Sports Memoirs Running

Racing Against Time is the inspiring true story of Jeff Weiss's incredible transformation in midlife. At 48 years old, out of shape and searching for new purpose, Weiss took on his first 10K—an event that would spark a profound personal evolution. What began as a simple challenge soon turned into an extraordinary journey of endurance, perseverance, and self-discovery. Within a decade, he pushed beyond perceived limits, becoming an Ironman and ultramarathoner, proving that age is no barrier to strength and ambition.

Growing up in Yakima, Washington, Noe Álvarez worked at an apple-packing plant alongside his mother. A university scholarship offered escape, but as a first-generation Latino college-goer, Álvarez struggled to fit in. At 19, he learned about a Native American/First Nations movement called the Peace and Dignity Journeys, epic marathons meant to renew cultural connections across North America. He dropped out of school and joined a group runners, all fleeing difficult beginnings. Telling their stories and his own, Álvarez writes about a four-month-long journey from Canada to Guatemala.

In 2018 a photograph of Sophie Power breastfeeding her three-month-old son during the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc went viral. Her journey is extraordinary: from coming second to last in the school cross country to reaching her peak in her forties when she not only ran for Great Britain in the 24-Hour World Championships but also broke two Guinness World Records in ultra-running. Sophie shares how she built resilience through life's toughest moments, learned to prioritize herself beyond motherhood, and discovered the power of both saying no and empowering herself in male-dominated spaces.

Running Through the Dark is Jen’s account of her ultra-journey. Playing out on the moors of the Pennines, the fells of the Lake District and the mountains of Wales and Scotland, this is much more than a running book, it is a story about resilience, about never giving up, and about battling through the night and always believing that there will be a new dawn.

Failure Is an Option is the story of an average runner who sets out to discover just how far he can go. With the support (and misgivings) of his family, and aware that his quickest years are behind him, Matt Whyman leaves the Saturday morning 5K to push towards 100-mile ultramarathons and beyond. By slowing things down to run a very long way, he joins a growing number of men and women from all walks of life striving to do something extraordinary.

Born a spastic quadriplegic, Rick Hoyt was written off by numerous doctors, but his parents, Dick and Judy Hoyt, were determined to give their son all the opportunities of a "normal" kid. In 1977, 15-year-old Rick asked his dad to enter a charity race. The twist? Rick wanted to run it too. Dick had never run a race before, and the thought of pushing his son’s wheelchair while running was daunting. But, once again, Dick and Rick were determined to overcome any obstacle. More than 1,000 races later, the devoted father son duo is affectionately known worldwide as Team Hoyt.

Susan and Carlos were unlikely friends. She was a young, overweight college professor and a bit of a trainwreck - juggling a divorce, a pack-a-day habit, and hiding empty boxes of wine under her bed. He was her boss, an Ironman triathlete, with life figured out. She was a whiner, he was a hard-ass. He had his shit together, she most assuredly did not. Trash-talking workouts, breakdowns, a devastating diagnosis - this heartwarming story of training buddies reveals a deep and abiding friendship that traversed life, sport, and everything in between.

First broadcast in 1948, Sports Report is the longest-running radio sporting programme in the world and one of the BBC’s hardy perennials. Pat Murphy has been a reporter on the programme since 1981 and here he sifts comprehensively through the experiences of his contemporaries and those who made their mark on Sports Report in earlier decades. Drawing on unique access from the BBC Archives Unit, he highlights memorable moments from Sports Report.

Sharing stories of his own mental and physical health challenges and the way running—both alone and with track buddies—lifted him up, All You Need is Rhythm and Grit includes advice on gear, running routes, pacing, good beats, and the will to start . . . and keep going. Cory believes you don't have to be a tall and slim superhuman to run and feel good doing it! For anyone who thinks running isn't for them, here is a vibrant and inclusive guide to one of the most egalitarian sports for people of all genders, all bodies, all identities, and every class and color.

With his historic win at the 2014 Boston Marathon, Meb Keflezighi cemented his legacy as one of the great champions of long-distance running. Runners everywhere wanted to know how someone two weeks away from his 39th birthday, who had only the 15th best time going into the race, could defeat the best field in Boston Marathon history and become the first American man to win the race in 31 years. Meb for Mortals describes in unprecedented detail how four-time Olympian Keflezighi prepares to take on the best runners in the world.

Part memoir, part scientific investigation, Racing the Clock is the book biologist and natural historian Bernd Heinrich has been waiting his entire life to write. A dedicated and accomplished marathon (and ultra-marathon) runner who won his first marathon at age 39, Heinrich looks deeply at running, aging, and the body, exploring the unresolved relationship between metabolism, diet, exercise, and age. Why do some bodies age differently than others? How much control do we have over that process, and what effect, if any, does being active have?

An enlightening biography and gripping sports narrative that takes us behind the scenes into the lives of some of the world’s most elite runners in Kenya and their coach, Patrick Sang.

At the height of the first American Running Boom, a small town in New Jersey emerged as something of a magical place in the sport. Tiny Bernardsville, in the Somerset Hills produced dozens of local, state, age-group, and national champions and claimed a place in the pantheon of American distance running. A junior program fed a high school team of boys and girls that claimed legend status. Before he was one of the best collegiate distance running coaches on the planet, Mark Wetmore was the young, ambitious, experimental coach of this program.

Professional distance runners Elvin Kibet and Shadrack Kipchirchir grew up in rural Kenyan villages. Though their lives began in poverty, both were driven to reach their full potential, to gain an education, and make a difference. And they would find their way to do just that through the high-pressure world of distance running.

What does it take to run the world—literally and figuratively? For Robyn Godfrey, it meant logging thousands of miles and navigating one of the most transformative decades of her life. Running the World is more than a runner’s travelogue, it’s a memoir of reinvention, resilience, and the conviction that it’s never too late to redefine yourself.

Laufen war in der Kindheit des Autors nie ein Thema. Doch erst viel später entdeckte er seine Leidenschaft für den Laufsport, der ihn zu faszinierenden Laufveranstaltungen führte. Ob über die Straßen von Köln, die Hafenpromenade in Hamburg, die pulsierenden Wege Berlins oder die legendären Strecken in New York — er hat unvergessliche Momente erlebt. Auch einzigartige Herausforderungen wie Läufe unter Tage und im Trailbereich haben seine Begeisterung für das Laufen noch verstärkt. Von seinen Anfängen bis zum Halbmarathon teilt er seine Erlebnisse und Erfahrungen.

Author and musician Mitch Alden wanted to record a new CD. Months after running a personal best at the 2009 New York City Marathon, he decided a new full-length CD would be his next goal. During an early spring run, however, the marathon bug emerged from winter's grip and took a bite out of him. As he ran, he formed the crazy idea of combining his passions for singing and running into one epic experience: He could record his CD at a friend's studio in Chicago and race the Chicago Marathon immediately afterward.

There are people who run occasionally or run as part of another sport, and there are people who need to run for their mental wellbeing. Tom Raffio and Ellen Raffio address the latter group in Stories from the Starting Line. The couple, who met running, runs more than 100 races a year in New Hampshire and Northern New England and uses this depth of experience to write about the diverse runners they meet at races.

Das wohl verrückteste Laufjahr seit der Erfindung des Marathons. Nimm das, Schweinehund! Als sich der Mehltau des zweiten Lockdowns über Deutschland legt, fasst der beliebte Comedian und inoffizielle Weltmeister im Langsamschwimmen Wigald Boning einen folgenreichen Entschluss: Ich werde ein Jahr lang Marathon laufen. Jede Woche einen. 52 mal 42 Kilometer, komme, was wolle. "Lauf, Wigald, lauf!" ist seine herrlich schräge Liebeserklärung an die Langstrecke, an die Kraft der Unvernunft und an all seine Begleiterinnen und Begleiter durch ein Jahr voller Aufs und Abs.

Philipp Pflieger war bei Olympia 2016 der schnellste deutsche Marathonläufer. Ein Jahr später sorgte er für Schlagzeilen, als er beim Berlin-Marathon seine Kräfte überschätzte und das Rennen orientierungslos abbrechen musste. Daraus hat er viel gelernt, nicht nur über die Königsdisziplin des Laufens, sondern auch über sich selbst. Sein nächstes Ziel: Olympia 2020 in Tokio. In seinem Hörbuch nimmt Pflieger uns mit hinter die Kulissen des professionellen Marathonlaufens. Er erzählt über die Faszination des Laufens, lässt uns Siege und Niederlagen miterleben, und gibt Tipps, was Amateure von den Profis lernen können.