Brutal : my autobiography

'A gripping read ... Iwan runs and runs and runs, and arrives at himself'Jeremy Vine'An amazing read … I loved it'Kriss AkabusiRunning has been Iwan Thomas’s life.

He put everything into becoming and remaining an elite athlete – so much so that it took a brutal toll. In his first book, Thomas reveals not only the highs, but also the hard graft and his battles with the dark side of running – the loneliness, the doubts, the hurt and, ultimately, the serious mental health issues.

A deeply reflective, compelling and sensationally open book, Brutal reveals the truth about a sportsman’s life. After a youthful stint as a world-class BMX rider, Thomas dedicated himself to running.

Between 1996 and 1998, he established himself as one of the world’s fastest men, taking gold in both the 400m and the 4x400m at the European Championships, silver at the Olympics and gold at the Worlds.

His British 400m record of 44.36s stood for nearly 25 years, yet even in his prime niggling injuries were already beginning to limit his ability to compete with the best. His response to setbacks had always been to train even harder, but increasingly that was no longer an option.

Without the structure of training, the motivation of competition and the buzz of race day, Thomas struggled, suffering an extended period of anxiety and depression before eventually coming to terms with his life as a former athlete. Always writing from the heart, Thomas provides an absorbing, sometimes uncomfortable, but totally memorable read.