To the Limit

SHORTLISTED FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES SPORTS BOOK AWARDS 2025 SPORTS PERFORMANCE BOOK OF THE YEAR
'A fascinating and multilayered exploration of what it means to endure'Alex Hutchinson, author of Endure
'Engaging... [endurance sport] comes to lyrical life'The TLS
The author of Out of Thin Air, winner of the Margaret Mead Award 2022, journeys through different cultures to find out the meaning of endurance.
So many of us are embracing endurance sports - whether it is running an ultra-marathon, taking on long-distance cycling events or even climbing Mount Everest. But what is it that makes us voluntarily do exhausting things? When we lace up our running shoes or jump on our bike, are we embracing freedom, or are we simply reproducing ideas about productivity and competition from the world of work? And what kinds of broader social and spiritual significance does endurance have indifferent parts of the world? To the Limit sets out to rediscover the joy of moving together as a group - whether it's running the length of the Lake District in a day, or navigating the descents of the Sindhupalchok International Trail Race in Nepal. It shows us how endurance activities can help bring people together, and even change the way we think about the natural world and our place in it.

Michael Crawley is an anthropologist, writer and runner based in Durham. He has run a 2.20 marathon and represented Great Britain in road running. In 2019, Michael was awarded a PhD in anthropology by the University of Edinburgh, following fifteen months of research living and running alongside runners in Ethiopia. His book Out of Thin Air: Running Magic and Wisdom from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia won the prestigious Margaret Mead Award in 2022. Michael has written for the Guardian, Runners' World and Trail Running and his latest research is on endurance, self-tracking and doping which has taken him to Nepal and Mexico amongst other places.

1. Why Am I Doing This?
2. From 'Pedestrianism' to Dance Marathons to the UTMB: Are we playing or are we working?
3. Lakes in a Day
4. 'I Don't Want a Watch Making That Decision For Me': The Art of Tracking
5. The OMM (Original Mountain Marathon): where GPS is not allowed
6. Limits, Technology and the Elephant in the Room: Doping in endurance sports
7. Enduring Social Media
8. 'When the Deer Raises his Tail, We're Running': The Tarahumara
9. Other Reasons to Run: including the Hopi
10. Ride to the Sun: 100 mile overnight bike ride from Carlisle to Crammond
11. 'Eat Well, Move Well, Enjoy': Trail Running in Nepal: and interview with Mira Rai
12. Chomulungma: Sherpas on Everest
13. Enduring in a Changing Climate: Lewis Pugh, UN Patron of the Oceans and Damian Hall, ultra runner