Search results for ""author richard askwith""

'In The Race Against Time, Askwith touches upon something larger than simply running or sport - he helps us to see ourselves ... Both inspiring and moving' - Adharanand Finn, author of Running with the KenyansA quest for the secrets of happy, healthy whole-life running, and how runners can keep enjoying their sport, whatever their ageWhat do you do when the sport that has been your lifeline to physical and mental well-being starts to slip away from you?Richard Askwith, a life-long running enthusiast, was sunk in mid-life despair. Plagued by injuries and demoralised by failing strength and speed, he was on the point of giving up for good. Then he came across the remarkable world of late-life athletics, and resolved to find out more.The result is a thrilling, life-affirming quest for the secrets of the happy few who keep on running all through life's later decades, culminating in a life-changing adventure at the World Masters Athletics Championships. It's a resounding message of hope for any runner who has felt their joy in their sport being undermined by age.Colourful, informative and inspiring, The Race Against Time is a story of cold science and heart-warming resilience; of champions and also-rans; of sprinting centenarians and forty-something super-athletes barely touched by age. Its heroes are experts and enthusiasts - scientists, coaches, runners - from many countries, each with a different story to tell. What unites them is a single belief: that you don't have to take growing old lying down.This is a book for anyone who has ever felt the healing power of running. It is both a very personal account of one man's journey from despair to hope, and an exhilarating guide, explaining how timely adjustments to lifestyle and training can slow the progress of physiological decay, while sheer human spirit can, if you are lucky, keep you running happily and healthily, all the way into extreme old age.

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LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARDSHORTLISTED FOR THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR The definitive biography of one of the greatest, most extraordinary runners and Olympic heroes of all time, from the author of running classic Feet in the Clouds. Emil Zátopek won five Olympic medals, set 18 world records, and went undefeated over 10,000 metres for six years. He redefined the boundaries of endurance, training in Army boots, in snow, in sand, in darkness. But his toughness was matched by a spirit of friendship and a joie de vivre that transcended the darkest days of the Cold War. His triumphs put his country on the map, yet when Soviet tanks moved in to crush Czechoslovakia’s new freedoms in 1968, Zátopek paid a heavy personal price for his brave defence of ‘socialism with a human face’. Rehabilitated two decades later, he was a shadow of the man he had been – and the world had all but forgotten him.Today We Die A Little strips away the myths to tell the complex and deeply moving story of the most inspiring Olympic hero of them all.

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Shortlisted for the 2015 Thwaites Wainwright prize for nature writing Richard Askwith wanted more. Not convinced running had to be all about pounding pavements, buying fancy kit and racking up extreme challenges, he looked for ways to liberate himself. His solution: running through muddy fields and up rocky fells, running with his dog at dawn, running because he's being (voluntarily) chased by a pack of bloodhounds, running to get hopelessly, enjoyably lost, running fast for the sheer thrill of it. Running as nature intended. Part diary of a year running through the Northamptonshire countryside, part exploration of why we love to run without limits, Running Free is an eloquent and inspiring account of running in a forgotten, rural way, observing wildlife and celebrating the joys of nature.An opponent of the commercialisation of running, Askwith offers a welcome alternative, with practical tips (learned the hard way) on how to both start and keep running naturally – from thawing frozen toes to avoiding a stampede when crossing a field of cows. Running Free is about getting back to the basics of why we love to run.

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''Inspirational'' - ObserverA transformational quest for the secrets of happy, healthy, whole-life running that will change the way you think about growing older.Colourful, informative and inspiring, The Race Against Time is a story of cold science and heart-warming resilience; of champions and also-rans; of sprinting centenarians and forty-something super-athletes barely touched by age. Its heroes are experts and enthusiasts - scientists, coaches, runners - from many countries, each with a different story to tell.This is a book for anyone who has ever felt the healing power of running or simply wondered about the effects of ageing. It is both a very personal account of one man''s journey from despair to hope, and an exhilarating guide, explaining how timely adjustments to lifestyle and training can slow the progress of physiological decay, while sheer human spirit can, if you are lucky, keep you running happily and healthily, all the wa

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Discover a story that defies belief: National Velvet meets Downton Abbey with a splash of Giuseppe Tomasi Di Lampedusa's The Leopard.* WINNER OF THE 2020 TELEGRAPH SPORTS BOOK AWARDS BIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR ** LONGLISTED FOR THE WILLIAM HILL SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR *Czechoslovakia, October 1937. Vast crowds have gathered to watch the Grand Pardubice steeplechase, Europe's most blood-curdling sporting test of manhood. With war looming, the race has a brutal political significance. The Nazis have sent the SS's all-conquering paramilitary horsemen to crush - yet again - the 'subhuman Slavs'. But Lata Brandisova, a silver-haired countess on a little golden mare, has other ideas...'Heart-stopping reading' Clover Stroud, Daily Telegraph

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A moving memoir from a woman who made a fortune in a man's world and then gave it all away...soon to be turned into a filmIn 1962, Stephanie 'Steve' Shirley created a software company when the concept of software barely existed. Freelance Programmers employed women to work on complex projects such as Concorde's black box recorder from the comfort of their own home. Shirley empowered a generation of women in technology, giving them unheard of freedom to choose their own hours and manage their own workloads. The business thrived and Shirley gradually transferred ownership to her staff, creating 70 millionaires in the process.Let It Go explores Shirley's trail blazing career as an entrepreneur but it also charts her incredible personal story - her dramatic arrival in England as an unaccompanied Kindertransport refugee during World War Two and the tragic loss of her only child who suffered severely from Autism.Today, Dame Stephanie Shirley is one of Britain's leading philanthropists, devoting most of her time, energy and wealth to charities that are close to her heart. In Let It Go, Shirley tells her inspirational story and explains why giving her wealth away - letting it go - has brought her infinitely more happiness and fulfilment than acquiring it in the first place.Co-written with Richard Askwith, the former Executive Editor of The Independent and the award-winning author of seven books in his own name, including biographies of Emil Zátopek and Lata Brandisová.'An extraordinary tale of creativity and resilience' - Guardian'This engrossing story of an extraordinary life is filled with lessons in what it means to be human' - Financial Times

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