Running History  ›  26.2 MARATHON STORIES

Over one million people will run in an organized marathon this year (2006). And 50 million will be standing along the sidelines, cheering them on. From London and Berlin to Los Angelas and Bejjing, the same challenge will be issued and the same distance conquered-26.2 miles.

Hot on the heels of the most popular independent athletic competition, authors Katherine Switzer and Roger Robinson take the full measure of the marathon race-an epic distance that has immortalized heroes, ignited scandals and created multi-billion-dollar shoe industry. In 26.2 information and entertaining chapters, they trace the history of this solitary endurance feat and its current place in the contemporary popular culture.

Incredible photography takles reader out on the road as marathoners from around the world prepare the road as marathoners from around the world prepare themselves for their 26.2 miles of glory. These powerful images capture the endless hours of practice, the grueling physical pace and the overwhelming rush of crossing the finish line.

For anyone who has ever run a marathon or dreamed of doing so, 26.2 Marathon Stories is the ultimate tribute. And the ultimate inspiration.
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KATHRINE SWITZER has been an authority on running and women’s sport for over 30 years. She is best known for pioneering the official entrance of women into the marathon, beginning in the late 1960s. Through the Avon Running program, she organized for over one million women in 27 countries, which was vital to securing the woman’s marathon event in the Olympics. She has finished 35 marathons, won the 1974 New York City Marathon and still runs 6 miles a day. An Emmy Award-winning TV commentator, Switzer has covered many major running events-including the Olympics, the Goodwill and Commonwealth Games and almost all televised editions of the Boston, New york and Los Angelas Marathons, as well as hundreds of local races around the world. The author of Running and Walking for Women Over 40, she will publish an autobiography in 2007. Kathrine Switzer has been maried to coauthor Roger Robinson for 18 years.

ROGER ROBINSON, after a 30-year career as a world-ranked runner, is one of the leading authors, speakers and historians on running. He represented England and New Zealand in the world Championships and had record-breaking age-group victories in the Boston, New York, Vancouver and other marathons. His articles have been published throughout the English-speaking world. He is well known as a TV commentator, stadium announcer at events such as the Commonwealth Games, and as a speaker on the history on the significance of running. A distinguished university scholar and teacher, he is emeritus professor at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Robinson is the author of Heroes and Sparrows and Running in Literature, as well as recent Oxford Champions to New Zealand Literature and Robert Louis Stevenson: His Best Pacific Writings.
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26.2
Marathon Stories
Will become a classic for any collection for those who have run marathons or perhaps dream of 26.2 Miles.