The Race Against Time

Never before have so many people run so many miles, or set themselves such ambitious targets, in pursuit of self-fulfillment: marathons, ultra-marathons, extreme adventures. And never before have people had such high hopes of remaining vigorous and active - young in all but name - long after retiring from the work-place. Yet that last goal, perhaps more precious than any of the others, remains elusive. It can be done, but only a few succeed. Most runners succumb to injury or illness in middle age; others are defeated by dwindling energy levels, or by the gradual falling-off of their peers. They can only envy the charmed few who continue to enjoy the life-enhancing joys of running well into what used to be considered extreme old age. Horrified by the thought of breaking off his life-long love-affair with running, Richard Askwith began to think seriously about a question with profound implications for every enthusiastic runner: how can you keep running, happily and well, for the rest of your life - ideally, well into your nineties and beyond? Askwith''s quest for the secrets of running longevity takes him on a long, mystifying journey: to laboratories and running tracks, cities and remote mountain villages, on several continents. He meets scientists and coaches, gurus and cranks, ninety-year-old sprinters and hundred-year-old marathon runners - and with each passing month his quest grows more urgent.

About the author

Richard Askwith has been a journalist for over 40 years. He has written six previous books, including his modern classic on fell running, Feet in the Clouds, which won the Best New Writer category at the British Sports Book Awards and was shortlisted for the William Hill and Boardman Tasker prizes, and he is now one of the UK's most celebrated writers on running. Running Free was shortlisted for the Thwaites-Wainwright Prize, and his evocative biography of Emil Zátopek, Today We Die A Little, was shortlisted in the Cross Sports Book Awards. His most recent book, Unbreakable: the Countess, the Nazis and the World's Most Dangerous Horse Race, won Biography of the Year at the Telegraph Sports Book Awards in 2020.

Product details

• Authors: Richard Askwith, Askwith Richard
• Publisher: Vintage UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 11.01.2024
• EAN: 9781529112368
• ISBN: 978-1-5291-1236-8
• No. of pages: 368
• Dimensions: 128 mm x 196 mm x 23 mm
• Subjects: Guides > Health; Natural sciences, medicine, IT, technology > Natural sciences (general); popular science, SELF-HELP / Aging, REFERENCE / Personal & Practical Guides, SPORTS & RECREATION / Track & Field, FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS / Life Stages / Later Years, SPORTS & RECREATION / Training, HEALTH & FITNESS / Longevity, Fitness and diet, Popular medicine and health, Sports training and coaching, Exercise and workouts, Practical advice: Life hacks / handy tips, HEALTH & FITNESS / Exercise / General, Marathon and cross-country running, Running and jogging, Track and field sports, athletics, Relating to late adulthood / old age, HEALTH & FITNESS / Healthy Living & Personal Hygiene, Coping with / advice about ageing