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Today We Die A Little is the story of Czech runner Emil Zatopek’s life and his athletic success, but also a history lesson of the communist era in former Czechoslovakia. Emil was born in 1922 and was the seventh of his parents eight children.  Although not particularly athletic, or someone who you would mark as talented, his work ethic was exemplary, and he became the world’s most dominant runner by sheer hard work. Emil was known for experimenting with training methods and was known for his ability to accept being uncomfortable.

This book tells an incredible story about a legend in the sport of running, while at the same time acknowledging the difficulty in making sense of the rumours, and the lack of, or inaccuracy of, the information documented during the communist era. He also explains the fear and difficulty people had to trust others, and how difficult it is to get people to talk about that time.

Richard Askwith is a UK Northamptonshire-based journalist and author whose passions include running, outdoor adventure and the traditions and ordinary people of the English countryside.  He has written six books including Running Free, and Feet in the Clouds, an award winning book about fell running in the UK. He cohosts a Running and Writing workshop with another guest of ours, Adharanand Finn.

If you would like to follow Richard's work, he can be found on Twitter, but a better place to follow his work is on his website: https://richardaskwith.co.uk

If you are interested in getting a copy of Today We Die A Little, it is available on the Amazon UK site at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Today-We-Die-Little-Zátopek/dp/0224100343/ref=sr_1_1_twi_har_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1456765867&sr=1-1&keywords=Zátopek
For our fellow Canadian's you can find it on the Amazon Canada website at https://www.amazon.ca/Today-We-Die-Little-Inimitable/dp/1568585497/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=richard+askwith&qid=1627656748&sr=8-7 

Big thank you to the publisher, Bold Type Books, for providing a review copy of the book, and to author, Richard Askwith, for speaking with us. 

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