Ocean State Libraries

Ghost has a crazy natural talent, but no formal training. If he can stay on track, literally and figuratively, he could be the best sprinter in the city. But Ghost has been running for the wrong reasons, all starting with running away from his father, who, when Ghost was a very little boy, chased him and his mother through their apartment, then down the street, with a loaded gun, aiming to kill. Since then, Ghost has been the one causing problems,...

On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared--Lt. Louis Zamperini. Captured by the Japanese and driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor.

A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics.

"Jesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history launches him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy."--

After Mount Everest was conquered, the last great human feat remained the four-minute mile. While many sought to break the barrier, it was medical student, individualist, and driven amateur Roger Bannister's inspiring story that astounded the world.

Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! and a popular columnist for Runner's World, shares lessons, stories, advice, and warnings gleaned from running the equivalent of once around the earth. At the verge of turning forty, Peter Sagal--brainiac Harvard grad, short bald Jew with a disposition towards heft, and a sedentary star of public radio--started running seriously. And much to his own surprise, he kept going, faster and further,...

"From an Olympic medalist runner and the record-holder in the women's marathon and half-marathon, a lyrical, inspirational memoir on how harnessing the power of the mind can unlock hidden potential Deena Kastor was a star youth runner with tremendous promise, yet her career almost ended after college. Her competitive method--run as hard as possible, all the time--brought her to the brink of burnout and fostered a frustration and negativity that threatened...

"The untold and inspiring story of Eric Liddell, hero of Chariots of Fire, from his gold medal 400-meter race at the 1924 Paris Olympics, to his dedication to missionary work in China, to his last, brave years interned in a Japanese work camp during World War II." --

From basic tenets of training to nutrition guidelines,this is the first resource for runners to fully integrate nutrition with training for a complete and systematic pre-race plan. "A must for marathoners"(Library Journal).
Every year, roughly 2 million people participate in marathons and half marathons in the United States, and, no matter what level they are, every one of these runners has likely hit "The Wall," running out of muscle...

A biography of the African-American woman who overcame crippling polio as a child to become the first woman to win three gold medals in track in a single Olympics.