Born to Run!!
I’ve just finished reading one of the most fascinating and inspiring running books. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World has Never Seen, was written by Christopher McDougall, a former war correspondent and now contributing editor for Men’s Health. McDougall is on a quest to discover the secrets of the world’s greatest distance runners – the Tarahumara Indians. This reclusive tribe resides deep within the Copper Canyons of Northern Mexico and for centuries has practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles at a time, without rest and without any fancy running gear, through incredibly rugged terrain and at speeds that best the world’s greatest known ultramarathoners. Not only that but they do it with smiles on their faces – they literally enjoy every single moment of the experience! How do the rest of us capture some of that – what is their secret? McDougall attempts to breakdown the Tarahumara running experience. How this innate ability to run has been passed down through the generations and developed in this reclusive tribe, speaks loudly to the innate running abilities of all human beings. Not only does McDougall’s study of the Tarahumara lead to scientific documentation of this inherent running ability of humans but it also turns some of what might previously have been considered our running truths upside down. What McDougall shares with respect to the development of the running shoe, how it has impacted our running form, and injury statistics correlated by shoe type, certainly left me wanting to ditch the shoes and find a safe place that I could run barefoot!
The book culminates in an extraordinary race. McDougall’s manages to bring some of America’s top ultramarathon runners down to the Copper Canyons for a 50-mile race with a small group of Tarahumara. What ensues is a truly remarkable race which McDougall chronicles from many different angles – the preparation, the camaraderie, the excitement, the tension, the extreme conditions, the supportive villagers, etc. – all of it coming together in a truly exciting and inspirational event. McDougall runs in this race himself. Despite the fact that he has been chronically at the effect of injuries which have curtailed his running on a regular basis, McDougall manages to participate in and complete this 50 mile challenge as a result of the changes he has made to his own running form and style – a direct result of his Tamahumara research.
As Lynne Cox, author of Swimming to Antartica states in her praise for Born to Run, “The book is wonderful. It’s funny, insightful, captivating and a great and beautiful discovery. There are lessons here that translate to realms beyond running. The book inspires anyone who seeks to live more fully or to run faster.” Run into your local library and check this book out!
Heather
Posting your comment
Pedro A. Colon | December 21, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
Great review. I will check it out
veranda railings | January 10, 2012 @ 3:39 pm
Just what I was searching for, thankyou for putting up.