Synopses & Reviews
The first major work about marathon running—including the current heated battle among the worlds elite runners to reach the two-hour barrier—and how psychology, technology, economics, and the latest science affect the potential of human performance.
Two hours, to cover 26 miles and 385 yards. It is runnings Everest, a feat once seen as impossible for the human body. But now we can glimpse the mountaintop. The sub-two hour marathon will require an exceptional feat of speed, mental strength, and endurance. The pioneer will have to endure more, live braver, plan better, and be luckier than any who has run before. So who will it be?
In this spellbinding book, Ed Caesar takes us into the world of elite runners: the greatest marathoners on earth. Through the stories of these rich characters, like Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai, he traces the history of the marathon as well as the science, physiology, and psychology involved in running so fast, for so long. And he shows us why this most democratic of races retains its savage, enthralling appeal—and why we are drawn to test ourselves to the limit. From big-money races in the United States to remote villages in Kenya, Two Hours is a book about a beautiful sport that few people understand. Its about talent, heroism, and refusing to accept defeat. Its a book about running that is about much more than running…this is a human drama like no other.
Review
“You might think, at first, that youre going for a very long morning run with a small African man through the streets of Berlin. Before you know it, youre chasing the white whale of human endurance—the two-hour marathon—down every one of its psychological, physiological, geographical, historical, and cultural side streets, running with a tailwind that only great narrative craftsmen like Ed Caesar can exhale.” —Gary Smith
Review
“A fascinating insight into the clockwork of what it means to be an elite athlete, always pushing at the edge of possibility. Like a good runner, Caesar carries the story along with grace and ease and generosity. He brings us to Kenya, New York, London, and Berlin, but ultimately allows us to look inside ourselves. Its the human story that shines through.” —Colum McCann, author of Transatlantic and Let the Great World Spin
Review
“Ed Caesars treatment of the near-mythical two-hour marathon is both implacably scientific and wonderfully reverential. As a former marathoner I deeply appreciate both. The prose hums along effortlessly and the topic is one of the most profound there is: the absolute limits of human performance. Reading a book that combines those two things is one of the great pleasures in life.” —Sebastian Junger
Review
“There seem to be so few grand pursuits left in sports. Ed Caesar chases one of the last—the two-hour marathon. As he writes, it is sports Everest, an utterly impossible thing that, like the four-minute mile, the moon landing, and the flying car, people obsessively chase. Ed Caesar is a wonderful writer and he takes us on the brilliant chase and gets us thinking about what impossible even means.” —Joe Posnanski, author of Paterno and The Secret of Golf
Review
“A fabulously entertaining and thought-provoking ode to perseverance, Ed Caesars Two Hours will make you fall in love with elite marathoning even if you can barely jog a mile. It is a tale filled with richly drawn characters whose grit and talent are wonders to behold, as well as keen observations about the twists and turns of the human mind. Read it and youll yearn to attend as many marathons as possible, so you can marvel at the athletic geniuses whove sacrificed so much to run so beautifully.” —Brendan I. Koerner, author of The Skies Belong to Us
Review
“For a human being—for one of us—to run 26.2 miles in 120 minutes will require a belief in everything but our limits. Only a reporter of Ed Caesars diligence, and a writer of his ease, could make such an improbable achievement feel more than likely. He makes Two Hours feel like destiny.” —Chris Jones, author of Out of Orbit
Review
“Combining real drama and pinpoint reportage, Ed Caesar has delivered an absolutely fascinating book about the mother of all endurance events, the marathon, and the outer limits of the human body. Two Hours had me at the ten seconds, and Caesar sets such a compelling, genial pace, synthesizing history, science, and psychology, that his globe-spanning quest to understand everything about the marathon becomes ours. This is a gifted, award-winning writer in full stride, and a must-read pleasure, for you'll never see the great race, or the human body, in the same way ever again.” —Michael Paterniti, author of The Telling Room
Synopsis
"Essential reading for every runner." --Men's Fitness
"Compelling...As becomes clear not long after its starting gun, this book transcends the search for a two-hour marathon." --The Washington Post
Two hours to cover twenty-six miles and 385 yards. It is running's Everest, a feat once seen as impossible for the human body. But now we can glimpse the mountaintop. The sub-two hour marathon will require an exceptional combination of speed, mental strength, and endurance. The pioneer will have to endure more, live braver, plan better, and be luckier than anyone who has run before. So who will it be?
In this spellbinding book, journalist Ed Caesar takes us into the world of elite marathoners: some of the greatest runners on earth. Through the stories of these rich characters, like Kenyan Geoffrey Mutai, around whom the narrative is built, Caesar traces the history of the marathon as well as the science, physiology, and psychology involved in running so fast for so long. And he shows us why this most democratic of races retains its brutal, enthralling appeal--and why we are drawn to test ourselves to the limit.
Two Hours is a book about a beautiful sport few people understand. It takes us from big-money races in the United States and Europe to remote villages in Kenya. It's about talent, heroism, and refusing to accept defeat. It is a book about running that is about much more than running. It is a human drama like no other.
About the Author
Ed Caesar has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Outside, and the Smithsonian, among many others, and has reported from a wide variety of locations, including Iran, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kosovo. Among other subjects, Caesar has written about African civil wars, the world’s longest tennis match, British murder trials, wingsuit flying, and Tom Wolfe’s beautiful apartment. He is the winner of nine journalism awards. Most recently, he was named Journalist of the Year for 2014 by the Foreign Press Association of London. Two Hours is his first book.