to climb, swim, skip, throw, and jump their way to their own heroic feats.

    In his darkest moments, when those dreams were dashed, he dug deep with the help of an unlikely friend—five-year-old Maddux Maple, a local hometown fan with leukemia. They made a pact: Cody would be in the UFC and win the championship, and Maddux would beat cancer. Read their moving story in Cody’s new book, The Pact, and go behind the scenes into Cody’s training and how he made his dreams come true. Cody Garbrandt grew up in a rough town in the Central Appalachian region of Ohio, surrounded by a longstanding culture of fighting—and drugs. Raised in this environment by a single mom (his dad left him at the young age of three to reside in the Ohio State Penitentiary), Cody grew up fighting, and he grew up wild. His future seemed predestined to end in the coal mines, or in prison.Thankfully, Cody had visions of something more. His American Dream? Mixed Martial Arts. But a path to success wasn’t clear. He spent as much time fighting in the streets as he did in the gym—one bad decision away from losing everything. Then, at age 20, Cody’s brother introduced him to five-year old Maddux Maple. Maddux was deathly ill with leukemia, his survival by no means assured. A unique friendship developed as they made a promise to each other: Maddux would beat cancer, and Cody would make it to the UFC and become world champion.Through five long years of pain and hardship, they both persevered; Cody, through the agony and sacrifices of fighting his way to the top, and Maddux through the horrors of chemotherapy. They loved and supported each other. They served as each other’s inspiration. And in December 2016, they made good on their pact: Cody won his UFC Championship belt, which he promptly presented to Maddux—the boy who had beaten cancer into remission.

    As a newcomer to the sport and a complete unknown to the press, Chrissie's win shook up the sport. A LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS is the story of her rise to the top, a journey that has taken her around the world, from a childhood in England, to the mountains of Nepal, to the oceans of New Zealand, and the trails of Argentina, and first across the finish line.Wellington's first-hand, inspiring story includes all the incredible challenges she has faced--from anorexia to near--drowning to training with a controversial coach. But to Wellington, the drama of the sports also presents an opportunity to use sports to improve people's lives.A LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS reveals the heart behind Wellington's success, along with the diet, training and motivational techniques that keep her going through one of the world's most grueling events.

     The Athlete's Way program, focusing on cardio, strength, stretching, nutrition and sleep, uses neurobiology and behavioral models to enable you to think, train and behave like an athlete, making you more optimistic, resilient, and intense. You will want to get a glow on every day to increase your daily bliss quotient. Exercise will no longer be something to dread but something to enjoy and experience to the fullest. The Athlete's Way teaches you how to make exercise a source of joy and something you will want to engage in daily. Sweat will become a symbol of your striving for a standard of excellence and a solid work ethic that is synonymous with peak performance. The stamina, tenacity, and drive fortified through athletics--and this program--can be applied to any dream, obstacle, or goal you aspire to achieve. Christopher Bergland is a Manhattan-based world-class endurance athlete. He holds a Guinness World Record for treadmill running (153.76 miles in 24 hours) and has won the longest nonstop triathlon in the world three times. He completed The Triple Ironman, a 7.2-mile swim, 336-mile bike, followed by a 78.6-mile run (done consecutively) in a record breaking time of 38 hours and 46 minutes. He directs the triathlon program at Chelsea Piers and has been sponsored by Kiehl's since 1996. He has been featured in dozens of TV, magazine, and newspaper articles including CNN, PBS, ABC, CBS, Fox, Men's Journal, ESPN magazine, and the L.A. Times.  He currently manages a specialty sporting goods shop in New York City called "JackRabbit Sports." Inspiring Lessons from a World-class Endurance Athlete"I love to sweat.  All told, I have run distance equal to four trips around the world on a treadmill and on the streets of Manhattan where I live.  I have biked to the moon and back, dueling it out with a red, blinking pacer light on a LifeCycle control panel or logging countless laps in Central Park.  I've even crossed the Atlantic a few times - in the pool - and I've swum in almost every ocean around the world competing in Ironman triathlons.  When I am running, biking, or swimming, happiness pours out of me.  I am not alone.  Everyone who exercises regularly experiences this bliss.  And it is available to you, too, anytime you break a sweat.  The Athlete's Way is an individual process but ultimately a universal experience.  We feel good when we sweat.  I have learned how to find Nirvana on the treadmill, and I am going to teach you my secrets."            --Christopher Bergland

    The controversial and flamboyant former basketball star, who recently had a tryout with the Denver Nuggets and has played with the Long Beach Jam of the ABA in hopes of getting another shot at the National Basketball Association, is back in the national spotlight once again with I Should Be Dead By Now.The new book from the two—time best—selling author details Rodman's struggles in life since he stopped playing in the NBA, including the breakup of his marriage to movie and TV star Carmen Electra and his problems with alcohol. I Should Be Dead By Now is a look at the life of one of America's most recognizable sports stars since the lights of professional basketball stopped shining as brightly, and how Dennis Rodman hopes to make a successful return to the game that made him famous.

    At first unable to run 400 metres without stopping, Laura has now completed five marathons, the most recent in under four hours. Along the way, Laura learns countless lessons about running, most of them the hard way. But most importantly this self-confessed couch potato learns to love running. As well as offering inspiration and motivation to get out there and run, her book offers tips on how to make running easier and more enjoyable. Offering practical information on buying the right kit, choosing the best race and what to do on race day, it also tackles the important running questions you might be embarrassed to ask – like when will it get easier? And what happens if I need the toilet?

    Becoming pregnant is a beautiful moment in any person's life, but we understand that it can be challenging to keep your body nurtured and supported throughout this journey. Don't worry, DK has got you covered!Introducing 'Mindful Pregnancy' - a practical and inspiring step-by-step photographic guide to keep you and your baby happy and healthy during your pregnancy journey. If you're a yoga-loving, mindful mum-to-be looking for sound advice on how to enjoy a natural, stress-free pregnancy, then this is the book for you!Inside the pages of this in-depth natural birth book you'll discover:-In-depth guide to pregnancy wellness organized trimester by trimester, including top tips and advice on various themes to match your stage of pregnancy and the development of your baby.-Clear, concise and easy to follow techniques which are presented step-by-step, grounded in their scientific benefits Discover all that this prenatal health book has to offer. Packed with up-to-date research alongside safe, strengthening and supportive sequences to guide you through your pregnancy journey, this is a must-have volume for expectant mothers keen to stay fit and supported throughout pregnancy, women who want to explore the benefits of doing yoga with their babies, or even mums-to-be experiencing any one of the common ailments of pregnancy, such as backache and are looking to remedy them naturally. In fact, recent studies suggest there are great health benefits to practicing yoga during pregnancy, including reducing anxiety and stress in mothers, as well as a reduction in the pain of labour. This mindful maternity book offers safe yoga, meditation, natural remedies and nutritional and hypnobirthing advice that are specifically tailored to each stage of pregnancy. This inspiring guide offers encouraging and practical advice that will help you understand your body, embrace change and fully prepare you for becoming a mum. The ideal gift for yoga-loving mindful mums to be, this guide is jam-packed with top tips and techniques for a mindful and stress-free pregnancy and natural birth. At DK, we believe in the power of discovery. So with Mindful Pregnancy by your side, we assure you will feel safe and supported during this special time in your life, as you count down the days to your new arrival!

    Now, thirteen years after his transformation, he shares his inspiring story of taking running to the extreme edge of his physical and spiritual breaking points. Having run more than a hundred races, including the Leadville 100-Mile Trail Run and the Hardrock 100, David has achieved unimaginable success in the ultramarathon world, considering his humble start. From barely finishing his first 5k to running 100 miles in less than eighteen hours, David shatters the notion that the front of the pack is a birthright. Among his many outlandish adventures, David talks about doing ten epic events in one year to celebrate his tenth year of sobriety. This mind-bending year of running included running the Boston Marathon four times in one day, running 343 laps around a high school track and running 48 hours on a treadmill. You will feel like you are running alongside him as he navigates his vision quest—all the while hallucinating and breaking from reality in one of the most epic Badwater 135 race experiences ever told. David’s story is raw, honest and pure adrenaline-laden inspiration as he shares his unique brand of Americana and Heavy Metal Buddhism. This book has far more to offer and than just miles travelled and mountains climbed. It's about trying to find a way station of balance somewhere in a world of extremes. It’s about running to create a legacy and develop your own inner strengths. After reading Broken Open, you’ll never doubt how strong you can be, how much you can endure, or whether or not you are capable of finding true happiness.