I took a bit of a punt on this book as it was in a 2-for-1 sale on Audible and I needed a book about a sport for one of the Popsugar Challenges, so I thought I'd got for something I knew nothing about. A Life Without Limits is the autobiography of Chrissie Wellington, a sporty girl from Norfolk, who, in 2007, became a world champion Ironman, almost from nowhere. Why is this so remarkable ... well, an Ironman is a long-distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and finishes with a marathon length run! I have absolutely no idea how anyone can complete such an epic race, so let me say here and now that I am in total awe of people who participate in such sports. This book takes you through Chrissie's life, beginning in Norfolk, where, as a sporty child, she enjoyed swimming and did compete at school level, but was not what you would call an outstanding talent. As a young adult, she developed an eating disorder that stayed with her for several years and despite this, continued to push herself physically in the sporting world - although she preferred the social side of it more than anything else. She had a thirst for travel and was interested in overseas development, which took her to Nepal, where she started to ride a bike. Over time, she drifted towards the triathlon, where she realised that she might actually have a talent. She started to train more seriously and took the brave decision to become a professional athlete and aim for the Olympics. The training was brutal, but she strangely enjoyed it, but began to realise that Ironman was really what she was built for. With almost no race experience behind her, she became the world champion in Hawaii in 2007, completely smashing the best time by a woman. And from that point on, she was virtually unbeatable until her retirement in 2011, beating record after record. This is a remarkable story of a remarkable woman. On display is her incredible drive to push and push and them push herself some more - almost beyond the edge of her physical and mental capabilities. I don't know why, but I found this to be a bit of a dry read. I was longing for a bit more depth in terms of the feelings and thought processes rather than what, at times, felt like a list of spectacular achievements from around the world. Many people will find this an inspirational book, but I fear it left me feeling totally inadequate in some ways - which I'm sure says more about me than Chrissie. However, what it did make me think was that we all have our own strengths - it's just a matter of finding what yours is and then striving to keep on improving to become the best you can be. You never know, this book might spawn more world champions in the athletics sphere, but sadly, I won't be one of them.
POPSUGAR Challenge 2018 prompt 19: A book about or involving a sport.
My STAR rating: THREE.
Length: 352 print pages.
Price I paid: £2.98.
Formats available: print, unabridged audio download, MP3 CD, ebook.
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