he Brave Athlete Offers Practical, Cutting-Edge Brain Training for Sports

Sport Psychology Expert and Three-Time World Champion Offer Evidence-Based Solutions That Work for Athletes in the Real World

Boulder, CO, USA - June 8, 2017 - Many popular guides on talent, grit, and performance focus narrowly on one gimmick or come from academics or writers who have little experience working with athletes in the real world. A cutting-edge new brain training guide, THE BRAVE ATHLETE: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion from Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson, is the first to solve 13 of the most common mental conundrums athletes face in everyday training and in races. Dr. Marshall is a sport psychology expert who trains the brains of elite professional athletes. Paterson is a three-time world champion triathlete and coach. Together, this husband-and-wife team offers their innovative guide that is the first to draw from both clinical science and real-world experience with athletes.

* The Brave Athlete is now widely available in bookstores; bike, tri, and running shops; and online.
* Preview The Brave Athlete at velopress.com/brave.
* Meet Lesley and Simon on their national Brave Athlete Tour. See the tour schedule at velopress.com/bravetour.
* See useful brain hacks and a chapter summary of The Brave Athlete on the new VeloPress Brain Training page at velopress.com/brain.
* To request media review copies, book excerpts, and author interviews, simply reply to this email.

THE BRAVE ATHLETE reveals that we don't have one brain-we have three: an ancient Chimp brain that keeps us alive, a modern Professor brain that navigates the civilized world, and a Computer brain that accesses our memories and runs our habits (good and bad). They fight for control all the time and that's when bad things happen: we get crazy nervous before a race, we choke under pressure, we quit when the going gets tough, we make dumb mistakes, we worry about how we look.

In their book, Dr. Marshall and Paterson ask, "What if you could stop the thoughts and feelings you don't want?" What if you could feel confident, suffer like a hero, and handle any stress? With the mental skills explored in The Brave Athlete, you can. THE BRAVE ATHLETE will help athletes take control of their brains so they can train better, race faster, and fully enjoy sports.

THE BRAVE ATHLETE draws from evidence-based research, which means readers won't find outdated "positive self-talk" or visualization gimmicks here. No, the cutting-edge mental skills revealed in THE BRAVE ATHLETE actually work because they challenge the sources of the thoughts and feelings you don't want. THE BRAVE ATHLETE is packed with practical solutions to the most common mental challenges athletes face: I have thoughts and feelings I don't want. I wish I felt more like an athlete. I don't think I can. I don't achieve my goals. Other athletes seem tougher, happier, and more badass than me. I feel fat. I don't cope well with injury. People are worried about how much I exercise. I don't like leaving my comfort zone. When the going gets tough, the tough leave me behind. I need to harden the f*ck up. I keep screwing up. I don't handle pressure well. See a selection of science-based tips that solve these problems at velopress.com/brain.

With THE BRAVE ATHLETE, athletes can solve these problems to become mentally strong and make their brain their most powerful asset.

THE BRAVE ATHLETE: Calm the F*ck Down and Rise to the Occasion
Dr. Simon Marshall and Lesley Paterson
Paperback with flaps. Full-color interior with worksheets throughout.
6" x  8 1/4", 360 pp., $24.95, 9781937715731

Dr. Simon Marshall is former Professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California at San Diego and Professor of Exercise Science at San Diego State University, where he was Director of the Graduate Program in Sport & Exercise Psychology. He has published over 100 scientific articles on the psychology of exercise and has been cited in the scientific literature over 10,000 times. He has served as invited expert on exercise science for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Cancer Society. He currently provides performance psychology support for BMC Racing Team, an elite WorldTour professional cycling team.

Lesley Paterson is a professional mountain biker, 3-time world champion in off-road triathlon, Ironman(r) triathlon champion, endurance coach, and foul-mouthed Scots lassie. Growing up in Scotland, Lesley was the only girl on an all-boys rugby team, which is where she nurtured her love of dirt and dirty words. Banned from the team when puberty struck, she took up cross-country running and triathlon and was soon winning national titles and competing internationally. Lesley founded Braveheart Coaching to train and inspire endurance athletes to compete with passion, toughness, and an unwavering "Braveheart" spirit in overcoming obstacles. Paterson is a trained actress, screenwriter, and physical performance coach to Hollywood actors. Learn more at braveheartcoach.com.

This husband-and-wife team is based in San Diego, California yet trains, coaches, and races all over the world.

Media, marketing, and sales contact: Dave Trendler, VeloPress, dtrendler@competitorgroup.com