Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

This book was so much fun to read! While I am skeptical of some of the "scientific" findings McDougall presents in the book (I'm a trained skeptic, so it's not the author's fault) overall it was really interesting and had a great mix of suspenseful plot, biography, history and nerdy running info. I also enjoyed how respectful McDougall was about veganism and how vegans are able to be world class ultrarunners because animal proteins are completely unnecessary in the diet. Scott Jurek is sort of like a hero, so it was awesome to read about him as well.

I had put off and avoid this book since I am not a sports fan. However, I heard such praise for it, that I chose to read it and I am glad I did. It is an amazing investigation into the extremities of human potential kind of in a style that recalls to me Jon Ronson. Finding the secret to successful ultra-marathon competition and healthy running in general meaning more joy and less expensive footwear (can we really design something better than a healthy foot?) is moral worth learning here. Learning of the "secrets" of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico resonates with me on the message of the lost treasures of human experience disappearing with maltreated aboriginal culture, a theme I am also encountering in Indians of the Americas by John show more Collier. If that where not enough, there is the amazing tale of grit and determination in the life of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lived among the tribe. show less

This is a fascinating book, and in some ways, for a former runner, a disturbing book. Others have told what the book is about, so I'll mention something about McDougall's writing style. It's obvious McDougall writes for a living--he's written for the AP and also several magazines, including his present job as contributing editor to Men's Health. His style is engaging, insightful, and also quite amusing. I found the book hard to put down.

Structurally, this book could have been a mess, since he has so many stories to tell beyond the main story of the race with the Tarahumara. He says at the end, "If you didn't feel overwhelmed by weird digressions while reading this book," for that we owe thanks to his editor at Knopf and another editor show more at Vintage Books. I have a feeling we also owe some thanks to his basic good writing. Far from feeling "overwhelmed," the stories are woven through the book quite naturally, leading the reader on an entertaining journey through the world of ultrarunning.

Having said that, I wish I could say the book inspired me to get back into running. I ran through my 30s and 40s and thought I'd found a kindred spirit in McDougall when he wrote at the beginning, "I didn't love running, but I wanted to." Instead, McDougall worked at running like a full-time job (as it was, since his training was subsidized by Men's Health magazine), overcoming his injuries by fixing his previously bad form and dropping weight by learning to eat like a Tarahumara. None of that is me.

What the book did do for me, however, is encourage me to shed my stiff yet over-cushioned walking shoes and put on a pair of Vibram FiveFingers, and to work (actually, play) at finding my former five-year-old barefoot self. Not bad. show less

Тази много широко рекламирана и много популярна книга за бягането се оказа поредния ню-ейдж боклук, гарниран с хипстър био натурален боклук и за капак псевдо-спортен боклук.

Да, в Андите 100% има митично загубено племе вегетарианци, които с една шепа чия на ден бягат по 300 км боси по планинските камънаци. Да, никой никога не ги е чувал и виждал, защото са древна забравена легенда но авторът успява да ги намери show more след дълго и мъчително търсене, изразяващо се в това да пита пиколото в хотела. Да, чия (тва са едни семенца) накисната във вода е тайната рецепта на племето, вълшебната енергийна напитка, която е супер био-еко-натурална и съдържа "енергийна и витаминна бомба" колкото десет други био-еко-натуралнаи ястия на едно.

Да, бягането е супер вредно, защото има мерзък корпоративен заговор на големите корпоративни корпорации за корпоративното производство на обувки за бягане с корпоративната фарма-мафия да ни държат в неведение, че всъщност ако бягаме боси всичко ще ни е наред (а не, както е всъщност, че меките обувки ти позволяват да бягаш на пети, което вредно за ставите, и че ако бягаш на пръсти всичко е ок).

Всичко в "Родени да тичат през каньоните на Мексико" е толкова предвидимо и по сценарий, че няма на къде повече - даже може да се каже, че авторът е събрал всички сценарии, които продават псевдо-научна и псевдо-медицинска литература, предавания, добавки и еко-био-картофи по 9 лв килото нарочно и е нацелил рецептата която да продаде книгата му. show less

Christopher McDougall, a US men's magazine writer, was fed up repeatedly injuring himself on insignificant short runs, prompting a trail of discovery into what makes ultrarunners such as the infamous Tarahumara tick and why the rates of runner injury have been significantly climbing ever since the invention of clever cushioned running shoes.

Even if you last ran in 1972 when you were 12 years old, I think this is a fantastic read for anyone. Part science, part travelogue, part social history, part anthropology, part extreme sport, it's peppered with a cast of fabulous characters such as the shy and reclusive Tarahumara people who run hundreds of miles up mountains for fun in sandals made out of old tyres, Caballo Blanco, the mysterious show more loner who turned his back on a life in the US to become an ultrarunning nomad in the Copper Canyon wilderness, and Barefoot Ted, the annoying US ultrarunner with insatiable verbal diarrhoea who became a respected pioneer for barefoot running.

It's utterly fascinating, and extremely well written. McDougall manages to really nicely knit investigation into the science and history of our bodies and distance running with a gripping travelogue which culminates in the first ever underground ultra race between the Tarahumara and a handful of selected US ultrarunners in the deadly terrain of their Copper Canyon homeland. As I read I was able to Google this infamous cast of characters and images of the Copper Canyon which really nicely complemented the book.

And in case you were wondering, it's the marketing devilment of Nike and the like that is behind our increased running injuries. Build up the natural muscles in your feet and ankles that the modern day running shoe prevents you using and your injury woes will behind you. Apparently.

5 stars - the Asics are in the bin and the barefoot trails are beckoning. show less

Headline: I love this book; you should read it.

For a more considered analysis read on...

Born To Run is a great book. It's a fantastic story, backed up with a load of fascinating research. If you're at all interested in running or have a slight curiosity why you're not while others inexplicably are, you should get a lot out of this book. I assume this covers pretty much everyone, so.... Read This Book.

McDougall has constructed Born To Run very well, effortlessly linking sections on
topics as diverse as evolutionary biology, anthropology, diet, physiology, and a great deal of history about endurance running and runners, with the surprising story of the creation of the "Mas Locas" ("Most Crazy") endurance race in the Mexican Copper Canyons. show more Thanks in part to a cast of great characters, the story itself is really fun and interesting, and that threads its way through a bunch of eye-opening anecdotes, facts and theories. In particular, McDougall reaches the startling conclusion that, far from running being an unnatural activity that inevitably leads to injury, humans have specifically evolved to be the best long-distance runners on the planet.

A lot of the hype around this book has centred on McDougall's argument that modern running shoes cause many of the injuries associated with running, and that going barefoot is a healthier way to run (as it is what we evolved to do). While McDougall's case seems strong - to this layman at least - it is a relatively small component of the book. Indeed McDougall himself uses traditional trainers (Nike Pegasus) during the book (although has since started using minimal or no footwear).

McDougall is a magazine journalist, and this shows through at times. Occasionally he builds up a lead-in to the next section a little too much; once or twice the tension he creates is a little artificial; and he may at times grab over enthusiastically for a soundbite. As a review in the Washington Post notes, McDougall sometimes reports incidents as if he were there, when we know he wasn't. I don't think this is to the book's detriment - it's just its style; I found it noticeable, but that's all.

I genuinely think that this is a book that could change lives. McDougall takes pains to make running seem accessible; he manages to convey his initial frustration with running (with which many will empathise), but then also communicates the interest which keeps him pursuing it, despite advice from his doctors to give up. He comes across as an ingenuous and incuisitive, and occasionally callow, everyman, and throughout his sheer enthusiasm for his subject shines through. It is a winning mix, which should draw a wide range of readers into his engaging and frequently surprising book.

There was one section of Born To Run which really took me by surprise. If you haven't read the book and think you might, I'd suggest reading no more of this review - you will probably enjoy reading it there more than here.

Anyway - for those still with me - McDougall covers some theories about the importance of running to the evolution of Homo sapiens. The basic idea is that we evolved for endurance running so that we could hunt animals (which could run faster over short distances, but not over a sufficiently long distance), which he backs up with lots of tantalising and intriguing evidence.

So far, so "okay, interesting". One of the biologists who conceived this idea, and in lieu of direct evidence, wanted to put it to the test, and tried hunting deer simply by chasing them until they could run no more. The problem he found was that he would lose the deer he was chasing in the herd, where they could rest while another was hunted for a bit. The experiment failed utterly, and the basis of the running theory of human evolution looked shaky.

However, based on another person's experience with the Bushmen of the Kalahari, the theory was adapted: the hunters do not just chase, they also track. They pick a particular animal, following its footsteps and other markers, and make sure it is singled out so that it couldn't escape back into the herd.

This then implies that the ability to follow a single animal - tracking - would have been entwined with running as an evolutionary advantage; running or tracking on their own would not have been anything like as much benefit. Tracking involves reasoning, time projection, empathy... even imagination; in short, some of the basics of consciousness.

That is, to me, such a surprising conclusion that I think it's worth reiterating: the theory posits that the human mind evolved alongside, and in some ways as a direct consequence of, our evolved ability to run.

I have no idea whether this theory (clearly over-simplified here) is accepted or discredited or under review in the scientific community (although it is supported by the human brain showing massive development at the same time our bodies seem to have adapted to running).

Whichever way, it is a fascinating and surprising hypothesis, and elevates Born To Run from a sporting memoir to something loftier. McDougall goes from discussing his problems with training shoes, to profound thoughts about the origin of the species - literally from the banal to the sublime. show less

I began reading several books simultaneously, then dutifully picked up this one because the author is local and scheduled to speak at the county running club banquet next week. I vaguely knew of it as the barefoot running book, did not expect to get so immediately caught up in a story of adventure and mystery and human character. It's about the Tarahumara people, whose distance running skills are developed through childhood games, of the Copper Canyon in Mexico, accessible by a bus winding along the edges of cliffs, where below lie the mangled vehicles of less skillful drivers, followed by a hike through hot desert mountains, where getting lost can mean a frighteningly rapid descent into dehydration and death. It's about show more ultramarathoners, for whom marathons are too trivial and mundane, who thrive outside the scope of scientifically designed training plans. It's about a white man with unrevealed origins who has lived among the Tarahumara for a decade, who runs miles along trails to the nearest telephone line to email ultramarathoner Scott Jurek, challenging him to a 50 mile race with the best Tarahumara runners. It's about Chris McDougall's foot, which made running a mere few miles too painful to endure. It's about running shoes and technologically advanced cushioning of the heel, which causes injuries the manufacturers claim to prevent. It's about human evolution, how slower weaker primates with bodies that release heat can endure beyond the capacities of the faster stronger animals they hunt. All neatly and humorously and affectionately woven together.

(read 22 Jan 2011) show less