Across the Line: The Pursuit of Elite Performance and the Edge of Human Limits

A case study of world-class performance that examines elite coaching, ambition, and the systems that make and break athletes.

A latecomer to sport, Sue Reynolds ventured into the world of endurance in an effort to lose weight. Over several seasons, she dropped 200 pounds, evolved into a world-class masters triathlete, and wrote an inspirational book about her transformation. But her curiosity wouldn't let her stop, so at age 67 she began working with elite coaches.

Reynolds shares her personal experiment, chronicling her steep learning curve, the trial and error of new training methods, and working alongside world-class coaches—all of it as she travels the globe, competing (and winning). Even as she continues to climb the ranks, her workout data plateaus and her health begins to suffer. She finds herself sidelined by Overtraining Syndrome—a dreaded point of no return for a season, and sometimes a career.

The culture of sport pulls athletes of all ages into an irresistible pursuit of excellence and self-discovery. Left unchecked, this pursuit of peak performance can turn toxic. Across the Line dissects the dynamics of coach-athlete relationships and the unspoken values that shape training, illuminating a path toward resilience, longevity, and sustainable success.

Sue Reynolds is an author, endurance athlete, two-time age-group world champion, and student of high performance. Before entering sport, Reynolds spent more than two decades leading systems-based improvement work as founder of Inspire Success, helping communities create sustainable high-performance cultures. That background shapes her unique perspective on coaching, training, and the environments that produce excellence. Now in her seventies, Reynolds writes for athletes, coaches, and anyone in pursuit of self-improvement, grounded in the belief that the principles of elite performance and the risks that accompany them are not bound by ability or age.