17 Hours to Glory: Extraordinary Stories from the Heart of Triathlon

by Mathias Müller, Timothy Carlson (Contributor), Mark Deterline (Translator)

    From the moment the starting gun is fired on Kona’s sandy beach at the Ironman World Championship, triathletes have 17 hours to cross the finish line. It’s a feat marking the ultimate achievement in the sport. 17 Hours to Glory is one of only a few books to commemorate this dramatic quest. Seventeen compelling stories allow readers to experience the competition first-hand, revealing tremendous athleticism, unbelievable capacity for suffering, and true strength of character.
    The personal stories of triathlon's most epic characters come to life in this book, beginning with the famous story of Julie Moss's determination to reach the finish line, paving the way for future champions like Mark Allen and Paula Newby-Fraser, and a new generation of superstars in Greg Welch and Chrissie Wellington. 17 Hours to Glory tells the stories of a sedentary secretary with all of the wrong habits taking up triathlon to lose weight, a nun who races triathlons to bring attention to her causes, and two men with a rivalry so intense that their disabilities fade into the shadows. Injury, tough breaks, and down-to-the-wire finishes highlight years of dedication to reaching a goal.
    Some will become champions, some will overcome all odds just to finish, only to come back and do it again. Triathlon’s most dynamic heroes are candidly portrayed in 17 Hours to Glory , a book that puts no limits on the possibilities of the human spirit.

Genres: Sports

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Michelle Lindqvist · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an interesting read. As a triathlete myself (surprise surprise) I loved read the struggles pros have and amateurs have gone through to succeed in Hawaii.

[Cathy M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this over the past 24 hours. Great way to get me motivated to get back training for Ironman.

[Serena Bolliger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories about impressive athletes through Ironman history, rather than a fluid book. It's interesting to read about the relationships between top athletes, and read inspiring stories from 'more than average joe' athletes. I've found that sports books (on triathlon at least) tend to be either a) written by athletes and therefore not very well written or b) written by writers, and therefore not great on the actual sports side. This is just a description of the road that got athletes to their Ironman finishes, therefore it's not high on imagined emotion, but fairly straightforward, which I appreciate. If you want to know a little about Ironman greats, this is a good read.

[Chris Maki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, at first I thought this book would be about athletes that took the full 17 hours to finish Ironman Kona. Turns out these stories are really about the athletes that won or almost won their respective categories. Don't get me wrong, everyone suffered and did amazing things but no one in this book took 17 hours, most of the athletes won Kona so they chimed in around 8 1/2 hours.

Either way there are a lot of great stories here. Several of the stores are from the same year in Kona, just different races athletes.

I'd highly recommend this book. Personally, I'm a triathlete so I really enjoyed the details and history of the biggest Triathlon event in the world.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

17 great stories about athletes who have finished the famous Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. While all the stories were interesting, my favorites were the stories of the non professionals such as Sister Madonna Buder and Team Hoyt. If you have any interest in triathlon, this is a must read book.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some chapters had me crying while others were too technical about breaking this record, that record, highest split here, fastest time there, etc. Mostly I just gained even more respect for these amazing athletes.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for people that like running,swimming,biking and triathlons.I hope you read this book because it is one of my favourite books, and it is short story about triathletes life and career. SO i hope you read this book.

[Becky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Frankly, the first few chapters were interesting but then it all kind of blurred together...the writing style was just not interesting enough to capture my attention in such similar stories.

[Rolando Ricardez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad writing style...

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about some of the most amazing athletes in triathlon history, as well as the history of Kona. The stories provide incredible motivation and inspiration.