VeloPress Announces New Book “THE UNFORGIVING HOURS: The Grit, Resilience, And Perseverance at The Heart of Endurance Sports” – Publishing April 8

March 25, 2025

Through the exploration of incredible physical feats—some well-known and some only passed around watering holes and campfires—endurance athlete and journalist Shannon Hogan takes us into the world of those who have pushed themselves through the “unforgiving hours” to achieve greatness and redefine modern outdoor adventuring.

March 25, 2025 /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – How far can you go? What is your limit?

The Unforgiving Hours: The Grit, Resilience, and Perseverance at the Heart of Endurance Sports

By Shannon Hogan

–on-sale April 8, 2025–

For readers of Born to Run and Endure, endurance athlete and journalist Shannon Hogan brings to life the inspiring stories of athletes who have pushed themselves through the “unforgiving hours” to achieve endurance sports greatness and redefine modern outdoor adventuring.

Are competing in an ultramarathon at age 70, sailing from Washington State to Alaska without a motor, attempting six 100-mile runs in one summer, racing a bike in the Alaskan wilderness in February, and running the Boston Marathon in reverse and then turning around to race it conventionally all terrible ideas? In THE UNFORGIVING HOURS (VeloPress; April 2025), Shannon Hogan dives into the world of endurance sports by taking us on the journeys of unheralded athletes tackling extraordinary quests in astounding ways. These athletes redefine what is possible and attest to the patient drive, mettle, adaptability, passion, humor, and grit that exists in all of us.

Through the stories of improbable athletic challenges—some well-known and some only passed around watering holes and campfires—Hogan brings to life tales of indomitable outdoorspeople who quietly “go long,” and allows us to experience amazing feats of human endurance. In the pages of The Unforgiving Hours you will hear the stories of:

• Lynne Cox breaking the record for swimming across the English Channel at age 15
• Yuichiro Hidaka daydreaming of eating potato chips while running the Boston Double marathon for the fourth time
• Gunhild Swanson running the Western States 100 Endurance Run five days shy of her seventy-first birthday
• Gordon Wadsworth completing the hardest mountain bike race in the world… with a single-gear bike
• Melissa Kegler training for two years to break the American Ice Mile Distance record in 39.2ºF water
• Tina Ament’s brilliance and determination in completing a 16 hour, 18 minute, and 5 second finish on the biggest triathlon stage, setting an endurance sports record that continues to inspire
• And much more.

Shannon Hogan will enjoy a slate of excellent book launch events tied to The Unforgiving Hours:

• Tuesday, April 8, 2025 – SEATTLE: Elliott Bay Book Company at 7:00 PM (link)
• Tuesday, April 22, 2025 – BOSTON: Harvard Book Store at 7:00 PM (link)
• Weds June 4, 2025 – FLAGSTAFF: Bright Side Bookshop at 6pm (link)

Full of clever, high-stakes problem solving from athletes on epic outdoor odysseys, The Unforgiving Hours proves that with stout planning and a challenge-seeking fighting spirit, remarkable things can happen.

Media copies of The Unforgiving Hours are available now, and  Shannon Hogan is available for an interview.

For more information, please reach out to James Faccinto of Full Complement Communications at James@Full-Complement.com.

About the Author

SHANNON HOGAN is a former pro mountain biker, ultrarunner, and open water swimmer based in the Cascade Mountains, Washington. She is the first female finisher of La Ruta de Los Conquistadores in Costa Rica (the world’s toughest mountain bike race), holds the women’s course record for the Pigtails 100K ultramarathon, and has successfully navigated multiple ridiculous-distance ultraruns including a buckle-finish at Leadville 100 and a sub-24-hour finish at the Javelina 100-mile run in the Sonoran Desert. Hogan has crewed every kind of endurance race on land and sea, including over eight hours of kayak support for an English Channel–qualifying swim. She has completed the Escape from Alcatraz swim, is a five-time finisher of the Ironman 140.6 triathlon and a seven-time finisher of Leadville Trail 100 bike race, and swims year-round in Puget Sound without a wetsuit as a member of the Notorious Alki Swimmers. She is old enough to know better, but young enough to do these things anyway. Hogan has written about cycling for The Colorado Sun, running for Ultrarunning magazine, and open water swimming for The Seattle Times.

VeloPress, an imprint of Ulysses Press, is the leading publisher of books on sports for passionate and dedicated athletes around the world. Focused on cycling, triathlon, running, swimming, nutrition/diet, and more, VeloPress books help you achieve your goals and reach the top of your game. Visit us at velopress.com.

THE UNFORGIVING HOURS

April 8, 2025 • Hardcover ISBN: 9781646047796 • 304 Pages $28.95 US/$38.95 CAN

Ebook ISBN: 9781646047802 • $14.99 US/$16.99 CAN