.
Once a Runner - John Parker
The Rider - Tim Krabbe
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The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - Daniel James Brown
I read a lot and this is my favorite. Even though you know the outcome; each race is described in a detail and style that make it seem like you don’t.
good luck, there are so many great ones out there
Iron War - Matt Fitzgerald
Natural Born Heroes - Christopher McDougal
The Rise of Superman - Steven Kotler
The Long Run - Matt Long
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Forgot to add mine:
Open by Andre Agassi and Shoe Dog a memoir by Phil Knight
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Into Thin Air
No, not a book about pro cyclists training at high altitude, but about the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.
Endure by Alex Hutchinson
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Another vote for both Boys in the Boat and Endure. Also liked The Death of Marco Pantani: A Biography by Matt Rendell
Life’s Too Short to Go So F*cking Slow
My training partner recommended it to me, there are times when I have to be Carlos to her Susan and vice versa.
Iron Will by Mike Plant for triathlon…
https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Will-Triathlons-Ultimate-Challenge/dp/0809248239
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
https://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-Greatest/dp/0307279189
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Swimming to Antarctica by Lynne Cox
Find a Way by Diana Nyad
Wanted to love Julie Moss’s book, but it was terrible.
my favourie such book is probably “The Illegal” by Lawrence HIll
Other favourites:
“Once a Runner”
“And then the Vulture eats You” - short stories by various people, some are great, some are OK
“The Purple Runner”
“Endure” - Hutchinson
“Into Thin Air”
“Swimming to Antartica”
“Playing for Pizza”
.
The books by George Sheehan. The Essential Sheehan was published in 2013. Sheehan was a triathlete in his final competitive years after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan may become my new favorite if I enjoy it as much reading it the second time as I did the first.
Once a Runner - John Parker
The Rider - Tim Krabbe
I think these are two of the best ever. You can re-read these multiple times and still get a lot of enjoyment out of them as they capture racing and the passion for it better than anything else I’ve read. Krabbe in particular writes at a high literary level (in my opinion) without losing his audience.
I’m no bibliophile, but I’ve definitely noticed the sub-high-school level of writing in the vast majority of triathlon and endurance sport books, fiction or nonfiction. Never thought I’d care about that stuff, but I was almost cringing when I read Chrissie’s (probably ghostwritten) and Macca’s books (also likely ghostwritten).
“How Bad Do You Want It” always gets me pumped up.
“The Perfect Mile” is a fun one too.
Once a Runner - John Parker
The Rider - Tim Krabbe
I think these are two of the best ever. You can re-read these multiple times and still get a lot of enjoyment out of them as they capture racing and the passion for it better than anything else I’ve read. Krabbe in particular writes at a high literary level (in my opinion) without losing his audience.
I’m no bibliophile, but I’ve definitely noticed the sub-high-school level of writing in the vast majority of triathlon and endurance sport books, fiction or nonfiction. Never thought I’d care about that stuff, but I was almost cringing when I read Chrissie’s (probably ghostwritten) and Macca’s books (also likely ghostwritten).
My best books were the already mentioned “Open” and “Into thin air” but I do not know “Once a runner” and “The Rider”. I’m going to put those on my wishlist for my birthday.
Chrissie Wellingtons biography and Gris Frooms biography.
Few of my favorites have been already mentioned. I’ll add “Road to Valor”. The Biography of Gino Bartali with a mix of TdF, WWII, Nazis, Italian resistance and above all the popularity and power of cycling in those years.
after reading it I found also an article in here by the author.
https://www.slowtwitch.com/...d_To_Valor_6534.html
It’s not about the bike.
(Just kidding)
Finding ultra - rich roll
21 yaks and a speedo - Lewis Pugh. Great book about his freezing ocean swims.