Marathon Adventures Across Europe And Beyond

This book is not about breaking records and winning medals. It is about the joys and experience of running for fun at home and in different countries. It illustrates how it is possible to run big city marathons over the weekend and on a limited budget and still meet the locals and take in some of the sights. It is also about the fun in running local events in all weathers. I have commented on my personal training program and how it has changed over the years. The book is part biographical and I have not hesitated to give my thoughts and reflections on issues that include: war, national traits, diet, lifestyle and much else. May I apologize in advance if any of the views expressed in this book offends the reader- challenging perhaps but not intended to cause offence. It is hoped the book inspires others to join the marathon trail and see where it takes them.

Every person has an interesting life story to tell and I do not claim that my story is unique. I write about my experience of living alone with my grandmother on an Irish farm and why it shaped my national identity. My life-changing move to London and the need to become street wise and still make it to university is covered. I describe how my debating exploits at school and university got me an invitation to The House of Lords and how I met my future wife, and entering a grammar school for the very first time as teacher. My passion for comprehensive education, more enlightened science teaching and my role in senior school management all get an airing as well as my camping, political and sporting adventures. Space is given to how we made lifelong friends with some Germans and our many years of skiing in Austria and Norway. The book also covers the period from early retirement in 1999 to my years teaching in some of Englands elite private schools and why girls really do love chocolate. I describe how I coped with a heart bypass in 2012 and got back to marathon running and took up marathon bike riding for charity. I conclude with my take on the human predicament.

The story of Scotsman Andrew Murray's attempt to run from Scotland to the Sahara without a break. It is 2,659 miles from John O'Groats at the northern tip of mainland Britain to Merzouga in Morocco and Andrew planned to complete the distance in 85 days. That's the equivalent of 100 marathons run end to end--and not a single day off to recover. Attempting to cram in a staggering 8,000 calories every day is extremely difficult and doesn't stop the body from beginning to break down. This book is the story of that run, interwoven between tales of extraordinary endurance events in some of the most extreme locations in the world. It answers the question, 'why do it?', and offers a gripping insight into what drives an extreme athlete to break new ground. Murray's epic journey was the subject of a BBC documentary.

Guidebook to fastpacking - multi-day running trips carrying the bare essentials - in the UK, Europe and beyond. Includes 12 route ideas (all tried and tested), fastpacking stories from around the world (featuring Jez Bragg, Anna Frost and Jasmin Paris), and invaluable tips and tricks to help you prepare for your own running adventure. A summary of each route idea is provided, together with mapping and a gradient profile, as well as highlights, tips and 'tales from the trail'. Invaluable practical information is also included, covering everything you need to know to prepare and plan for a trip: training, accommodation options, safety, equipment, apparel, nutrition, hydration and more. The route ideas and stories featured showcase an impressive range of fastpacking opportunities, both in the UK and abroad. From mountain hut hopping trips, bothy discovery tours and wild camping expeditions, the inspirational tales and selected trails are guaranteed to entice 'everyday' runners to try their hand at a multi-day journey, be it in the Brecon Beacons, Bhutan or beyond.

Ultra-marathons are not the preserve of the fitness elite - with hard work and solid training ordinary people can take part. At first 100k and 5000m ascent/descent may seem intimidating but, as experience grows, this turns in to an achievable adventure in the Alps. Starting with the flagship UTMB 'Courmayeur Champex Chamonix' (CCC) race this book traces a journey across Europe ending back in Chamonix with the 'Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie' (TDS)'. The races on this journey include UTMR, Ut4M, Transylvania 50 and 80, South de France 100, Arctic Ultra, Lakeland 100 and Ecotrail events in Oslo and Paris. Each event is covered in detail so you know what to expect should you decide to enter.Written from the back half of the pack, the steps to success are unpicked and laid out (including how to deal with a 'Did Not Finish') showing what is possible with planning, training, self-belief and a touch of luck.Come with me on a journey in to the night.

In SPORTaktiv, one of Austria ́s biggest magazine covering active sports, the report about my sporty trip around the world started with this particular statement. That was a bit disappointing for me at first sight. The editor in chief was obviously surprised by my appearance regardless of all of his years of experience. Right at the start of my key note speeches I almost always experience the same amazement, sometimes followed by the bewildered question: "This is – you?! " Your expectations and my reality are colliding nearly at the speed of light. Oh yes, I had to become used to look into so many disappointed eyes right at the start of my presentations. "Nobody on the street would believe, what Thomas Taut from Vienna, Austria, has achieved." To run seven full marathons on seven continents within seven (consecutive) days is a mighty challenge, indeed. But exactly how is one capable of accomplishing this task actually supposed to look like? Well, personally I would expect winners: well trained sportsmen, athletic from head to toe, young and strong, powerful and fast, lean and successful. As is for instance the following couple: Yes, I believe they could make it both after some specific training. And then comes my appearance, as an extreme athlete. Old, slightly obese - at least in comparison -, plagued by allergic asthma. But it is ME who has conquered the World Marathon Challenge and no one else from Austria! Oh, I see. Those impressions do not fit together and this discrepancy matters. It is therefore important right at the start to overcome any such prejudices and to open your hearts to me. Only after having heard or read my story in full you will be able to expand your own imaginations. And you, too, will become able to realize and utilize a lot more of your inner powers. I may tell here not from my previous achievements as a nuclear physicist, not from my several other former professions and not from gardening, my second biggest passion. These are not the reasons you grabbed this book for the first time. No, this writing is all about my side activities as a hobby-jogger like million others! I am of limited talents in all kinds of sport, unfortunately. But I am in with all my body and soul. I have started running as late as at the age of 35 years. But I had soon developed big visions. I have never won a race. But also never quit one. My motto is: "Not fast – not last! " I have never been a top athlete. But I have been following the road all the way to extreme sport. And with this new self-confidence I want to answer the above question: "This is – you?! " now with "Yes, this is me. You do not have to be perfect to accomplish the unthinkable. And believe me, there are still several more challenges left on my bucket list! " The IT nerds use to say: "It's not a bug, it's a feature! " Yes, I may be old, small and slower than previously. But despite my age of 53 years I had been rising up to the same level as Vanessa and Marcel, Austria ́s top sportswoman and –man of the year 2019! Vanessa Herzog, the world champion in speed skating, can be booked for key note speeches on the very same platform as I (Sports.Selection). And my first book has been published by the very same company (egoth) as the biography of Marcel Hirscher, the eight times skiing world cup champion, winner of several titles at Olympic games and world championships. Both our books stand close together and fight there for the attention of interested readers. Do you want to know how this development was possible? What it took? How it all began? But also which personalities I got to know on the way? Which lessons I have learned? And how much it enriched my life? Let yourself be taken onto a round-the-world trip into the incredible!

John Wallace is no ordinary runner. Over the course of his career, Wallace completed 376 marathons in 125 countries. He holds eight world records, including being the first to run thirty-one marathons in thirty-one different countries in a single year. Join Wallace as he recounts the path he took, or rather ran, to become one of the most successful international marathoners in this engaging, humorous, and motivational memoir. Plenty of obstacles appeared along the way, including the need to locate, register, and make accommodations in foreign countries without the benefit of the Internet. And when he decided to run a marathon in every country in Europe, Wallace had to find people willing to help him organize races in countries without established marathons. But Wallace persevered and, in 2009, crushed another world record when he crossed the finish line in Tahiti-breaking the record of a marathon in ninety-nine different countries. He continued to set goals and break records, completing a marathon in nearly every capital in the world. Whether you run, travel, or prefer the comfort of your living room couch, you'll love this celebration of the world's vastness-and the perseverance of the human spirit.

One educator's story detailing a cross-Canada run to inspire students and teachers to get outside and experience the benefits and beauty of nature. You'd think starting a non-profit organization aimed at getting young people to spend less time in front of screens and more time outside would be difficult enough. But with a decrepit support vehicle housing two dogs that despised each other, a good friend who left after five months, a lot of peanut butter, and a hope to inspire thousands of students, Colin Harris decided to start this journey by running 7600 kilometres, the equivalent of 181 marathons, across Canada. And to ensure this was a truly Canadian venture, he started in the bleak and snowy month of January. Take Me Outside is Colin's story of spending nine months running from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Victoria, British Columbia, visiting over 80 schools along the way to engage with 20,000 students about the importance of spending time outside learning, playing, and exploring in the Canadian landscape. With one of the biggest and best backyards in the world, people across Canada are spending the vast majority of their time inside. Yet, our identity as Canadians has always been rooted in our relationship with the outdoors. This wildly entertaining book not only recounts what it's like to run across the world's second-largest country but also implores readers of all ages to reignite their connection with the natural world.