Your Search Results

      • Multidiscipline sports
        January 2013

        Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop

        More Misadventures in Triathlon

        by Andy Holgate

        A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run makes the Ironman triathlon one of the hardest one-day endurance challenges on the planet. Now take those events and transfer them to a volcanic rock with cruel winds, searing sun, rough seas and nosebleed-inducing hills, and you have Ironman Lanzarote. Why, then, would Andy Holgate - who admittedly has never swum in the sea, who can't cope with the wind, sun or even stairs - take on such an extreme challenge? Simple: because he can. Can't Sleep, Can't Train, Can't Stop! continues Andy's inspirational journey from where Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run left off, chronicling his attempt to complete two Ironman triathlons six weeks apart. Already in his fortieth year, would Andy make it to his forty-first? Would Lanzarote prove one triathlon too far - or will Andy succeed against the odds and live to swim, ride and run another day?

      • Multidiscipline sports
        January 2011

        Can't Swim, Can't Ride, Can't Run

        My Triathlon Journey from Common Man to Ironman

        by Andy Holgate

        A 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run make up the Ironman triathlon. It’s not for the faint-hearted. What possesses an overweight, thirty-something librarian who can’t swim, doesn’t own a bike and has two dodgy knees to take on the hardest one-day endurance race in the world? Can’t Swim, Can’t Ride, Can’t Run is the story of Andy Holgate’s inspirational, epic and life-changing journey to become an Ironman. Lubricant, alligators, rubber suits, blisters, pirates, extreme weather, Elvis, tragedy, romance, flesh-eating amoebas, crashes, hospital visits and perhaps the most unusual stag weekend in history all play a part in this amusing and moving tale of one normal bloke’s quest to arrive at his wedding intact. Oh yeah, that’s right, Andy is due to get married seven days after the biggest physical challenge of his life. Will he make it down the aisle in one piece?

      • Track & field sports, athletics

        The Flying Pineapple

        by Jaime Baulch

        With his blonde dreadlocks and his speed on the running track, Jamie Baulch earned the nickname 'The Flying Pineapple'. This is Jamie’s story about his life as one of the most decorated British athletes. He puts his success down to his adopted parents who inspired him to be the best he could be. His sporting potential was quickly spotted from an early age by his teacher, Mr Atkins. Jamie's story is about the fun he had competing in school and around the world. His life on the track was always about how fast he could run. When he retired in 2005, he was determined not to slow down. He is now head of a sports management company and continues to inspire a new generation of sportsmen and women. About the author: Jamie Baulch was born in Nottingham, adopted by Welsh parents and brought up in Newport, South Wales. From an early age he was one of the best in his school at sport. Discovered by his teacher, Mr Atkins, Jamie became one of the most recognisable athletes in Welsh and World athletics. His first medal was in the 1991 European Junior Championships where he won gold in the men’s 4x100m relay team. He became one of Britain’s most decorated athletes with a huge haul of five World Championship medals, one Olympic Games medal, two European Championship medals, two Commonwealth Games medals and two IAAF World Cup medals. Recently, he was awarded a World Championship gold medal as part of the 4x400m relay team after the Americans were disqualified for using drugs.

      • Track & field sports, athletics

        The Flying Pineapple

        by Jaime Baulch

        With his blonde dreadlocks and his speed on the running track, Jamie Baulch earned the nickname 'The Flying Pineapple'. This is Jamie’s story about his life as one of the most decorated British athletes. He puts his success down to his adopted parents who inspired him to be the best he could be. His sporting potential was quickly spotted from an early age by his teacher, Mr Atkins. Jamie's story is about the fun he had competing in school and around the world. His life on the track was always about how fast he could run. When he retired in 2005, he was determined not to slow down. He is now head of a sports management company and continues to inspire a new generation of sportsmen and women. About the author: Jamie Baulch was born in Nottingham, adopted by Welsh parents and brought up in Newport, South Wales. From an early age he was one of the best in his school at sport. Discovered by his teacher, Mr Atkins, Jamie became one of the most recognisable athletes in Welsh and World athletics. His first medal was in the 1991 European Junior Championships where he won gold in the men’s 4x100m relay team. He became one of Britain’s most decorated athletes with a huge haul of five World Championship medals, one Olympic Games medal, two European Championship medals, two Commonwealth Games medals and two IAAF World Cup medals. Recently, he was awarded a World Championship gold medal as part of the 4x400m relay team after the Americans were disqualified for using drugs.

      Subscribe to our

      newsletter