The greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body. Elite athletes have known this for decades, and now science is learning why it's true. In his fascinating new book, How Bad Do You Want It?, coach Matt Fitzgerald examines more than a dozen pivotal races to discover the surprising ways elite athletes strengthen their mental toughness.

In full and intricate detail, featuring an amazing cast of characters from the worlds of politics, athletics, entertainment and more, this is the story of how President Theodore Roosevelt helped shepherd in a sports and fitness revolution that forever changed the complexion of the United States.

Forget what you might have been told; triathlon running is not like typical running. The triathlon run comes after a swim and a bike. The training, pacing, and technique requirements are very different from regular running. But this isn’t what triathletes have been told. Fortunately, with the right kind of run training, the triathlon run doesn’t have to be a long, painful slog with a stumble to the finish. Triathlon Running Foundations provides the specific information athletes need in order to feel strong for every step of the run, all the way to the finish.

Mark Webber was at the centre of one of the most captivating chapters in the history of Formula One. In 2010, while racing for Red Bull, he and his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, went head to head for the World Championship. There could be only one winner. Since retiring from Formula One, Mark has concentrated on endurance racing, including the legendary Le Mans 24-hour race.

As he did so masterfully in his New York Times best seller The Gatekeepers, Jacques Steinberg creates a compelling portrait of people obsessed with reaching a life-defining goal. In this instance, the target is an Ironman triathlon---a 2.4-mile open-water swim followed by a 112-mile bike ride, then finally a 26-mile marathon run, all of which must be completed in no more than seventeen hours. Steinberg focuses not on the professional who live off the prize money and sponsorships, but on a handful of triathletes who regard the sport as a hobby.

Joey Dunlop's story is one of towering triumphs and desperate tragedies in almost equal measure. Born poor—dirt poor—with no running water, no electricity, he was the definition of the everyman hero, earning the title 'King of the Roads' in what must be considered one of the world's most extreme sports—motorcycle road racing. And as well as being voted Northern Ireland's greatest ever sportsman, he remains the most loved and most successful road racer of all time.

For a race as long as the mighty Tour (three weeks of testing the limits of human endurance), to have the ultimate victory decided by a margin of just eight seconds almost boggles the mind. But that's exactly what happened between American legend Greg LeMond and Laurent Fignon. After more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, it remains the smallest margin of victory in the Tour's 100-plus-year history.

When Des woke up on April 16, 2018, the morning of the Boston Marathon, it was 39 degrees and raining, with high, gusty winds. The weather didn’t bother her. In fact, she thought it might be a blessing. She was far from peak form—recovering from illness and questioning her running future—and didn’t expect much of herself that day. But as she ticked off mile after mile in the brutal conditions, passing familiar landmarks on the course she knew and loved, something shifted. Opportunity unexpectedly presented itself. Des tapped into her inner strength and found a reason to race.

Kara Goucher grew up with Olympic dreams. She excelled at running from a young age and was offered a Nike sponsorship deal when she graduated from college. Then in 2004, she was invited to join a secretive, lavishly funded new team, dubbed the Nike Oregon Project. Coached by distance running legend Alberto Salazar, it seemed like the opportunity of a lifetime. Kara was soon winning a World Championship medal, going to the Olympics, and standing on the podium at the New York and Boston marathons, just like her coach. But behind the scenes, Salazar was hiding dark secrets.

Dottir is two-time consecutive CrossFit Games Champion Katrin Davidsdottir's inspiring and poignant memoir. As one of only two women in history to have won the title of “Fittest Woman on Earth” twice, Davidsdottir knows all about the importance of mental and physical strength. She won the title in 2015, backing it up with a second win in 2016, after starting CrossFit in just 2011.

Every sports fan loves a great comeback. Is there a special quality shared by top athletes who triumph over great challenges? And can anyone acquire it? In The Comeback Quotient, celebrated sports writer Matt Fitzgerald supplies the answer to both questions. He identifies these mega-achievers of astounding athletic comebacks as "ultrarealists", men and women who succeed where others fail by fully accepting, embracing, and addressing the reality of their situations.

Ironman is a sports phenomenon that has come to symbolize the very best of human striving, achievement, and excellence. And race announcer Mike Reilly is known throughout the endurance sports world as the "Voice of Ironman." Every year, over 300,000 people around the world compete in a series of long-distance triathlons that test the outer limits of their physical abilities and mental toughness. Some do it for glory, some to test themselves, some to honor lost loved ones or colleagues, some to bring healing to their troubled lives.

Matt Fitzgerald has already made a name for himself in the endurance-sport community with books like 80/20 Running, How Bad Do You Want It?, and Iron War. He is an accomplished amateur runner, but if he follows the training, nutrition, and lifestyle of an elite runner, just how fast could he go? He is approaching his mid-40s, so the time to do this is now. He at last has the financial means to do nothing but train.

This book is both a lesson in true grit and determination, but its goal is one that is attainable. Andy isn't a sporting superstar, he holds down a nine-to-five job and all the pressures that go with it; he isn’t blessed with speed and talent; there are no multi-million pound sponsorship deals; yet this remarkable "common man" is inspiring in a way that some of today’s sporting superstars have forgotten how to be.

When Meb Keflezighi - the first person in history to win both the Boston and New York City marathons as well as an Olympic marathon medal - ran his final marathon in New York in 2017, it marked the end of an extraordinary distance-running career. Meb's last marathon was also his 26th, and each of those marathons has come with its own unique challenges, rewards, and outcomes. In 26 Marathons, Meb takes listeners on those legendary races, along every hill, bend, and unexpected turn of events that made each marathon an exceptional learning experience, and a fascinating story.