In this no-holds-barred account, Olympic race walker Rob Heffernan describes his battles with injury, depression, and abject poverty on his way to the top. At the age of 14, Rob Heffernan took up race walking on a whim. Over the next 23 years, driven by a fiercely competitive nature and a dogged desire to be the best in the world, he strode his way to the pinnacle of the sport. In 2016, he became the first athlete ever to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games for a fifth time. With color photos.