Not Too Late cover art

Not Too Late

The Power of Pushing Limits at Any Age

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Not Too Late

By: Gwendolyn Bounds
Narrated by: Gwendolyn Bounds
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $25.99

Buy Now for $25.99

About this listen

 An award-winning journalist tells the inspiring story of her unlikely midlife journey to master the daunting sport of obstacle course racing—a powerful, science-based account of the change possible at any age when we push limits.

“This story of personal transformation is thrilling.”—Gretchen Rubin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses

In her midforties, Gwendolyn Bounds attended a dinner party where someone asked a little girl: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”

It struck Bounds: In middle age, no one asks you that anymore. So she put the question to herself. The answer set her on an unexpected five-year path of transformation from an unathletic office executive glued to her screens to an age-group medalist and world championship competitor in obstacle course racing—a demanding military-style sport requiring speed, endurance, mobility, and strength.

In Not Too Late, Bounds explores how tackling something new and hard upended her expectations for middle age—while also helping her reconcile regrets of her youth. Her story takes us from playgrounds and gyms, where Bounds relearns childhood movements (swinging from monkey bars, climbing a rope); to far-flung Spartan Race courses, where she strives to master running in difficult terrain and to conquer challenges such as scaling tall walls, crawling under barbed wire, and carrying heavy loads of rocks up mountains.

Bounds’s journey offers inspiration and a road map for anyone craving more out of life. Woven through Not Too Late are insights from scientists, longevity doctors, philosophers, elite athletes, and performance experts on how to reimagine our limits and who we think we are. Through Bounds’s story, as she changes her body and mindset, we learn about humans’ capacity to tap inner reserves, face fears, locate intrinsic motivation, and push boundaries at any life stage.

Ultimately, one message prevails: When unleashing our full potential, age can be a secret weapon.


* This audiobook edition includes a downloadable PDF of sources and notes from the book. Personal Development Personal Success Sports Racing
All stars
Most relevant
This story is a great insight into who you can become just when you think you have reached your goal. It provides a new way of looking at your life that really has inspired me when I didn’t think I was looking for inspiration. I may not do a Spartan race but I will be doing something to outpace the “midlife assassin’.

Inspiration to take the next leap into the unknown

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Inspirational, down to earth, amazing! I’m already obsessed with Spartan and it felt like I was chatting to a great friend that understands me! Thank you and congratulations for all your achievements and for this amazing book!

A must!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.