‘Why do I do it?’ In a highly personal account, Heather Dawe explains what drives a woman living with a partner and a young child, to compete at the top level of adventure racing.

As a teenager, Dawe fell into the trap of smoking and drinking and suddenly found herself very unfit. Resolved to do something about it she started running and so began a successful career in adventure racing. She went on to win elite mountain marathons and complete the Bob Graham round. Pushing even harder she completed the 2,745 mile Tour Divide, searching for her emotional and physical limits.

Dawes describes in detail the training, sacrifice and mistakes that must be made to be able to compete at the highest level of adventure racing.