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A Life Without Limits: A World Champion's Journey
In 2007, Chrissie Wellington shocked the triathlon world by winning the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. As a newcomer to the sport and a complete unknown to the press, Chrissie's win shook up the sport. A LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS is the story of her rise to the top, a journey that has taken her around the world, from a childhood in England, to the mountains of Nepal, to...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
May 15th 2012
by Center Street
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This woman is amazing!!!
In the foreward, Lance Armstrong talks about getting chicked, which a term used for the rare occasion that a woman can pass the most elite male athletes. Not only is Chrissie an amazing athlete that repeatedly beats women, she also kicks the butt of men that are in amazing shape.
She has a great attitude and is always ready for a challenge.
I try to think about her whenever I'm feeling too lazy to do something.
I think I might have to give this one another read very soon...more
In the foreward, Lance Armstrong talks about getting chicked, which a term used for the rare occasion that a woman can pass the most elite male athletes. Not only is Chrissie an amazing athlete that repeatedly beats women, she also kicks the butt of men that are in amazing shape.
She has a great attitude and is always ready for a challenge.
I try to think about her whenever I'm feeling too lazy to do something.
I think I might have to give this one another read very soon...more
Where do I begin.
It's Chrissie Wellington's memoir. THE Chrissie Wellington. Living triathlon legend, one of the best endurance athletes, male of female, of all time. It's the story of how she 'accidentally' stumbled across the the toughest of all endurance sports, the ironman triathlon and excelled in it. She won the World Ironman title four times, three out of them she won consecutively. She won all 13 titles of all 13 Ironman events she competed in as a pro. She bounced back from flat tires,...more
It's Chrissie Wellington's memoir. THE Chrissie Wellington. Living triathlon legend, one of the best endurance athletes, male of female, of all time. It's the story of how she 'accidentally' stumbled across the the toughest of all endurance sports, the ironman triathlon and excelled in it. She won the World Ironman title four times, three out of them she won consecutively. She won all 13 titles of all 13 Ironman events she competed in as a pro. She bounced back from flat tires,...more
A really great story. Besides being an Ironman champion she has traveled the world and is very much a(in a real way) humanitarian.
When I picked out this book to read I did not expect to get all that I did from it. Chrissie has struggled with eatting disorders, self esteem, and self doubt. Coming out a better person for her struggles. She does not sugar coat her life or mistakes, which makes for a great read.
After reading this I am somewhat sad to say that I do not have the stuff that it would...more
When I picked out this book to read I did not expect to get all that I did from it. Chrissie has struggled with eatting disorders, self esteem, and self doubt. Coming out a better person for her struggles. She does not sugar coat her life or mistakes, which makes for a great read.
After reading this I am somewhat sad to say that I do not have the stuff that it would...more
Interesting and inspiring autobiography and story about late-found interest, perseverance and rare mind that produced a 4-time Ironman world champion. Maybe I'm just taken by the sport at the moment, but I found it even strange that the book contained fairly detailed descriptions of quite a few races and I found them all fascinating. The author's early career in development also contained some insights which resonated well with her later work ethics: the way she saw that people need first and fo...more
I knew nothing about Chrissie Wellington before I started this book other than that she is an athlete, and that this book was supposedly great motivation for self-improvement. Wow is all I have to say. Chrissie's story is amazing. Anything Chrissie sets out to do she throws everything into - to say she is a perfectionist would be an understatement. This book is a fantastic story about how she came to be the athlete she is and take the Ironman scene by complete surprise.
This is a brutally honest...more
This is a brutally honest...more
Chrissie Wellington is most definitely an inspiration! She has certainly worked out how to use her control-freak personality to her advantage - she freely admits that it is this determination and perfection-seeking that allowed her to win all thirteen of the ironman events she has entered. All from someone who didn't even start competing in triathlons until the year before her first ever ironman!
Chrissie is a four-time Ironman World Champion and has broken numerous world records along the way....more
Chrissie is a four-time Ironman World Champion and has broken numerous world records along the way....more
A Life Without Limits is an autobiography of Chrissie Wellington, a four-time Ironman World Champion. Surprisingly, this is not really a book about sport, mostly because sport didn't play the major role in Chrissie's life until she turned thirty. It does not make the book less interesting, because in just three decades she experienced more than other people throughout their entire lives. Living in places like Nepal, New Zealand or Argentina she had a chance to discover true diversity of the worl...more
If you are ever in need of inspiration for your fitness goals, picking up an athlete's memoir will always inspire you to go out and do your best. I read Chrissie Wellington's memoir, A Life Without Limits" leading up to my second marathon. If she can run a marathon after swimming and biking for hours I can run a marathon on fresh legs!
Chrissie Wellington is a 13-time Ironman champion (as of 2011), and an overall inspiring person. She grew up in an average English household with some interest in...more
I enjoyed this detailed look into the life of a world champion triathlete. I knew Chrissie Wellington was a legend, but didn't know much about her besides the Ironman finish-line photos or the brief interviews during the Kona broadcasts. Her book offers wonderful insight into how she molded herself into an athletic superstar. I was most struck by her initial training when she turned pro. I didn't realize how grueling, intense, and emotionally draining such training can be. As spectators we see o...more
Couldn't get through this one. I made a new shelf called "eh" for it, because even though it wasn't terrible or anything I just didn't feel like finishing it. Wellington is a pretty massive humble-bragger and her story also gets a little boring. By the time I got the middle I just hit a wall, like she does when she runs an iron man (though I don't think she ever did hit a wall... she's too awesome). I may finish it, I may not. I was reading it as a breather between Inside Scientology and A Tale...more
When I ordered Scott Jurek's book, Amazon offered me a discount if I also got Chrissie Wellington's memoir. I figured what the heck, she's a interesting person.
It was nice learning more about her, but the book was kind of flat; very factual. The tone is along the lines of, "In university, I developed an eating disorder. When my friends and family realized how ill I was they confronted me and so I left my disorder in the past." You hear about all these struggles and challenges she must have face...more
It was nice learning more about her, but the book was kind of flat; very factual. The tone is along the lines of, "In university, I developed an eating disorder. When my friends and family realized how ill I was they confronted me and so I left my disorder in the past." You hear about all these struggles and challenges she must have face...more
Wellington's story is an inspiration, strugglig through eating disorders throughout, she seems to thrive on adversity. Amazing energy and accomplishements both in and out of triathlon. Having held a major government post as a 20 something was a major achievment in itself, but then to give that up and move in a totally different direction takes guts.
The thing that comes across is that she really is genuine about her interest in other people. Evidence by, after winning every major race as a profe...more
The thing that comes across is that she really is genuine about her interest in other people. Evidence by, after winning every major race as a profe...more
Chrissie Wellington is a living legend and her achievements are remarkable but she should have employed a ghost writer. I didn't find her story to be as compelling as it should be, we get hardly any insight into her thought process during rough patches in her time as a triathlete. There is no artistic weight in much of this book I felt that the story sort of went from point A to point B without episodes being linked properly. I found her time training under Brett Sutton and her commentary on som...more
I find Chrissie's book both inspiring... and annoying.
The inspiring parts first: She lives, as the title says, her life without limits. She takes opportunities where she sees them; and is hell-bent on exceeding her own expectations. She shares so much of herself that reading this book almost makes you feel like she is talking to you over a cup of tea while sitting on the couch. I admit, some parts of the book made me uncomfortable - because I saw many similar personality traits within me and I...more
The inspiring parts first: She lives, as the title says, her life without limits. She takes opportunities where she sees them; and is hell-bent on exceeding her own expectations. She shares so much of herself that reading this book almost makes you feel like she is talking to you over a cup of tea while sitting on the couch. I admit, some parts of the book made me uncomfortable - because I saw many similar personality traits within me and I...more
To start with I could not put this down but at the end I just found it annoying. At first I thought ..great someone else like me who when younger was not good a sports but got into it when older.. But no ...she was a good swimmer when younger so I believe she always had it in her but just had to find it. She had a good education and as soon as she finally got to work she managed to find a way out of it .. Would not we all like to give up work and solely train in a sport we enjoy? So I finished t...more
I love the sport of Ironman triathlons, and I love Chrissie Wellington, but I don't love this book so much. I feel like not enough effort was put into the writing and editing. The story just wasn't that compelling for me through most of the book, though I think this is more the fault of not great writing than not great material. I did appreciate reading about her demons and the reality of being a pro. I would say I'm happier and more confident in myself after finishing this. I cheered her on in...more
I was really excited about this book when I first received it, since I'm a former competitive swimmer, and a huge swimming fan. However, I have mixed feelings about it.
She has had an incredible journey, and I loved how she incorporated pictures from her childhood. I also loved how she went in depth about her eating disorder. It's a subject not everybody is willing to talk about, and people need to learn that they can overcome them. I also liked that she told people how many physical ailments she...more
She has had an incredible journey, and I loved how she incorporated pictures from her childhood. I also loved how she went in depth about her eating disorder. It's a subject not everybody is willing to talk about, and people need to learn that they can overcome them. I also liked that she told people how many physical ailments she...more
Probably the best written autobiography I've come across (makes a very welcome change from the usual cat-sat-on-the-mat writing style particularly prevalent with sport related books). Really absorbing and interesting and had us hooked from start to finish. Started reading it over my partners shoulder on a plane then couldn't stop - ended up putting his kindle on to large font and reading the whole book together. Neither of us had heard of Chrissie Wellington before or knew particularly much abou...more
If you are a Chrissie Wellington fan, you will love this book. Surprisingly little of it is actually about triathlon, with the majority of the book following Chrissie's journey through an eating disorder, her schooling, travels, and her passion for international development. As a huge fan of hers, I have seen the passion and life in her eyes as she talks about the topics addressed in the book. So when the book came off as a little academic compared to the life in this woman, I was underwhelmed....more
Because I'm a triathlete I really enjoyed this book about a 4 time Ironman world champion. In the first few chapters I was really drawn in because of the similarities between my son Simon’s and Chrissie’s personalities and I found her struggles with anorexia very interesting. The second half of the book included her training and racing experiences which are very inspiring and was amazed at the level of training for professional athletes. I also found interesting her relationships with different...more
Chrissie Wellington is an astounding athlete, and I approached her story with great enthusiasm. I tried and tried to like this book. In the end, I just found it an uninteresting series of anecdotes and irrelevant personal details. I am not sure what specifically I had hoped for -- perhaps wisdom, perhaps brilliant advice on training or the mental aspect of sport. Whatever, it wasn't there. Someone's bowel movements and love life and dysfunctional relationships with coaches and eating disorders m...more
May 11, 2013
Nicola Howarth
added it
A very open, honest autobiography. This book was passed to me by a friend and to be honest, I hadn't really heard of Chrissie Wellington; not being too familiar with the triathlon or, even less, ironman events. However, I really did thoroughly enjoy it; having said that, I do enjoy autobiographies as I have an interest in people in general. Successful, determined, courageous people even more so ... and I think Chrissie Wellington is all of these. It is a pretty amazing feat to come almost from n...more
I love Chrissie Wellington's story but I didn't love this book. I felt like she couldn't decide what this book was supposed to be about and who the audience for it is. It was very heavy on childhood details and personal stories and light on details about training and races. I think that the people who would know who she is and buy this book are athletes who actually want to read long descriptions of races and hear lots of details about how she achieved so much in such a short time. That was miss...more
Sep 11, 2012
Jenny
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Any budding triathlete, actually anyone who needs some inspiration to achieve a dream
Having just delved into the world of triathlon myself, I have been left totally inspired by the wonderful Chrissie Wellington.
Now let's not get carried away. It's not as if Chrissie didn't know she could put one foot in front of another, and then suddenly she discovered she was an amazing runner! Chrissie was a good swimmer when she was younger. She also ran a lot. She ran her first marathon in just over 3 hours. Basically she's very good at all disciplines involved in triathlon.
She's also live...more
Now let's not get carried away. It's not as if Chrissie didn't know she could put one foot in front of another, and then suddenly she discovered she was an amazing runner! Chrissie was a good swimmer when she was younger. She also ran a lot. She ran her first marathon in just over 3 hours. Basically she's very good at all disciplines involved in triathlon.
She's also live...more
Everyone interested in the mental aspects of sport, not just triathlon, should read this book. It grabs hold of you quickly and is quite fast-paced. I was surprised to learn not just about triathlon and Chrissie's extraordinary career in the sport--I also learned more about the nitty-gritty of international development, because that was her career before she burst onto the Ironman scene. To me, the most striking feature of this autobiography is how human and imperfect Chrissie seemed. I believe...more
Considered within the category of "inspiring memoirs by athletes," this definitely ranks among the best. (Unsurprising, considering that it is written by a woman who is admittedly driven to be "the best at everything.") Chrissie's story of Muppet-to-World Champion is made believable relatable and even, to some degree, relatable, by the self-reflective nature of her writing. It was an excellent choice for her to have written the book autobiographically, rather than allowing someone else--even som...more
I heard people say Chrissie Wellington is the female Lance Armstrong. You can hardly miss her in any triathlete magazine. What many people don't know is her work with aid organization before she became a professional athlete. A life Without Limits is a well written autobiography on a truly remarkable athlete. Here is a person who worked with the homeless and realized that huge aid organizations may not be the best at help solve the world's poverty problems. She is also an athlete that no one see...more
I really loved this book. As someone who is really starting to commit to running seriously...I wanted to get a feel for what serious triatholon atheltes get themselves into. Chrissie is truly and honest, blunt, and beautiful person. She is a good writer and does not pretend life is easy or that challenges do not exist. The only thing I did not like about it is that it ended fairly ubruptly and I would have been interested in getting more details about the places she traveled to. Overall though.....more
I am extremely disappointed with this book. As a friend who was also reading the book said, "shes a triathelete, not a writer". Despite her university education, her wit that comes out in interviews i've seen and read, despite her having another writer help her, an editor...despite all of this the book comes through as repetitive and choppy. Athletes can write good books (Lance Armstrong's its not about the bike, Apolo Ohno's no regrets) but this is not one of them. Instead it is written as if i...more
If you've ever wanted to get into the mind of a down-to-earth world champion, A Life Without Limits is your chance. Chrissie Wellington's chronology of her path to triathlon success is peppered with honest descriptions of her personal difficulties and failings, all of which she still strives to overcome. Even better, she takes the time to honor the real heroes of Ironman, those who do it to be the best they can be just for themselves, even if they never have a chance of winning.
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