Books like Fauja Singh Keeps Going — picked by fans

Kathrine Switzer changed the world of running. This narrative biography follows Kathrine from running laps as a girl in her backyard to becoming the first woman to run the Boston Marathon with official race numbers in 1967. Her inspirational true story is for anyone willing to challenge the rules.

The compelling collage art adds to the kinetic action of the story. With tension and heart, this biography has the influential power to get readers into running. An excellent choice for sports fans, New Englanders, young dreamers, and competitive girls and boys alike.

This award-winning true story of Black Olympic runner Wilma Rudolph, who overcame childhood polio and eventually went on to win three gold medals, is illustrated by Caldecott medal–winning artist David Diaz.

Before Wilma Rudolph was five years old, polio had paralyzed her left leg. Everyone said she would never walk again. But Wilma refused to believe it. Not only would she walk again, she vowed, she'd run. And she did run—all the way to the Olympics, where she became the first American woman to earn three gold medals in a single Olympiad. This dramatic and inspiring true story is illustrated… show more.

It's the day before the big parade. Alta can only think about one thing: Wilma Rudolph, three-time Olympic gold medalist. She'll be riding on a float tomorrow. See, Alta is the quickest kid in Clarksville, Tennessee, just like Wilma once was. It doesn't matter that Alta's shoes have holes because Wilma came from hard times, too. But what happens when a new girl with shiny new shoes comes along and challenges Alta to a race? Will she still be the quickest kid?
The Quickest Kid in Clarksville is a timeless story of dreams, determination, and the power of friendship.

The mice of New York City dread the day of the New York City Marathon more than any other-the crowds, the large shoes, the noise. All of them, that is, except for Preston. He and his family live underneath the starting line on the Verrazano Bridge and every year Preston has dreamed of joining all the other runners in the marathon. This year, Preston is determined to make his dream come true, even though his family tells him that mice are not fit to run marathons. He trains hard leading up to the big day and when the race starts,… show more.

“The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.” Take your first step toward fitness and a happier, healthier life.

Has the idea of running crossed your mind, but you haven't acted on it because you don't think you have the body of a runner? Have you thought about running but quit before you started because you knew that you would be breathless at the end of your driveway? Well, put aside those fears because you can do it. John Bingham, author of the popular Runner's World column “The Penguin Chronicles,” transformed himself… show more.

Every runner's story is part of a great tradition of running stories. Running Throughout Time tells the best and most important of them. From Atalanta, the heroic woman runner of ancient Greece-when goddesses advised on race tactics-to the new legends of Billy Mills, Joan Benoit Samuelson, and Allison Roe (the modern Atalanta), this book brings the greatest runners back to life. It's the perfect runner's bedside storybook.
Colorful, dramatic, alive with human insight and period detail, these stories are also full of new discoveries. Within these pages, readers will find the true story of Pheidippides and the Battle of Marathon;… show more.

No one ever expected Catriona Menzies- Pike to run a marathon. She hated running, and was a hopeless athlete. When she was twenty her parents died suddenly - and for a decade she was stuck. She started running on a whim, and finally her grief started to move too. Until very recently, it was frowned upon for women to run long distances. Running was deemed unladylike - and probably dangerous. How did women's running go from being suspect to wildly popular? How does a high school klutz become a marathon runner? This fascinating book combines memoir and cultural history to… show more.

Chasing Limits is the gripping account of an epic four day open ocean adventure known as the Maui Nui; three consecutive stage swims spanning 30 miles in the challenging and unpredictable waters of Hawaii. From the grueling physical preparation to the periods of self-doubt, this book explores the thought process of a relative newcomer to open ocean swimming, attempting to go beyond his comfort limits in order to achieve the impossible. With unforeseen challenges and fierce battles with Mother Nature, the reader will get a true sense of what hard work, commitment, and curiosity can lead to when faced with… show more.

This book features the accounts of 33 open water swimmers: their highs and lows, their successes and failures. There are stories of swims done all over the world - including the iconic English Channel and Robben Island crossings - and accounts of record-breaking swims. There are common threads that run through the narratives. From a physical perspective, there's the commitment to hours and hours of training, there the perseverance, tenacity and sometimes discomfort which goes along with that. More importantly, though, it's more often than not the mental aspect that is critical. How else do swimmers go the distance in… show more.

Becca Mann was born to swim. With a fierce determination and a passion for the water, she chased her dreams from the chlorine-soaked pools of her hometown to the elite ranks of the USA National Team. But after she poured her heart into the sport for decades, Becca's dreams came crashing down when she narrowly missed the Olympics three times.
In Outside the Lanes, Becca shares the highs and lows of her swimming career with unflinching honesty and a splash of humour. But this isn't just a story about swimming. It's a story about a girl who refused to be… show more.