Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon

Caesar, Ed

ISBN 10: 1681418029 ISBN 13: 9781681418025

Publisher: Dreamscape Media Llc, 2015

Synopsis

Two hours, to cover 26 miles and 385 yards. Its running's Everest, a feat once seen as impossible for the human body. Now we can glimpse the mountaintop. The sub-two hour marathon requires an exceptional feat of speed, mental strength, and endurance. The pioneer will have to endure more, live braver, plan better, and be luckier than any who has run before. Ed Caesar takes us into the world of elite runners: the greatest marathoners on earth. From big-money races in the United States to remote villages in Kenya, Two Hours is a book about a beautiful sport, that few people understand. It's about talent, heroism, and refusing to accept defeat. It's a book about running that is about much more than running... it's a human drama like no other.

About this title

Review

We are getting so close to the mark now... superb (Dan Jones Evening Standard)

Ed Caesar's treatment of the near-mythical two-hour marathon is both implacably scientific and wonderfully reverential. As a former marathoner I deeply appreciate both. The prose hums along effortlessly and the topic is one of the most profound there is: the absolute limits of human performance. Reading a book that combines those two things is one of the great pleasures in life (Sebastian Junger)

A fascinating insight into the clockwork of what it means to be an elite athlete, always pushing at the edge of possibility. Like a good runner, Caesar carries the story along with grace and ease and generosity. He brings us to Kenya, New York, London, and Berlin, but ultimately allows us to look inside ourselves. It's the human story that shines through (Colum McCann)

I didn't think any book could make me interested in marathon running. Two Hours did that and much more. Ed Caesar's in-depth reporting explores one of sport's ultimate questions: is there a final human boundary and, if so, where? A terrific book: elegant, engaging and rewarding (Ed Smith, former England cricketer, Times Columnist and author of Luck)

This book explodes out of the blocks, continues at a terrific clip, never flags and breasts the tape victorious, its arms in the air. Like the best foot race, it is tight, pacy and riveting. A brilliant debut. Give the man a medal and a bunch of flowers (Esquire)

Lyrical and passionate... a celebration of the human spirit and what it can achieve (Observer)

A delight to read. The definitive book on professional marathon running (Independent on Sunday)

Marvellous. Caesar's reportage has the feel of the very best of American journalism - as if he has researched the matter to hell, spent his time in the field, nailed down every fact, then bashed it out on a typewriter with a cigarette smouldering in his mouth (Sunday Times)

Two Hours is a kind of "Hoop Dreams" for runners (Spectator)

Fascinating, timely, meticulously researched... this exploration of one of the great sporting quests of modern times will inspire anyone with a pair of trainers to go for a run (Observer)

From the Back Cover

'Two Hours explodes out of the blocks, continues at a terrific clip, never flags and breasts the tape victorious, its arms in the air. Like the best foot races, it is tight, pacy and riveting. Like the best stories, it is about an apparently impossible journey. Give the man a medal' Esquire

'A delight to read. The definitive book on professional marathon running' Independent on Sunday

'Ed Caesar's reportage has the feel of the very best of American journalism - as if he has researched the matter to hell, spent his time in the field, nailed down every fact, then bashed it out on a typewriter with a cigarette smouldering in his mouth' Sunday Times

'Beautiful' New York Times

'Two Hours is a kind of "Hoop Dreams" for runners' Spectator

'I didn't think any book could make me interested in marathon running. Two Hours did that and much more. Ed Caesar's in-depth reporting explores one of sport's ultimate questions: is there a final human boundary and, if so, where? A terrific book: elegant, engaging and rewarding' Ed Smith, former England cricketer and author of Luck

Edition details

• Publisher: Dreamscape Media Llc
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1681418029
• ISBN 13: 9781681418025
• Binding: Audio CD