Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon

WINNER OF THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARD FOR NEW WRITER OF THE YEAR 2016 Two Hours by Ed Caesar - the quest to run the impossible marathon 'The marathon tethers runners to their own personal narratives. It is a question of how you grow. Nothing but your own body will sustain you; everything you have done in your life until the moment you cross the finishing line is connected to the effort' Two hours, to cover 26 miles and 385 yards. It is running's Everest, a feat once seen as impossible for the human body. But now we can glimpse the mountain-top. The sub-two hour marathon will require an exceptional feat of speed, mental strength and endurance. The pioneer will have to endure more, live braver, plan better, and be luckier than his forbearers. So who is he? In this spellbinding book, Ed Caesar takes us into the world of the elite of the elite: the greatest marathoners on earth. Through the stories of these rich characters, and their troubled lives, he traces the history of the marathon as well as the science, physiology and psychology involved in running so fast, for so long. And he shows us why this most democratic of races retains its savage, enthralling appeal - why we are drawn to test ourselves to the limit. '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, author of The Perfect Storm '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

About the Author :
Ed Caesar is a thirty-five year-old British non-fiction writer. His stories have been published by The New Yorker, The New York Times, GQ and The Sunday Times. The winner of nine major journalism awards, he was named Journalist of the Year for 2014 by the Foreign Press Association. His subjects have included conflict in central Africa, the world's longest tennis match and tracking down stolen art. Two Hours is his first book.

Review :
We are getting so close to the mark now... superb The topic is one of the most profound there is: the absolute limits of human performance. A fascinating insight into the clockwork of what it means to be an elite athlete, always pushing at the edge of possibility. Explores one of sport's ultimate questions: is there a final human boundary and, if so, where? A terrific book: elegant, engaging and rewarding. 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 Superb. Caesar has established himself as perhaps the best new long-form magazine writer since the arrival of John Jeremiah Sullivan Caesar wears his considerable research into most aspects of the marathon - its history, science, and the spectre of performance-enhancing drugs - with a loping, easy style His 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 A fine study of human endurance and the competitive spirit of marathon runners Lyrical and passionate... a celebration of the human spirit and what it can achieve Caesar is very good on the personalities, mixing the art and science of distance running with vignettes about the athletes Caesar's Two Hours explodes out of the blocks, continues at a terrific clip, never flags and breast the tape victorious, its arms in the air. Like the best foot races, it is tight, pacy and riveting. A brilliant debut. Give the man a medal and a bunch of flowers There is much spirit in Two Hours and much human warmth This portrait of Mutai ... reveals far more about the Kenyan mystique and the prospects for a two-hour marathon than any bird's eye survey could.