When my sister started reading Born to Run by Christopher McDougall for a class she was taking in college, I was definitely intrigued. I considered waiting until she was finished and stealing it from her, but I ended up springing for it on tape. (Listening to books on tape during long runs is AWESOME. Especially books as riveting as this one.)
This book tells the story of a tribe of “running people” in Mexico called the Tarahumara. The author sets off to learn their secrets for a Runner’s World article, and takes us on a journey through Mexico, where he encounters a mysterious man known only as “Caballo Blanco” (the White Horse). Caballo, who lives among the Tarahumara (as much as any outsider can) emulates their running style and is determined to host an ultramarathon that pits American ultra runners against the Tarahumara superhumans. This quest leads the author to eventually meet up with as a cast of zany American ultramarathoners, ranging from the best ultramarathoner in the US, binge drinking college kids who also run like lightening, and a devoted barefoot runner known as “Barefoot Ted”.
The book keeps the reader thoroughly engaged by weaving MacDougall’s tale of Caballo’s quest to organize a race in mountains of Mexico with various factual jaunts. These jaunts include interviews with evolutionary biologists about the history of human running, discussions of running shoes and barefoot running, and tales of U.S. ultramarathons. MacDougall’s writing style forces you to the edge of your seat, no matter what the topic.
The book kept me so engaged that I had to shift from only listening to it on long runs to listening to it on my daily subway commute. I even chose to listen to it over watching Friends and The Office re-runs on several treadmill runs. While reading it, I felt energized and excited about being a runner. I also was riveted by the discussions of running form and injuries. While I previously had written off barefoot runners as hippie freaks, after reading Born to Run, I found myself lusting after these babies:
(source)
Barefoot Ted wore these “shoes” to protect his feet, and I had a serious hankering for them!! I decided to ease into it by buying some super light road racing shoes to train in as a baby step towards barefooting. I *did* end up getting a pair for Tim for his birthday, and he LOVED them! He hasn’t run in them yet, but I think he’ll be a barefoot enthusiast in no time. If he ever runs in them, I’ll def get him to do a guest post!
To summarize, this book was one of the most interesting I’ve read recently. It’s a fun, interesting, engaging story, but you also end up feeling like you really learned something. And learning is fun, right??
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