There are a plethora of books out there for endurance athletes that provide data and science behind training plans and how they will make you a better athlete.

Chrissie Wellington's autobiography, A Life Without Limits, A World Champion's Journey, is not one of them.

This book is much more than that.

It chronicles a woman that is so full of adventure, carefree living and the audacity to follow her heart rather than mainstream life, that the outcome ultimately developed her into one of the greatest athletes that the sport of triathlon has ever known.  

The story is open and honest to the point where a reader could get lost in that you feel you are being told the story first-hand, instead of reading the pages. It was a quick read as there was hardly a place that I wanted to stop. I read the majority of my copy on the bike trainer as I found it hard to read a story about such an accomplished athlete while lounging with my feet propped up on the couch. 

Throughout the book, Ms. Wellington details her fears, struggles, passions and the motives that drive her. She never shied away from difficult issues, such as her struggle with bulimia, her tumultuous relationship with her coach, finding her place in the sport of triathlon and her insatiable appetite to be the very best athlete that she could become.

Endurance athletes, in particular, will be able to identify with her tenacity and hopefully appreciate the valuable lesson that success is not dependent on having the most advanced equipment or gathering heaps of data, but rather the hard work that you put into yourself and inner strength will prove to be the determining factor on race day.

What Ms. Wellington has been able to achieve in this sport is truly amazing. This book is inspiring, not just to athletes, but to anyone who has ever desired to live a more adventurous life. I dove into this book eager to learn more about what life was like as an Ironman champion and I finished it realizing that the best for her is yet to come.

There are few people in this world that I would consider a role model.

Ms. Wellington is one of them.

She has been a fierce, but cordial competitor, has graciously given back to many charities and has been an overall outstanding ambassador for the sport of triathlon- which makes me proud to be part of it.









Disclaimer:  The book, A Life Without Limits, was provided to me free of charge by the publicist at Center Street.  Being chosen to receive the book was an unsolicited (you can read how I was selected, here) and I was not paid for this review. The review made here is my personal opinion and I am by no means a professional book reviewer.