Two Hours
The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon
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4.6 • 10 Ratings
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR
'Lyrical and passionate ... a celebration of the human spirit and what it can achieve' Observer
Two hours to cover twenty-six miles and 385 yards. An exceptional feat of speed, mental strength and endurance. The sub-two-hour marathon is running's Everest, a feat once seen as impossible for the human body. But now we have reached the mountaintop.
In this spellbinding book Ed Caesar takes us into the world of the elite of the elite: the greatest marathoners on earth. Through the stories of these rich characters, and their troubled lives, he traces the history of the marathon as well as the science, physiology and psychology involved in running so fast, for so long. And he shows us why this most democratic of races retains its savage, enthralling appeal - why we are drawn to test ourselves to the limit.
Now with a new afterword telling the inside story of how Eliud Kipchoge achieved the impossible, with exclusive access to Nike's #Breaking2 project, and the Ineos159 event at which the barrier was finally broken.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Debut author Caesar, a journalist and war correspondent, explores the world of elite marathon running and what it will take for someone to crack the two-hour barrier. Using the tale of champion Kenyan long distance runner Geoffrey Mutai as the through-story that holds the book together, Caesar jumps around, covering the origin and history of the 26.3-mile race, the science of long-distance running, and the role athletic shoe companies may play in an athlete achieving this record-breaking goal. Much of the book focuses on a tiny section of Africa where the best marathoners in the world including Mutai come from. Caesar, who has reported widely from Africa, does great work capturing the lives, training routines, and proud ancestry of these amazing runners, not to mention the pitfalls and dangers they face before and after they achieve fame. This strong tale covers the joys of athletic triumph and the pain of missed opportunities, whileinvestigating what it means to be born or bred a champion and what it will take to for someone to make running history. Caesar proves himself an engaging storyteller with a book whose time has come.
