Search Results for: Sport

Are you ready for the World Cup? It’s time to warm up for another roller coaster ride…

Calling all footie fanatics! Put your knowledge of the beautiful game to the test with this quiz book, packed full of puzzles, stats and little-known facts.

Whether it’s chatting to a mate on a pre-match pub trip or to keep calm during a tense half time in front of the TV, every football fan loves a bit of trivia. Use this fact-packed quiz and puzzle book to gen up on World Cup legends such as Ronaldo and Messi and prepare to impress your friends with your fantastic football knowledge. Featuring brain-teasing puzzles, tricky true-or-false questions and hilarious “what happened next?” scenarios, this quiz book is guaranteed to keep you entertained until the final whistle.

– Have a go at guessing the top ten most expensive football players
– Discover who scored the worst-ever World Cup own goal
– Find out which World Cup match saw the same player booked three times
– Prepare yourself for penalties with stats on perfect shootouts and miserable misses

An illustrated compendium of kickass women in sport, from around the world and throughout history, including legends like Billie Jean King and modern-day superstars like Simone Biles and Dina Asher-Smith. The perfect book to inspire any sports fan.

Meet your new superheroes

Discover the fascinating stories behind 38 iconic and internationally renowned women in sport, all of them record-breakers, trailblazers and game-changers. Whether from the world of soccer, tennis, gymnastics, swimming, boxing or skiing, every one of these women has been a ground-breaker in her field. It’s time these individuals took centre stage and had their achievements celebrated the world over.

Be empowered and inspired by their extraordinary stories, their awesome achievements and their wonder-words of wisdom with this pocketbook of remarkable women from across the globe and throughout history. Among others, you will learn about the incredible lives and achievements of:
– Simone Biles
– Serena Williams
– Dina Asher-Smith
– Rachael Heyhoe Flint
– Jessica Ennis-Hill
– Nicola Adams
– Danica Patrick
– Paula Radcliffe
– Michelle Kwan
– Megan Rapinoe
– Ellen MacArthur
– Ibtihaj Muhammad
– Ronda Rousey

Each inspiring profile also features a bespoke illustration.

You don’t need to compete in the Tour de France to appreciate the wonders of two wheels, and you don’t need to be a genius to enjoy this book. So when your legs deserve a rest after you’ve been out on the bike, how about a puzzle or two to exercise the mind? From quick quizzes and riddles to more leisurely crosswords and sudoku, whether you’re a cycling superfan or just enjoy the occasional ride, there’s plenty in these pages to tickle your fancy and get your brain into gear.

The Great North Road is Britain’s Route 66 – we’ve just forgotten how to sing its praises

In 1921, Britain’s most illustrious highway, the Great North Road, ceased to exist – on paper at least. Stretching from London to Edinburgh, the old road was largely replaced by the A1 as the era of the motor car took hold.

A hundred years later, journalist and cyclist Steve Silk embraces the anniversary as the perfect excuse to set off on an adventure across 11 days and 400 miles. Travelling by bike at a stately 14 miles per hour, he heads north, searching out milestones and memories, coaching inns and coffee shops.

Seen from a saddle rather than a car seat, the towns and the countryside of England and Scotland reveal traces of Britain’s remarkable past and glimpses of its future. Instead of the familiar service stations and tourist hotspots, Steve tracks down the forgotten treasures of this ancient highway between the two capitals.

The Great North Road is a journey as satisfying for the armchair traveller as the long-distance cyclist. Enriched with history, humour and insight, it’s a tribute to Britain and the endless appeal of the open road.

Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year Award 2021

Running away from your problems doesn’t solve anything – but sometimes it’s more fun than dealing with them

Elise was spending a lot of time crying on buses. She had just graduated from university; she had a shiny new flat, her first proper job and a budding relationship – and they were all making her utterly miserable. Sitting at work one day, she hit upon the obvious solution:

Run 5,000 miles around the coast of Britain, carrying her kit on her back.

Six months later Elise set off, with absolutely no ultra-running experience, unable to read a map and having never pitched a tent alone before. Over the 301 days that followed she developed a debilitating fear of farmyard animals, cried on a lot of beaches and saw Britain at its most wild and wonderful.

Coasting is about putting one foot in front of the other, even when it feels impossible, and trying to enjoy it too. With heart and humour, Elise explores the thrill of taking risks and putting your trust in total strangers, and learns some home truths along the way.


‘A true Great British Adventure, with humour and heart.’

Sir Ranulph Fiennes


‘Elise Downing has achieved the impossible – leaving you in awe at her superhuman achievements, but also convincing you that you could probably do the same.’

Emily Chappell


‘A hugely enjoyable jaunt around Britain, that proves that you can find adventure right on your doorstep.’

Alastair Humphreys


‘Elise Downing has reminded us all of the most crucial aspects of adventure: 1) You don’t have to be an expert. 2) It’s all about the people. 3) However hard, tough, excruciating and doubt-driven a challenge might be, at heart it’s a funny, funny story.’

Dave Cornthwaite


‘Reading Coasting is like listening to a friend tell a tale down the pub that you can’t quite believe. Elise’s storytelling is hilarious, warm-hearted and wonderfully down-to-earth. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to lace up your trainers and start running towards that mad idea you once had. There’s no doubt that Elise’s gung-ho attitude is her superpower. Her kryptonite? Cows.’

Anna McNuff, author and adventurer


‘Elise’s irresistibly readable adventures are both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. She’s an inspiration.’

Damian Hall, author and ultrarunner


‘Funny and engaging and inspiring… an absolute gem.’


Vassos Alexander, presenter, author and runner


‘A beautifully observed and blisteringly truthful account of what happens when you decide to combine adventure and endurance. Absolutely brilliant.’

Jake Tyler, author of A Walk from the Wild Edge


‘An honest and exciting tale of how a dream became an awesome reality. Definitely worth a read!’

Ben Smith, founder of The 401 Challenge


‘I was already laughing at the Dedication and this continued all the way to the very last page. Elise Downing is a comedy genius and has a heart of gold!’

Danny Bent, author, runner and founder of Project Awesome


‘Elise tells her story with such good-humoured light-heartedness that you could be forgiven for forgetting that what she is describing is a feat of real endurance. Running 5,000 miles is a truly remarkable achievement, and the fact that Elise emerged from it with a smile on her face and a total lack of ego speaks wonders to her character. This is an incredible tale told with total humility. Running around the coast of Great Britain was a mad thing to do, but not buying this book would be madder still.’

Tim Moss, author, adventurer and founder of The Next Challenge


‘Like any epic journey worth sharing, Elise encountered the same doubts, setbacks and fears that leave many dreams stuck on the drawing board. One foot after the other, Elise set out to achieve the extraordinary many miles over. Coasting shares the literal highs and lows as she finds her rite of passage to the world of ultra-running, with an endearing vulnerability and hilarious flair that brings places to life. In the same way that countless strangers felt compelled to join her around the UK, Coasting carries the reader along and inspires us all to ask ‘why not?’ in pursuit of our own home-grown adventures.’

Alex Staniforth, adventurer and author


‘A wonderfully honest tale of courage, perseverance and self-discovery.’


Dr Juliet McGrattan, author and runner


‘Elise brings so much fun and energy, as well as raw honesty, to the world of adventure books, and her incredible journey is an inspiration to young (and old!) adventurers.’

Jenny Tough, author, adventurer and editor of Tough Women Adventure Stories


‘Thoughtful, funny and beautifully written. Just goes to show that there’s a ram-spinning, swashbuckling adventure right there on your doorstep.’

Huw Jack Brassington, writer, presenter and adventurer

Don’t limit your challenges. Challenge your limits

At the age of 55, record-breaking ultrarunner Mimi Anderson embarked on her most ambitious adventure yet. She wanted to become the fastest woman in history to run across America from Los Angeles to New York.
Her journey would cover 2,850 miles, 12 states and four time zones, dealing with extreme changes in terrain, weather and altitude along the way.

For 40 days, the determined mother of three pushed herself on and on for more than 2,000 miles across the vast continent, despite the onset of severe pain, until she was forced to make a crushing decision: carry on and risk never being able to run again or give up on her all-time goal.

What happened next set Mimi on a new, unexpected journey. She learned to face her fears and bounce back from defeat by taking up the new challenge of becoming a triathlete.

A follow-up to her first memoir Beyond Impossible, this next instalment in Mimi’s inspiring story proves that when one door closes, another opens – you just need the courage to swim, cycle and run through it.

Enjoy the glorious game in a whole new way with this mighty collection of rugby puzzles

If you can’t watch the match from the comfort of your own toilet, you need something just as gripping to keep you enthralled. Whether it’s spotting the difference between two crunching tackles or locating world-famous stadiums, this puzzle book is just the ticket. These amusing activities and fun facts will prove a sure-fire winner with any fan of the game.

From bestselling author and professional brain-teaser Hugh Jassburn, this eye-catching collection will pit your wits against such challenges as these:

– Find all the items of rugby kit hidden in a word search
– Unscramble the names of famous players at Anagram RFC
– Guess the year when the Rugby Football Union officially endorsed the oval-shaped ball
– Prove you know what the various signals made by the referee and their assistants actually mean
A superb gift idea, this is an all-round treat for rugby obsessives and casual fans alike.

Hit it for six with this fast-paced collection of cricketing puzzles

If you can’t watch the match from the comfort of your own toilet, you need something just as gripping to keep you enthralled. Whether it’s tracking down the right pair of pads or discovering the longest and shortest test matches ever, this puzzle book is just the ticket. These amusing activities and fun facts will prove a sure-fire winner with any fan of the sound of leather on willow.

From bestselling author and professional brain-teaser Hugh Jassburn, this eye-catching collection will pit your wits against such challenges as these:

– Unscramble the names of legendary players in the anagram hall of fame
– Discover the speed of the fastest ball ever bowled
– Prove you know all the various batting strokes
– Spot the differences between two scenes as a ball smashes into middle stump
– Locate the names of international test grounds hiding in a word search
A superb gift idea, this is an all-round treat for cricket obsessives and casual fans alike.

Celebrate the beautiful game like a true champion with this collection of footballing puzzles

If you can’t watch the match from the comfort of your own toilet, you need something just as gripping to keep you enthralled. Whether it’s tracking down a missing boot or diving through a maze to make an incredible save, this puzzle book is just the ticket! These amusing activities and fun facts will prove a sure-fire winner with any fan of the beautiful game.

From bestselling author and professional brain-teaser Hugh Jassburn, this eye-catching collection will pit your wits against such challenges as these:

– Unscramble the names of legendary teams in the anagram trophy cabinet
– Discover which team won the most trophies in Europe in the twentieth century
– Spot the differences between two scenes as a goalkeeper prepares to save a free kick
– Locate the names of international football grounds hiding inside a word search
A superb gift idea, this is an all-round treat for footie obsessives and casual fans alike.

Do you feel lumpy, lazy and de-motivated? Would you like to be healthier, but don’t really have the time or aren’t sure where to start? You don’t have to go straight from the couch to 5k! The Couch Potato’s Guide to Getting Fit will teach you how to incorporate exercise into your daily routine and help you take that tricky first step towards fitness.

– Stretches you can do while watching TV
– Easy exercises for around the house
– Go from couch potato to hot potato!

Accessible and easy-to-use, this book will help you make little changes and see big results.

The world is yours to explore

The great outdoors is the beating heart of our world, but modern life is pulling us ever further away from it. Spending our time shut away indoors and hunched over screens, we’ve lost touch with nature, and it’s harming our health and our happiness. But it’s never too late to find our way back.

This book will help you find a way of reconnecting with the great outdoors. Whether you like to walk, run or swim, admire the wildlife or forage for wild foods, within these pages there will be something to inspire you to get out into the fresh air and reignite your sense of wonder at the world around you. Nature is a balm for the body and soul, so escape the pace of the everyday and set yourself free: get out there, find adventure, and go wild!

You might run for fitness. You might run for speed. But ultimately, running is about much more than the physical act itself. It is about the challenges we face in life, and how we measure up to them. It is about companionship, endurance, ambition, hope, conviction, determination, self-respect and inspiration. It is about how we choose to live our lives, and what it means to share our values with other people.

In this year-long memoir, which might be described as a historian’s take on Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, the celebrated historian Ian Mortimer considers the meaning of running as he approaches his fiftieth birthday. From injuries and frustrated ambitions to exhilaration and empathy, it is a personal and yet universal account of what running means to people, and how it helps everyone focus on what really matters.

Prepare for a sporting contest like no other!

Any true fan knows that the porcelain umpire’s chair is an ideal place to put your sporting knowledge to the test. This compendium of fun activities and quiz questions will have you spotting the difference at Wembley, finding a lost helmet at Lord’s, and going for gold in Olympic omniscience.

From bestselling author and professional brain-teaser Hugh Jassburn, this illustrated puzzle book includes a range of challenges relating to football, rugby, tennis, cricket, athletics, golf, boxing, basketball, rowing, snooker and more.

Pit your wits against such quiz questions as these:

– What is the lowest darts score you can’t achieve with a single dart?
– In 1981 Muhammad Ali retired from boxing – what was his career record?
– What is Tiger Woods’ real first name?
– Who was the first cricket player to score a century and take ten wickets in a test match?
– What sport has four letters, is played all around the world, and begins with a “t”?
A winning gift idea, this book will score a major-league success with sport obsessives and casual fans alike.

A book for bike lovers.
Whether for transport, leisure or sporting endeavour, cycling supports and inspires millions across the globe. This fact-filled miscellany looks at biking from its origins through to its remarkable scope and status in the present day. Covering cycling’s great races, athletes and anecdotes, Ride also provides practical tips on how to maintain your bike and improve your riding.

 
Laugh yourself off the fairway with this mini-collection of golfing humour – the very best quips and quotes for the golf-obsessed.

Longlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2018

If you had told Helen two years ago that she would be getting up at 6 a.m. on Sundays to swim in a freezing reservoir and spending her Saturday nights unshowered and covered in mud in a pub, she would have spat out her champagne. But when everyone around you starts settling down, what else is a glamorous party girl to do but to launch herself into the world of endurance sport?

For someone who didn’t even own a pair of flat shoes (and definitely no waterproofs), Helen would soon find she had a lot to learn.

Join Helen on her hilarious and soul-searching journey as she swaps a life of cocktail bars and dating for the challenges and exhilaration of triathlons, trail runs, obstacle races, long-distance cycles and ocean swims… and sets herself the seemingly impossible goal of qualifying as a Team GB triathlete.

Treat your mates to a hearty half-time chuckle with this mini-collection of football humour – the very best quips and quotes for lovers of the beautiful game.

 
Bowl yourself over with this mini-collection of cricket humour – the very best quips and quotes for lovers of the gentleman’s game.

This collection of rugby humour is perfect for anyone who lives and breathes the glorious game. Packed with the very best quips and quotes for lovers of the oval-shaped ball, it guarantees laughs and lots of celebratory fist pumps.

Scrum down and prepare yourself for a full-on tour of the game through the eyes of iconic players, pithy commentators and dumbfounded celebrities. It’ll reveal whether rugby really is a game that requires all brawn and little brain, explore the divisive history between the Union and League and celebrate the legends of the sport.

Up until the final whistle, the quotes in this book will have you on the edge of your seat. Offering an amusing look at the lives of rugby stars on and off the pitch, it’ll have you cheering for more and make you even more nuts for the honourable and always beautiful game than you already are.

If you’re a mum who wants to run, there’s nothing stopping you!

When busy mum Leanne Davies set up a social media group for her and a couple of friends to encourage one another to go running, she never imagined it would quickly become a nationwide network of thousands of women, all sharing a passion for the sport and a penchant for colourful compression socks.

Gathering the very best of the advice and tips from the Run Mummy Run network, Leanne and co-writer Lucy have created this comprehensive beginner’s guide to running that includes sections on:
– From starting with a Couch To 5k plan to building up the confidence to race
– Fitting in running around work and family life
– Overcoming barriers to exercise
– How to keep on running when motivation wanes, and much more!

Not just your average practical go-to, this book is filled with down-to-earth advice, training schedules and inspirational stories that’ll help you to be fit, healthy and happy.

What did the manager do when the pitch became flooded?
He sent on his subs.
God and the devil were having an argument, and Satan proposed a football game between heaven and hell to resolve the dispute.
God, in his eternal goodness, pointed out that it wouldn’t be a fair match because all the ‘good’ players go to heaven.
The devil smiled, replying, ‘Yes, but we’ve got all the refs.’
Football is obviously very serious business – like when that disallowed goal was ‘never off-side’, and that was ‘totally a dive’ – but it’s a funny old game really. This compendium of hilarious jokes will help you see the lighter side when your team is showing you up, and give your mates a good chuckle at the celebrations when they win. 

You know you’re a rugby fanatic when…
… your Facebook profile photo is a close-up of your latest injury.
… you own more replica shirts than work ones.
If this sounds all too familiar, read one to discover whether you’re truly obsessed with the odd-shaped ball or just one player short of a scrum!

When Mimi first started jogging on a treadmill as an unfit 36-year-old mother-of-three, she never imagined she would go on to become a World-Record-breaking ultrarunner.

After coming to terms with the anorexia that had impacted her life from a young age, Mimi begins to reassess her relationship with food and finds a new resolve in running. With a renewed sense of purpose, she decides to take the sport that saved her life to the next level, training hard and throwing herself in at the deep end by entering the epic Marathon des Sables in the Sahara desert, despite still being a novice runner. One startling success leads to another, as she finds herself taking on ever-more-challenging races – from the Badwater Ultramarathon in Death Valley, USA, to the 6633 Arctic Ultra – all building up to her biggest challenge yet: attempting to gain the Guinness World Record time for a female running 840 miles from John o’Groats to Land’s End.

This incredible story of how an ordinary mum ran her way into the record books will inspire beginner runners and die-hard marathon devotees alike, proving that, no matter where life takes you, it’s never too late to achieve your dreams and do the impossible.

Do you know…
– Who holds the world record for the fastest marathon run in flip flops, or dressed as a beer can?
– The stories behind the running legends known as ‘Grandma’ and ‘The Buckeye Bullet’?
– Why a race in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is known as the Trail of Tears?

Running is the simplest, the most natural, the most wildly liberating and gloriously exhilarating of sports. All you need is a pair of trainers – and not even that, if you’re one of those barefoot-runner types – and you’re set. But the strength, determination and stamina required to get to the top of your game is something to be admired and aspired to.

Collected here are all the most fascinating insights into the world of running – from its illustrious history to tales of modern-day greats – that you could ever need to inspire your next run. This miscellany is perfect for anyone who knows the incomparable joy of hitting the road, whether you’re on your first 5K or your latest ultramarathon!