at has come to symbolize the very best of human striving, achievement and excellence. And race announcer Mike Reilly is known throughout the endurance sports world as the "Voice of IRONMAN."

Every year, over three hundred thousand people around the world compete in a series of long-distance triathlons that test the outer limits of their physical abilities and mental toughness. Some do it for glory, some to test themselves, some to honor lost loved ones or colleagues, some to bring healing to their troubled lives.

Over the years, hundreds of IRONMAN athletes have shared their tales with Reilly. In this book, he tells some of the stories that have touched and inspired him, in the hope that they will do the same for the reader.

A young woman races in a contest against cancer that threatens her life. A soldier carries a flag through the full marathon distance to keep alive the memory of fallen comrades. Two of the sport's most decorated champions do battle in the greatest head-to-head competition ever seen in any sport. Parents put their family back together after the loss of a child.

Reilly has witnessed it all, and brings it to life in a series of riveting stories that will have readers re-thinking their notions of what people are capable of when pushed to their limits.