Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance

by Alex Hutchinson, Malcolm Gladwell (Foreword by)

Overview

The New York Times Bestseller * Foreword by Malcom Gladwell

"Reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits." —Adam Grant

Discover the revolutionary account of the science and psychology of endurance, revealing the secrets of reaching the hidden extra potential within us all. This updated paperback edition features a new afterword.

The capacity to endure is the key trait that underlies great performance in virtually every field. But what if we all can go farther, push harder, and achieve more than we think we’re capable of?

Blending cutting-edge science and gripping storytelling in the spirit of Malcolm Gladwell—who contributes the book’s foreword—award-winning journalist Alex Hutchinson reveals that a wave of paradigm-altering research over the past decade suggests the seemingly physical barriers you encounter as set as much by your brain as by your body. This means the mind is the new frontier of endurance—and that the horizons of performance are much more elastic than we once thought.

But, of course, it’s not “all in your head.” For each of the physical limits that Hutchinson explores—pain, muscle, oxygen, heat, thirst, fuel—he carefully disentangles the delicate interplay of mind and body by telling the riveting stories of men and women who’ve pushed their own limits in extraordinary ways.

The longtime “Sweat Science” columnist for Outside and Runner’s World, Hutchinson, a former national-team long-distance runner and Cambridge-trained physicist, was one of only two reporters granted access to Nike’s top-secret training project to break the two-hour marathon barrier, an extreme quest he traces throughout the book. But the lessons he draws from shadowing elite athletes and from traveling to high-tech labs around the world are surprisingly universal. Endurance, Hutchinson writes, is “the struggle to continue against a mounting desire to stop”—and we’re always capable of pushing a little farther.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062499981
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/16/2021
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	32,519
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.80(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Alex Hutchinson, Ph.D., is a columnist for Outside magazine and was a long-time columnist for Runner's World. A National Magazine Award winner, he is a regular contributor to The New Yorker online, pens the weekly "Jockology" column in the Toronto Globe and Mail, and writes for the New York Times. FiveThirtyEight recently named him one of their "favorite running science geeks." He was a two-time finalist in the 1,500 meters at the Canadian Olympic Trials, and represented Canada internationally in track, cross-country, road racing, and mountain running competitions. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Cambridge, and has worked as a researcher for the U.S. National Security Agency. He lives in Toronto, Canada.

Editorial Reviews

This book is AMAZING!” — MALCOLM GLADWELL

“Makes the case that we’re actually underestimating our potential, and reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits.” — Adam Grant, LinkedIn.com

“If you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled by Alex Hutchinson’s Endure.” — Bear Grylls, Mt. Everest summiteer and host of NBC’s Running Wild with Bear Grylls

“Fascinating (and motivating). ... Hutchinson sheds light on how humans accomplish our most absurd athletic achievements.” — Esquire

“A perfect book for the armchair athlete. ... If you ever wonder, How do they do that? Hutchinson has the answers. ... Discovers that what we think of as our limits are set by our minds, not by our bodies.” — Success (”AHA! Reading List”)

“Alex Hutchinson’s Endure is so much more than a sports book. It is a voyage to the outer reaches of human capacity.” — DAVID EPSTEIN, author of Range and The Sports Gene

“Hutchinson looks at the art and science of endurance, with a focus on running but with take-aways that can be applied to any project, mental or physical.” — Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“[Hutchinson] has a true gift for writing compelling sports stories and combining them with deft analyses of cutting-edge research. ... A captivating and often moving book with something to offer readers interested in health, athleticism, neuroscience, and the human condition.” — Kirkus (*starred review*)

“Persuasive and motivating. ... Transports readers to a realm where psychology, environment, and physiology all intersect.” — Booklist (*starred review*)

“Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more — and Alex will show you how.” — Inc.

“We’re all intrigued by amazing feats of human endurance, from Everest to marathon world records to global Ironman competitions. How do they do it? Alex Hutchinson’s Endure explores the topic from every conceivable angle. An essential read for every endurance athlete.” — AMBY BURFOOT, 1968 Boston Marathon winner, Runner’s World writer-at-large, and editor of Runner’s World Complete Book of Running

“Carefully researched and based on the most current ideas in the science of running, Alex Hutchinson’s Endure is written with a fluency that makes it easily accessible for all runners. This is an excellent resource for anyone seeking to better to understand how our minds influence our ultimate performances.” — TIM NOAKES, emeritus professor of exercise science at the University of Cape Town

“The best popular science book on human performance I’ve ever read.” — Mark Burnley, Ph.D., School of Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kent

“Examines how we can push beyond our limits. ... Gives a gripping insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers and peak performers to find out what gives them the capacity to push harder and achieve more.” — The Independent (Ireland)

“Endure is a pure science book that goes deep, especially into the mind, and the pacing and story-telling are top notch.” — Runner’s World

“Cinematic. ... Thrilling. ... Hutchinson excels at making the science cohere around his central question: what limits us, our body or our mind?” — Canadian Running

“A fascinating exploration of the limits of the human body—and, to a large extent, the human mind. .... A must-read. ... Highly relevant for those looking to better understand and improve their performance off the playing field, too. ” — BRAD STULBERG and STEVE MAGNESS, authors of Peak Performance

“So good. Smart, inspiring, and just fun to read. Makes me wanna be a better runner (and faster reader).” — GRETCHEN REYNOLDS, New York Times “Well” columnist and author of The First 20 Minutes

From the Publisher

Endure is a pure science book that goes deep, especially into the mind, and the pacing and story-telling are top notch.

Runner’s World

Cinematic. ... Thrilling. ... Hutchinson excels at making the science cohere around his central question: what limits us, our body or our mind?

Canadian Running

Carefully researched and based on the most current ideas in the science of running, Alex Hutchinson’s Endure is written with a fluency that makes it easily accessible for all runners. This is an excellent resource for anyone seeking to better to understand how our minds influence our ultimate performances.

TIM NOAKES

Examines how we can push beyond our limits. ... Gives a gripping insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers and peak performers to find out what gives them the capacity to push harder and achieve more.

The Independent (Ireland)

So good. Smart, inspiring, and just fun to read. Makes me wanna be a better runner (and faster reader).

GRETCHEN REYNOLDS

Makes the case that we’re actually underestimating our potential, and reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits.

ADAM GRANT

If you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled by Alex Hutchinson’s Endure.

BEAR GRYLLS

04/09/2018
In this intricate and probing exploration, Hutchinson, an Outside magazine columnist and avid runner, chases down various theories concerning how the brain and body work together to either limit or stretch the boundaries of human endurance. In delving into this puzzle, Hutchinson finds many contradictions: for instance, at times pain slows athletes to a halt, and at “other times it drives them to even greater heights.” Though a good portion of the text is devoted to running (including a recap of one of Hutchinson’s own races), readers are also treated to the trials and tribulations of motorcyclists, mountain climbers, free divers (who risk their lives by diving without oxygen tanks), elite race walkers, and other athletes, as well as to commentary by the scientists and sports physiologists who study them. Hutchinson examines how the brain and body interact, observing, “Your brain is looking out for your well-being in ways that are outside your conscious control and that kick in long before you reach a point of actual physiological crisis.” Readers seeking simple answers or straightforward workout directives won’t find them in Hutchinson’s intriguing study, but they will be prompted to think deeply about how human limits can be transcended. Agent: Rick Broadhead, Rick Broadhead & Associates. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Makes the case that we’re actually underestimating our potential, and reveals how we can all surpass our perceived physical limits.

Adam Grant

A perfect book for the armchair athlete. ... If you ever wonder, How do they do that? Hutchinson has the answers. ... Discovers that what we think of as our limits are set by our minds, not by our bodies.

Success (”AHA! Reading List”)

Fascinating (and motivating). ... Hutchinson sheds light on how humans accomplish our most absurd athletic achievements.

Esquire

Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more — and Alex will show you how.

Inc.

If you want to gain insight into the mind of great athletes, adventurers, and peak performers then prepare to be enthralled by Alex Hutchinson’s Endure.

Bear Grylls

This book is AMAZING!

MALCOLM GLADWELL

Persuasive and motivating. ... Transports readers to a realm where psychology, environment, and physiology all intersect.

Booklist (*starred review*)

Hutchinson looks at the art and science of endurance, with a focus on running but with take-aways that can be applied to any project, mental or physical.

Globe and Mail (Toronto)

Alex Hutchinson’s Endure is so much more than a sports book. It is a voyage to the outer reaches of human capacity.

DAVID EPSTEIN

Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more -- and Alex will show you how.

Inc.

The best popular science book on human performance I’ve ever read.

Mark Burnley

We’re all intrigued by amazing feats of human endurance, from Everest to marathon world records to global Ironman competitions. How do they do it? Alex Hutchinson’s Endure explores the topic from every conceivable angle. An essential read for every endurance athlete.

AMBY BURFOOT

A fascinating exploration of the limits of the human body—and, to a large extent, the human mind. .... A must-read. ... Highly relevant for those looking to better understand and improve their performance off the playing field, too.

BRAD STULBERG and STEVE MAGNESS

A perfect book for the armchair athlete. ... If you ever wonder, How do they do that? Hutchinson has the answers. ... Discovers that what we think of as our limits are set by our minds, not by our bodies.

Success-("AHA! Reading List")

Endure is a pure science book that goes deep, especially into the mind, and the pacing and story-telling are top notch.

Runner's World

Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more -- and Alex will show you how.

Inc. ("6 Great Business Books to Read in 2018")

A perfect book for the armchair athlete. ... If you ever wonder, How do they do that? Hutchinson has the answers.

Success

The best popular science book on human performance I’ve ever read.

Dr. Mark Burnley

Want to achieve more? Often that means you have to do more — and Alex will show you how.

JEFF HADEN

Persuasive and motivating. ... Transports readers to a realm where psychology, environment, and physiology all intersect.

Booklist (starred review)

★ 2017-12-11
A meticulously researched profile of the physiology and psychology of athletes.Even readers with the most sedentary of lifestyles will find something intriguing in this book from Outside columnist Hutchinson (Which Comes First, Cardio or Weights?: Fitness Myths, Training Truths, and Other Surprising Discoveries from the Science of Exercise, 2011, etc.), formerly of Runner's World. The narrative is part ode to athleticism with a focus on distance running, part examination of current fitness research, and part fascinating exploration of the mysteries of the mind-body connection. The author has a true gift for writing compelling sports stories and combining them with deft analyses of cutting-edge research that never get lost in jargon or become oversimplified. To the contrary, Hutchinson reinforces the uncertainty of current controversies in modern exercise science without forcing his readers to pick a side. Specifically, he investigates what is at the heart of the limits of man's endurance: is it the body's mechanistic breaking point or the brain's upper threshold of belief? He answers with descriptions of counterintuitive exercise studies that show, for example, that an athlete's performance improves when a thermometer is doctored to read the temperature as a few degrees cooler than reality or when she swishes a sports drink in her mouth but doesn't actually consume any extra energy from it. Alongside those facts, the author's passion animates his own personal stories as well as those of others, such as the tragic death of a high school football player during a hot summer practice and a woman whose traumatic brain injury made her into one of the most elite ultra-endurance runners of all time. As Malcolm Gladwell writes in the foreword, Hutchinson "writes about the mysteries of endurance as a student of the science, a sports fan, and a keen observer of human performance—but also as a participant."A captivating and often moving book with something to offer readers interested in health, athleticism, neuroscience, and the human condition.

Kirkus Reviews