Running has been Iwan Thomas’s life. He put everything into becoming and remaining an elite athlete – so much so that the effort scarred him emotionally. In this book, he reveals not only the highs, but also the hard graft and his battles with the dark side of running – the loneliness, the doubts, the hurt and, ultimately, the serious mental health issues. A deeply reflective, compelling and sensationally open book, Thomas reveals the truth about a sportsman’s life as never before.
After a youthful stint as a world-class BMX rider, Thomas dedicated himself to running. Between 1996 and 1998, he established himself as one of the world’s fastest men, taking gold in both the 400m and the 4x400m at the European Championships and silver at the Worlds. His British 400m record of 44.36s still stands after 20 years, yet even in his prime niggling injuries were already beginning to limit his ability to compete with the best.
His response to setbacks had always been to train even harder, but increasingly that was no longer an option. Without the structure of training, the motivation of competition and the buzz of race day, Thomas struggled, suffering an extended period of anxiety and depression before eventually coming to terms with his life as a former athlete.
Thomas writes with candour about his formative years, ruminating on who and what he was trying to prove with his athletic prowess. He reflects on the physical and mental trials he put himself through as he strove to reach the top, describes the fleeting elation of success, the emptiness of defeat, the frustrations of injury and the bitter realisation – all to soon in his case – that his days as an elite athlete had gone forever.
He digs deep to reveal his innermost thoughts and emotions at each stage of his career, with a single race – from the BMX World Championship to the 1996 Olympics to the 2021 South Downs Way 100-miler – providing the focus of each chapter. Always writing from the heart, Thomas provides an absorbing, sometimes uncomfortable, but totally memorable read.
