Matt Fitzgerald

The greatest athletic performances take place in the mind, not the body. How Bad Do You Want It? explores some of the greatest moments in endurance sports to mine concrete habits and tactics we can use to cultivate our own mental strength. Great endurance athletes often seem godlike in their abilities. But no matter how great, their physical abilities can take them only so far. The greatest moments in sports demand that these champions rely on their mind to confront and overpower the same fears we all face in sports and in life: fear of failure, fear of suffering, fear of change, to name a few. When we understand how much mental strength is demanded of the greatest athletes in pursuit of victory, their performances become vastly more inspiring. Behind every glorious win are doubts overcome, personal demons faced and setbacks surmounted. How Bad Do You Want It? describes a new "psychobiological" model of endurance performance connecting the mind and body through the brain, and explains how athletes are sometimes able to overcome physical limitations with mental might. Each story in the book is viewed through the lens of this model, shedding new light on what science has to say about mental fortitude in sports. With its compelling accounts from triathlon, cycling, running, rowing, and swimming, How Bad Do You Want It? puts readers on the sidelines of more than a dozen epic races while also digging into the science to share the how and why of each transformative moment.

Mastering the Psychology of Mind Over Muscle

How Bad Do You Want It?

"Respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald explains how the 80/20 running program--in which you do 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity--is the best change runners of all abilities can make to improve their performance. With a thorough examination of the science and research behind this training method, 80/20 Running is a hands-on guide for runners of all levels with training programs for 5K, 10K, half-marathon, and marathon distances"--

Run Stronger and Race Faster by Training Slower

80/20 Running

Debunks current diet fads and dispels the myth that there is only one true way to eat for optimum health and offers a rational approach to nutrition based on personal habits, lifestyle, and genetics.

The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us

Diet Cults

Ben Rosario

Cutting-edge advice on how to achieve your personal best, for everyone from casual runners to ultramarathoners. In 80/20 Running, respected running and fitness expert Matt Fitzgerald introduced his revolutionary training program and explained why doing 80 percent of runs at a lower intensity and just 20 percent at a higher intensity is the best way for runners at all levels--as well as cyclists, triathletes, and even weight-loss seekers--to improve their performance. Now, in this eye-opening follow-up, Fitzgerald teams with Olympic coach Ben Rosario to expand and update the 80/20 program to include ultramarathon training and such popular developments as the use of power meters. New research has bolstered the case that the 80/20 method is in fact that most effective way to train for distance running and other endurance sports. Run Like a Pro (Even If You're Slow) shows readers how to take the best practices in elite running and adopt them within the limits of their own ability, lifestyle, and budget.

Elite Tools and Tips for Runners at Every Level

Run Like a Pro (Even If You're Slow)

Brad Hudson

Contains a self-paced training program that can be tailored to fit individual needs, goals, fitness levels, strengths, and weaknesses to help runners avoid injury and train more effectively.

How to be Your Own Best Coach

Run Faster from the 5k to the Marathon

Sports Nutritionist Matt Fitzgerald has spent nearly twenty years studying the diets of top professional endurance athletes, who are among the fittest and healthiest people in the world. As a result, he has identified five core habits-most of which are contrary to what popular diets advise-that are essential to maximizing workout benefits. The Endurance Diet shares key strategies for optimal health and performance: eat everything, eat quality, eat carbohydrate, eat enough, and eat individually. Whether you want to lose weight, win a race, or look a little more like an elite athlete, this plan is for you. "I am always amazed at how much I learn from Matt Fitzgerald's books." -- Shalane Flanagan, Olympic bronze medalist

Discover the 5 Core Habits of the World's Greatest Athletes to Look, Feel, and Perform Better

The Endurance Diet

This is the first book to explain how endurance athletes -- runners, cyclists, triatheletes, cross-country skiers, rowers, swimmers -- should lose weight.

How to Get Lean for Peak Performance

Racing Weight

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-forties, so the time to do this is now. He at last has the financial means to do nothing but train. He accepts the goodwill of a friend who will let him crash at his apartment in the running mecca of Flagstaff, Arizona, and convinces the coach of Northern Arizona Elite, one of the country's premier professional running teams, to let him train with a roster of national champions and Olympic hopefuls for an entire summer leading in to the Chicago Marathon. The results were astounding...Filled with a vibrant cast of characters, rigorous and gut-wrenching training, Matt’s knowledgeable yet self-deprecating voice allows us to vicariously live out our own fantasies of having the opportunity to go all the way. Yet for the runners Matt trains with, it’s no mere fantasy, but a calling and their individual stories enrich this inspiring narrative. Running the Dream is a chance for us all to experience a bit of this rarified and wild world, and to take away pieces of this amazing journey to try to achieve our own potential.

One Summer Living, Training, and Racing with a Team of World-Class Runners Half My Age

Running the Dream

Drawing on the latest research in the area of exercise physiology, a fitness coach introduces a ground-breaking new training strategy to help runners of all ages, backgrounds, and skill levels achieve their maximum performance, offering an eight-point brain training system to assist runners in resisting fatigue, mastering the art of pacing, learning to run in the zone, and more. Original. 20,000 first printing.

A Revolutionary New Training System to Improve Endurance, Speed, Health, and Results

Brain Training for Runners

A good comeback makes a great story. In The Comeback Quotient, sports journalist Matt Fitzgerald shares the stories of top athletic comebacks, to give you inspiration and tools for your own comeback in sport or life. 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 sportswriter 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. From ultrarunners like Rob Krar to triathletes like Mirinda Carfrae to rowers, skiers, cyclists, and runners all over the world, Fitzgerald highlights and speculates on just what makes these comebacks so compelling. As for whether anyone can stage his or her own great comeback, the answer is a resounding yes: Anyone can become an ultrarealist to some degree. In the tradition of his best-selling How Bad Do You Want It?, The Comeback Quotient combines gripping sports stories with mind-blowing science to deliver a book that will forever change how you perceive the challenges you face, giving you the inspiration and the tools to make the next great comeback you witness your own.

A Get-Real Guide to Building Mental Fitness in Sport and Life

The Comeback Quotient

Offers training and nutrition guidelines for runners looking to overcome the metabolic and nutritional barriers, known as "the wall," and succeed at distance running.

A Cutting-edge Plan to Fuel Your Body Beyond "the Wall"

The New Rules of Marathon and Half-marathon Nutrition

The best elite runners have learned that the key to faster running is to hear what your body is telling you. But are you listening?

The Mind-Body Method of Running by Feel

Ryan Whited

Pain and Performance

A Memoir of Love and Endurance

Life Is a Marathon

If you’re like most endurance athletes, you’re concerned about your weight. You know that every extra pound slows you down. Matt Fitzgerald’s Racing Weight Quick Start Guide applies all the principles of his best-selling book Racing Weight in a detailed set of weight-loss training plans. You will devote 4 to 8 weeks to starting a weight loss of 5, 10, or 20+ pounds. Lose weight quickly by following a schedule of high-intensity workouts and strength training as well as a menu of calorie-restricted, high-protein meals and snacks. Low-volume and high-volume plans make it possible for cyclists, runners, and triathletes with a wide range of experience to maintain their training levels. Replace fat with muscle while keeping your appetite in check. Once you’ve hit your quick start weight-loss goals, you will continue dropping unwanted pounds using the proven strategies of the Racing Weight program. Zero in on your racing weight through improved diet quality, balanced macronutrient levels, proper timing of meals and snacks, appetite management, and training for lean body composition. The Racing Weight Quick Start Guide will accelerate your season goals so you’ll be racing leaner and faster than ever before.

A 4-Week Weight-Loss Plan for Endurance Athletes

Racing Weight Quick Start Guide

Bob Babbitt

An account of the 1989 Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, featuring longtime rivals Dave Scott and Mark Allen, and how the two men became such driven athletes.

Dave Scott, Mark Allen & the Greatest Race Ever Run

Iron War

Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2012. On October 14, 1989, driven by one of the most intense and lasting two-man rivalries in any sport, a pair of generational talents at the height of their powers ran a race that redefined human limits. The battle between Dave Scott and Mark Allen at the 13th Hawaii Ironman stands as one of the most dramatic stories in the history of athletics. The two greatest athletes of triathlon's pioneering generation raced side by side, literally, for eight straight hours at breakneck speed before Allen finally tore away from his longtime nemesis with less than two miles left in the 140.6-mile event. His margin of victory was a scant 58 seconds. So intense was the drama, the race came to be known as 'Iron War' - the single most awe-inspiring sporting event ever witnessed. More than a compelling story, Iron War is a fascinating exploration of how Scott and Allen pushed themselves and each other - and what it takes for anyone to break through perceived limits. Much as Christopher McDougall added depth to Born to Run by tying in new research on the evolutionary origins of humans as runners, Iron War shows how new discoveries in neuroscience explain how some elite athletes are able to literally will their bodies to do things that should be beyond their capacities. The book weaves an examination of the anatomy of mental toughness into a gripping tale of athletic adventure. With its emotional and intellectual depth, Iron War is a captivating and thought-provoking portrait of the human will.

Two Incredible Athletes. One Epic Rivalry. The Greatest Race of All Time.

Draws on the latest scientific advice to provide an up-to-date nutrition reference specifically tailored to the needs of runners, covering such topics as proper hydration, customizing a diet for personal training needs, and speeding up recovery times. Original. 15,000 first printing.

How to Fuel Your Body for Stronger Workouts, Faster Recovery, and Your Best Race Times Ever

Runner's World Performance Nutrition for Runners

An endurance athlete and coach reveals how the marathon transforms the lives of everyone who attempts it--and how it has helped his own family cope with serious adversity Step after step for 26.2 miles, hundreds of thousands of people run marathons. But why--what compels people past pain, lost toenails, 5.30 am start times, The Wall? Sports writer Matt Fitzgerald set out to run eight marathons in eight weeks across the country to answer that question. At each race, he meets an array of runners, from first timers, to dad-daughter teams and spouses, to people who'd been running for decades, and asks them what keeps them running. But there is another deeply personal part to Matt's journey: his own relationship to the sport--and how it helped him overcome his own struggles and cope with his wife Nataki's severe bipolar disorder. A combination of Matt's own How Bad Do You Want It? and What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, Life Is a Marathon captures the magic of those 26.2 miles. At the end of the day--and at the end of the race--the pursuit of a marathon finish line is not unlike the pursuit of happiness. You will pick up the book for a powerful personal story about what running does for the people for whom it does the most. You will put it down with a greater understanding of what it means to be alive in this world.

From the national bestselling author of Racing Weight, Matt Fitzgerald exposes the irrationality, half-truths, and downright impossibility of a “single right way” to eat, and reveals how to develop rational, healthy eating habits. From “The Four Hour Body,” to “Atkins,” there are diet cults to match seemingly any mood and personality type. Everywhere we turn, someone is preaching the “One True Way” to eat for maximum health. Paleo Diet advocates tell us that all foods less than 12,000 years old are the enemy. Low-carb gurus demonize carbs, then there are the low-fat prophets. But they agree on one thing: there is only one true way to eat for maximum health. The first clue that that is a fallacy is the sheer variety of diets advocated. Indeed, while all of these competing views claim to be backed by “science,” a good look at actual nutritional science itself suggests that it is impossible to identify a single best way to eat. Fitzgerald advocates an agnostic, rational approach to eating habits, based on one’s own habits, lifestyle, and genetics/body type. Many professional athletes already practice this “Good Enough” diet, and now we can too and ditch the brainwashing of these diet cults for good.

Aimee Picchi

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