Failure is an Option

Failure is an Option PDF Author: Matt Whyman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 183981134X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
'We're not at parkrun any more,' I mutter to myself, quietly longing for the presence of nice marshals in high-visibility vests. Failure is an Option is the story of an average runner who sets out to discover just how far he can go. With the support (and misgivings) of his family, and aware that his quickest years are behind him, Matt Whyman leaves the Saturday morning 5K to push towards 100-mile ultramarathons and beyond. By slowing things down to run a very long way, he joins a growing number of men and women from all walks of life striving to do something extraordinary. A newcomer to a world that can often seem off-limits, Matt finds his feet as an ultrarunner by learning the hard way. He battles monster hallucinations on endurance races spanning day and night, loses himself on tantalising trails across landscapes far from home, and forges bonds with fellow competitors in which small, kind gestures mean more than any medal. Determined to touch the boundaries of his running world before it starts to shrink, ultimately Matt sets his sights on a six-day mountain ultra that even hardened veterans consider to be the most formidable on earth: the Dragon's Back Race. Brimming with good humour, honesty and joy, Failure is an Option pits ambition against ability to uncover human truths that resonate with us all. A mid-pack competitor who could win prizes for enthusiasm – if nothing else – Matt takes us on a journey far beyond his comfort zone and with no guaranteed outcome of success. The results are entertaining from start to finish, often very funny and at times deeply moving.

Failure is an Option

Failure is an Option PDF Author: Matt Whyman
Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing
ISBN: 183981134X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
'We're not at parkrun any more,' I mutter to myself, quietly longing for the presence of nice marshals in high-visibility vests. Failure is an Option is the story of an average runner who sets out to discover just how far he can go. With the support (and misgivings) of his family, and aware that his quickest years are behind him, Matt Whyman leaves the Saturday morning 5K to push towards 100-mile ultramarathons and beyond. By slowing things down to run a very long way, he joins a growing number of men and women from all walks of life striving to do something extraordinary. A newcomer to a world that can often seem off-limits, Matt finds his feet as an ultrarunner by learning the hard way. He battles monster hallucinations on endurance races spanning day and night, loses himself on tantalising trails across landscapes far from home, and forges bonds with fellow competitors in which small, kind gestures mean more than any medal. Determined to touch the boundaries of his running world before it starts to shrink, ultimately Matt sets his sights on a six-day mountain ultra that even hardened veterans consider to be the most formidable on earth: the Dragon's Back Race. Brimming with good humour, honesty and joy, Failure is an Option pits ambition against ability to uncover human truths that resonate with us all. A mid-pack competitor who could win prizes for enthusiasm – if nothing else – Matt takes us on a journey far beyond his comfort zone and with no guaranteed outcome of success. The results are entertaining from start to finish, often very funny and at times deeply moving.

The Dragon's Back

The Dragon's Back PDF Author: Thea Whittington
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789889979959
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
While hiking the hills of Hong Kong with his parents, Siu Ming and his parents come across a forest fire that threatens them, the green valley, and the mountain dragon that protects it.

In the Shadow of the Dragon's Back

In the Shadow of the Dragon's Back PDF Author: Rachel Odhner Longstaff
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1683150120
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 226

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Book Description
The book is the story of a young American girl living in South Africa during the early years of Apartheid (1948-1960). One of six children of a Swedenborgian minister who was sent to South Africa to establish a theological school for Africans, the author reaches back into this unique time and place in an effort to rediscover the culture that influenced her own adult attitudes. Rather than following a strictly chronological format, the story is laid out in a series of verbal snapshots, supported by photographs. Family life, experienced through the eyes of a child living in a complex environment, contrasts with the lives of those who were impacted by the institutionalized racism of apartheid. Examples of the Acts of Apartheid at the end of each chapter include news articles, interviews, and commentary. Deep childhood fears of some unnamed threat are represented by home invasions, wildfires, and the cry of a hyena in the mountains. The mountains are dangerous, they present a great barrier, but they can be conquered. After returning permanently to America as a teenager¿through a confusing and sometimes painful process of discussion and observation¿the author uncovers those artifacts of the past that inform her place in the world today.

Riding the Dragon's Back

Riding the Dragon's Back PDF Author: Richard Bangs
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781493572380
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 264

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Book Description
This exciting account of adventure and competition follows several expeditions to be the first to descend China's longest river, from its headwaters in Tibet to the Three Gorges region, and eventually to the East China Sea. Among the players are a megalomaniac American fishing guide, patriotic members of China's youth movement, novice boaters full of fear and experienced rafters filled with hubris, thrown together to challenge one of the world's most dangerous rivers. Originally published in 1989, and winner of a Lowell Thomas Award that year for best travel book, "Riding the Dragon's Back" has been slightly revised to emphasize the drama and excitement of its narrative of competition and challenge, although the chapters on Chinese exploration and history remain. This is modern river exploration at its best, and the book has inspired numerous whitewater enthusiasts over the years to emulate its adventurous spirit.

Aerial Geology

Aerial Geology PDF Author: Mary Caperton Morton
Publisher: Timber Press
ISBN: 1604697628
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 306

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Book Description
“Get your head into the clouds with Aerial Geology.” —The New York Times Book Review Aerial Geology is an up-in-the-sky exploration of North America’s 100 most spectacular geological formations. Crisscrossing the continent from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska to the Great Salt Lake in Utah and to the Chicxulub Crater in Mexico, Mary Caperton Morton brings you on a fantastic tour, sharing aerial and satellite photography, explanations on how each site was formed, and details on what makes each landform noteworthy. Maps and diagrams help illustrate the geological processes and clarify scientific concepts. Fact-filled, curious, and way more fun than the geology you remember from grade school, Aerial Geology is a must-have for the insatiably curious, armchair geologists, million-mile travelers, and anyone who has stared out the window of a plane and wondered what was below.

Walking the Dragon's Back

Walking the Dragon's Back PDF Author: M. M. Eboch
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781634304962
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Walking the Dragon's Back features 96 pages that are filled with a fun storyline, vocabulary, discussion questions, and more to engage transitioning readers and strengthen their comprehension skills. Each World Adventure Chapter Book dives into a specific country, and readers tag along for the adventure as they encounter memorable monuments, places, culture, and history. As the story's characters venture throughout each country, they address topics such as family, friendship, and growing up in a way that the reader can relate to. Great for independent or group reading, each book in the World Adventure Chapter Book series features 96 pages filled with complex sentences and chapters. With minimal illustrations, readers must rely on the descriptive text to understand the setting, the characters, and the plot of each book. Each book contains several detailed episodes, all centered on a single plot that will challenge the reader.

The Dragons Return

The Dragons Return PDF Author: J. J. Thompson
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781505380682
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 456

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Book Description
Over 3 years ago, the old Earth began to die. Technology started to break down. Electricity failed. Machines stopped working. Planes, trains and cars became useless hunks of metal. And then the dragons came. On the Night of Burning, the world's great cities were reduced to slag and rubble by dragon fire. Civilization, as we knew it. ceased to be. But before the end came, there were the Changlings. A few humans, children and adults alike, began to mutate into...something else. Ears became pointed, fingers fused or elongated. Their old languages were lost to them and they began to babble in unknown tongues. Perhaps one in a hundred thousand Changed. Simon O'Toole was one of them. Back then, he was a large middle-aged man. Now he's a skinny, awkward teenager, Simon has lost everything; his family, his friends, the world that he knew. But he has gained something as well. Through hints in dreams, he has learned magical runes that can summon elementals. He can cast fireballs and lightning. In short, Simon has become a wizard. Slowly, carefully, he is learning to use this new power. It will take years to master his magic. Years that Simon may not have. The dragons are still on the hunt. They search for survivors of the human race, and when they have been exterminated, the dragons will turn on the last remnants of humanity: the Changlings themselves.

Dragons in a Bag

Dragons in a Bag PDF Author: Zetta Elliott
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 0593897218
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 177

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Book Description
The dragon's out of the bag in this diverse, young urban fantasy from an award-winning author! When Jaxon is sent to spend the day with a mean old lady his mother calls Ma, he finds out she's not his grandmother--but she is a witch! She needs his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they'll be safe. There are two rules when it comes to the dragons: don't let them out of the bag, and don't feed them anything sweet. Before he knows it, Jax and his friends Vikram and Kavita have broken both rules! Will Jax get the baby dragons delivered safe and sound? Or will they be lost in Brooklyn forever? AN ALA-ALSC NOTABLE CHILDREN'S BOOK AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR A KIRKUS REVIEWS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR The Dragons in a Bag series continues! Don't miss The Dragon Thief, and The Witch's Apprentice.

No More Dragons

No More Dragons PDF Author: Jim Burgen
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 1400205638
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Becoming a dragon is a dangerously subtle process. You make a long chain of bad choices. The chain gradually wraps around you. Layer by layer, it begins to take on the aspect of scales. One day you glance at yourself in the mirror and a monster is staring back at you. You aren't who you used to be. You aren't who you want to be. You're not who you were created and designed to be. Instead, you're a dragon. When Jim Burgen was nineteen years old, he realized how easy it had been to become a dragon. He knew he didn't want to be one anymore . . . but how? No More Dragons is the story of our common, hopeful journey from dragonhood back to personhood. As Pastor Burgen narrates the remarkable process of reclaiming himself from himself, he implores modern church goers to shake off the trivialities of churchiness in favor of the substantive questions that make a spiritual transformation: “Is Jesus the only one who can undragon people?” “Why don't I like most churches?” “Where is God in difficult times?” “How do you shed decades of gnarly scales?” Some choices will lead you to a better life. Some will kill you. Some choices will add a new layer of scales to your dragon, and some will slough them off. No More Dragons is about asking Christ to deliver you and learning how to obey him.

The Dragon Thief

The Dragon Thief PDF Author: Zetta Elliott
Publisher: Yearling
ISBN: 1524770523
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
Stealing a baby dragon was easy! Hiding it is a little more complicated, in this sequel to reviewer favorite Dragons in a Bag. Jaxon had just one job--to return three baby dragons to the realm of magic. But when he got there, only two dragons were left in the bag. His best friend's sister, Kavita, is a dragon thief! Kavita only wanted what was best for the baby dragon. But now every time she feeds it, the dragon grows and grows! How can she possibly keep it secret? Even worse, stealing it has upset the balance between the worlds. The gates to the other realm have shut tight! Jaxon needs all the help he can get to find Kavita, outsmart a trickster named Blue, and return the baby dragon to its true home.