Mark Sisson is an American fitness author and blogger, and a former distance runner, triathlete

Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

 and Ironman

Ironman Triathlon

An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation consisting of a swim, a bike and a marathon run, raced in that order and without a break...

 competitor. Sisson finished 4th in the February 1982 Ironman World Championship

Ironman World Championship

The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organised by the World Triathlon Corporation and is currently sponsored by Ford...

. He has written several books, including The Primal Blueprint, which is based on the paleolithic diet

Paleolithic diet

The modern dietary regimen known as the Paleolithic diet , also popularly referred to as the caveman diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the...

. The Primal Blueprint is his fifth book. Sisson also blogs at his website Mark's Daily Apple. The Primal Blueprint was ranked #2 for bestsellers on Amazon.com

Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...

 for March 2010. In addition, his cookbook has became one of Amazon's top-ranked low-carb

Low-carbohydrate diet

Low-carbohydrate diets or low-carb diets are dietary programs that restrict carbohydrate consumption usually for weight control or for the treatment of obesity. Foods high in digestible carbohydrates are limited or replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of proteins and fats...

 cookbooks.

Early life and career

Sisson was born in Maine

Maine

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 and is the oldest of four siblings. He attended Williams College

Williams College

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams. Originally a men's college, Williams became co-educational in 1970. Fraternities were also phased out during this...

, where he was a pre-med candidate and earned a biology degree.

In the 1970s, Sisson was a record-setting runner for the Portland (Maine) Track Club.

Sisson had a top-5 finish in the 1980 U.S. National Marathon Championships and earned a qualifying spot for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Trials

United States Olympic Trials (track and field)

The United States Olympic Trials for the sport of Track and Field is the quadrennial meet to select the United States representatives at the Olympic Games. Since 1992, the meet has also served as the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Because of the depth of competition in some events,...

.

Sisson served for 15 years as chairman of the International Triathlon Union

International Triathlon Union

The International Triathlon Union or ITU is the international governing body for the multi-sport disciplines of triathlon, duathlon, aquathlon and other nonstandard variations...

 (ITU) Anti-Doping Commission and as the ITU's liaison to the International Olympic Committee

International Olympic Committee

The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...

.

Sisson currently lives in Malibu, California and owns the dietary supplement

Dietary supplement

A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...

 company Primal Nutrition.

Reviews

Doctors Michael and Mary Dan Eades, authors of Protein Power, commented on Sisson's book, "Sisson aggressively pokes holes in flawed conventional wisdom about diet and exercise that has led us down the wrong path for decades. The Primal Blueprint is supported by extensive scientific research and is simple and easy to follow-not for a week or a month, but the rest of your life."

According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which promotes a vegan diet, preventive medicine, alternatives to animal research, and encourages what it describes as "higher standards of ethics and effectiveness in research." Its primary...

, who promote a vegan diet, Sisson's companion book The Primal Blueprint Cookbook, which contains many meat-based recipes, is one of the top "5 worst cookbooks of 2010". Sisson considers this to be an honor.

External links

• Mark's Daily Apple (Sisson's blog)