Born To Run by Christopher McDougall: A Review

This book is the answer to all of those people that try to tell you that running is bad for you.

Born to Run is, simply stated, one of the best books about running that I’ve read in a long time. Part science, part story, part tips on how to improve your running, Born to Run kept me interested and entertained all the way through.

At its heart, the book is the story of one man’s quest to be able to run consistently without getting injured, and the people, including the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico, he encounters along the way. The Tarahumara Indians are a reclusive tribe of people that are known for their ability to run ultramarathon distances at the drop of a hat, through the incredibly tough terrain of the Copper Canyon, with sandals as their only footwear. The highlights of the book include:

• A race organized by an American who calls himself ‘Caballo Blanco’, pitting the Tarahumara against some impressive American ultramarathoners, including Scott Jurek
• The story of the Tarahumara’s running of the Leadville 100
• An anthropological explanation of how and why humans evolved to run over long distances
• A brief history of the evolution of the running shoe, and an explanation of what is wrong with our present-day footwear

As someone that loves to run, and is always looking for ways to improve, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. My only complaint with it is that it ended somewhat abruptly, but maybe that’s just because the story was so fascinating that I didn’t want it to end.

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Tagged as: book review, born to run