Broken Open Mountains Demons Treadmills And A Search For Nirvana

David Clark is a formerly obese alcoholic and fast food junkie who found a new life in running. 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.

In EAT SH*T AND DIE bestselling author and weight loss guru, David Clark takes a deep dive into the epicenter of the food addition crisis. At times funny, others times starkly serious, David delivers the unvarnished truth about why we overeat in his blunt and fearlessly honest style. He makes the case for how the food and the fitness industries have failed us and how today's food manufacturers conspire to turn us into addicts by highjacking our minds and decimating our bodies.But David doesn't just educate on how we become addicted or placate the reader by offering up a new age diet plan. Instead, in the Radical Rehab section of this book he guides the reader thru a ten-step ritual designed to reprogram the mind, repair the body and inspire a complete personal transformation. In his third book, Clark delivers with a refreshing message that needs to be heard by all people feeling helpless to change their destructive ways. David has both the resume and confidence required to challenge the reader to take personal responsibility, while at the same time displaying incredible compassion for those struggling. Having transformed his own life from bloated 320 pound alcoholic to elite athlete, he understands exactly what it takes to change and he will not stop until you have everything you need to create a new life for yourself so amazing that you'd have to be an idiot to walk away from it.

"David Clark went from the rock bottom of bankruptcy, addiction and obesity to becoming an accomplished athlete. In this compelling story of his life, he not only shares his journey with complete honesty, but he also lays out a blueprint for change that anyone can use to to redefine what is possible. ... David went on to completely redefine himself, his values and his very way of looking at life. He lost over 150 pounds and kept it off--not only that, but he went on to compete in some of the toughest endurance events in the world. Today David is a loving father of three and a running coach, sponsored runner, speaker, and gym owner"--from Amazon.com.

When James Lawrence, aka the Iron Cowboy, announced his plan to complete 50 Iron man distance triathlons, in 50 consecutive days, in each of the 50 states, the only people who believed in him were James and his family. Go behind the scenes as James shares how he pushed physical, emotional and spiritual limits, and demonstrated how he 'Redefined Impossible.' This accomplishment is being called the single greatest feat in human, endurance history.

Entrepreneur Jesse Itzler chronicles his month of living and extreme fitness training with a Navy SEAL in the New York Times and #1 LA Times bestseller LIVING WITH A SEAL, now with two bonus chapters. Entrepreneur Jesse Itzler will try almost anything. His life is about being bold and risky. So when Jesse felt himself drifting on autopilot, he hired a rather unconventional trainer to live with him for a month-an accomplished Navy SEAL widely considered to be "the toughest man on the planet"! LIVING WITH A SEAL is like a buddy movie if it starred the Fresh Prince of Bel- Air...and Rambo. Jesse is about as easy-going as you can get. SEAL is...not. Jesse and SEAL's escapades soon produce a great friendship, and Jesse gains much more than muscle. At turns hilarious and inspiring, LIVING WITH A SEAL ultimately shows you the benefits of stepping out of your comfort zone.

Equal parts memoir and road map to living a less stressful and more vibrant life, bestselling author Jesse Itzler offers an illuminating, entertaining, and unexpected trip for anyone looking to feel calmer and more controlled in our crazy, hectic world. Entrepreneur, endurance athlete, and father of four Jesse Itzler only knows one speed: Full Blast. But when he felt like the world around him was getting too hectic, he didn't take a vacation or get a massage. Instead, Jesse moved into a monastery for a self-imposed time-out. In Living with the Monks, the follow-up to his New York Times bestselling Living with a SEAL, Jesse takes us on a spiritual journey like no other. Having only been exposed to monasteries on TV, Jesse arrives at the New Skete religious community in the isolated mountains of upstate New York with a shaved head and a suitcase filled with bananas. To his surprise, New Skete monks have most of their hair. They're Russian Orthodox, not Buddhist, and they're also world-renowned German shepherd breeders and authors of dog-training books that have sold in the millions. As Jesse struggles to fit in amongst the odd but lovable monks, self-doubt begins to beat like a tribal drum. Questioning his motivation to embark on this adventure and missing his family (and phone), Jesse struggles to balance his desire for inner peace with his need to check Twitter. But in the end, Jesse discovers the undeniable power of the monks and their wisdom, and the very real benefits of taking a well-deserved break as a means of self-preservation in our fast-paced world.

Her grand adventure turned into a nightmare. After skiing 200 miles along California's John Muir Trail, Jean faces death from a mountaineering accident on Mount Whitney. Broken and bleeding on the highest peak in the continental United States, she vows to realize her greatest dreams if she lives until morning. Her escape from the Sierra Nevada Mountains turns into a five-day ordeal for survival. Jean's recovery is equally daunting. Her journey spans three decades and takes her from the depths of despair and chronic pain to the heights of the Himalayas. When the specter of Mount Whitney continues to shatter her world, Jean befriends Tibetan lamas. Their ancient wisdom guides her on a path beyond her wildest dreams.

Charlie Engle’s “fascinating account of the high and low points of his life as an ultramarathon runner…is uplifting and inspirational” (Publishers Weekly) as he describes his globe-spanning races, his record-breaking run across the Sahara Desert, and how running helped him overcome drug addiction—and an unjust stint in federal prison. After a decade-long addiction to crack cocaine and alcohol, Charlie Engle hit bottom with a near-fatal six-day binge that ended in a hail of bullets. As Engle got sober, he turned to running, which became his lifeline, his pastime, and his salvation. He began with marathons, and when marathons weren’t far enough, he began to take on ultramarathons, races that went for thirty-five, fifty, and sometimes hundreds of miles, traveling to some of the most unforgiving places on earth to race. The Matt Damon-produced documentary, Running the Sahara, followed Engle as he lead a team on a harrowing, record breaking 4,500-mile run across the Sahara Desert, which helped raise millions of dollars for charity. Charlie’s growing notoriety led to an investigation and a subsequent unjust conviction for mortgage fraud for which he spent sixteen months in federal prison in Beckley, West Virginia. While in jail, Engle pounded the small prison track, running endlessly in circles. Soon his fellow inmates were joining him, struggling to keep their spirits up in dehumanizing circumstances. In Running Man, Charlie Engle tells the surprising, funny, and emotional story of his life, detailing his setbacks and struggles—from coping with addiction to serving time in prison—and how he blazed a path to freedom by putting one foot in front of the other. “A fast-paced, well-written account of a man who accepts pain, pushes beyond imagined limits, and ultimately finds redemption and peace” (Booklist), this is a raw and triumphant account about finding the threshold of human endurance, and transcending it.