Schneider - Dirty inspirations: lessons from the trenches of extreme endurance sports

For everyone who has ever dabbled in extreme-endurance sports, myself included, Terri Schneider is the voice and the Virgil weve been waiting for. She has been all over the world, struggled through countless adventures and every great endurance race wed all love to try. Dirty Inspirations is a gripping, hard-won, brutally honest, and beautifully written account of that journey.

Daniel Duane, journalist and author of seven books including Caught Inside, A Surfers Year on the California Coast

When Terri Schneider sets her heart upon something, she makes it happen. Fearlessly adventurous, her exploits are both bold and original, following a path uniquely her own. Terris stories are gripping, oftentimes harrowing, yet she navigates through seemingly impossible feats of endurance with poise and grace, and she shares her lessons and insights with candor and honesty. Dirty Inspirations is a compelling read and is sure to captivate and motivate you, whether youre a hardened endurance athlete or just someone looking to put a little more spark in your weekend adventure.

Dean Karnazes, ultra marathoner and New York Times best-selling author

Dirty Inspirations is direct and straightforward; if you have any reservations about confidence, taking risks, and exposing your fears, this book is an absolute must read! Terri Schneiders candor and openness is going to expose your vulnerabilities. Athletes seemingly have this shield of invincibility, but Terri hits a raw nerve. Her nuggets of information are not just for the athletic minded; if you want moments of brilliance laced with a bit of doubt, Dirty Inspirations will fulfill your needs.

Dave Scott, six-time IRONMAN World Champion and first inductee into the IRONMAN Hall of Fame

Dirty Inspirations celebrates the unique and hard-earned rewards of the endurance lifestyle. If you like testing your bodys limits, you will love this book!

Matt Fitzgerald, author of Iron War

Very rarely will a book come along that shares insights such as Dirty Inspirations. It is a celebration of life and a testament to what the human bodyand spiritis capable of enduring. Terri is a master of painting a psychological picture that can only be had by digging deeper than one can imagine. The stories are riveting but, more than that, she shares her deep, innermost thoughts. Inspiring and personal, honest and humble, this book has it all.

Marshall Ulrich, extreme endurance athlete and author of Running on Empty

Dirty Inspirations takes the reader into the mind of Terri Schneider as she describes how she trains her mind to focus, flow with her body, to overcome doubt and physical discomfort to achieve extraordinary goals in sports and life.

Lynne Cox, inductee into the Swimming Hall of Fame, author of five books including Swimming to Antarctica

If youre content with your life as it is, this book is not for you. Reading it will challenge you to question your beliefs about what is possible, see them as limits, and invite you to transcend them. Dirty Inspirations provides practical, time-honored virtues, spiritual vitamins for your athletic soul that will light the fire in your belly while expanding your view of what is personally possible in your life.

Jerry Lynch, Ph.D., athlete and author of The Way of the Champion

In high-altitude mountaineering we used to quote Nietzsche, and that seems a fitting axiom for Terris stories: What doesnt kill you makes you stronger.

Rick Ridgeway, film maker, conservationist, and author of six books including The Big Open: On Foot Across Tibets Chang Tang

What makes Terri so incredible, beyond her ability as an athlete, is her ability to give us a window into what it takes to do these things, and what we can each take from them. Truly inspirational, truly adventurous and truly empowering thats Terri.

Ray Zahab, adventurer, author, and founder of impossible2Possible.com

Terri Schneider gives a fascinating glimpse into the minds and motivations of endurance athletes. She vividly describes the ordeals of adventure racing in some of the worlds most challenging landscapes, and the huge personal rewards she has gained by pushing her body and spirit to their limits. If youve ever wondered why someone might choose to run 150 miles across the Sahara Desert carrying a backpack, read this book!

Bryon Powell, founder of iRunFar.com and author of Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons

Terri seamlessly blends sports psychology and gritty anecdotes from the trail into an approachable invitation into the mind of an ultra athlete. Although Ive run for a quarter century, this book had me asking questions Id never thought to or, perhaps, never dared to ask myself.

Maria Coffey, author of Explorers of the Infinite

Terri Schneider shows us through her adventures that every calling we have must be followed. When worn and raw, Terri saw that the true gold we all gain from our down and dirtiest moments is not what we will eventually be able to define like a finishing place or time, but rather the inspiration our soul gains when we go beyond our ordinary and touch the extraordinary that is just waiting to be sparked inside each of us.

Mark Allen, author, speaker, and six-time Hawaii IRONMAN World Champion

Terri is the person you hope is seated next to you on an overseas flight. Not only would she rescue you if the plane went down, but shed fill you with the richest stories of physical pursuits and adventures in exotic venues. Dirty Inspirations is that overseas flight as Terri packs the book with delightful and penetrating experiences that will help you be a smarter, more understanding, and more devoted athlete and person.

Adam Chase, President of American Trail Running Association, gear and adventure editor, and co-author of The Ultimate Guide to Trail Running

Inside each of us there is an inner athlete. Terri walks the talk and lives every day connected to her inner athlete. In Dirty Inspirations, she shares the personal confidence and power that comes from that practice. A must read for those who want to understand both the why we do it as well as the how we do it regardless of the suffering and the consequences.

Sally Edwards, professional athlete, educator, businesswoman, author, keynote speaker, and founder of Heart Zones, Inc.

Terri lives and breathes adventure, all the while tuning into the thought-provoking questions that each mile, each mountain, each experience tapping into her highest highs and deepest lows both asks and answers. Shes a true adventurer, a thoughtful scholar, and an insightful and introspective woman who lives a raw and exciting life, and this book shares her passion and insights.

Lisa Jhung, contributing editor to Runners World and author of Trailhead: The Dirt on All Things Trail Running

Those of us in the endurance community have known Terri Schneider is the real deal for a long time. I remember watching her race on TV when I was a kid; Terri ranked among the crew of a select few ultra endurance athletes who would inspire my own quest. Through compelling narrative and tangible principles, Dirty Inspirations celebrates and describes what those of us whove been in the thick of it know: pushing our bodies and minds on the race course and out in the mountains teaches us to be better in family, business, relationships, and life in general.

Travis Macy, professional endurance athlete, coach, speaker, consultant, and author of