Friday, September 25, 2009

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

I've just finished reading the book Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. The book goes from Christopher's first short runs that always resulted in injuries, to his first 50 mile run through the sweltering hills and canyons of rural Mexico.

As a journalist, McDougall is able to see some of the worlds greatest runners, and watch the greatest races. He becomes curious about the Tarahumara (or "running people") who reside in secluded caves in Mexico. He searches for a man named "Caballo" and together they compile a small race for some of the worlds greatest, most diverse ultra runners.In attendance are the Tarahumara; runners from a near-by village of Urique; Scott Jurek - a vegan and one of the worlds best ultra marathoners; "Barefoot Ted" - a man who always runs barefoot through any type of terrain; Jenn Shelton and Billy Barnett - young and fast Californian partiers; and a few more.

The book goes into depth about things such as the physics of running shoes, the "persistence hunting" theory about humans being able to run animals to the death, and the best things to eat as runner. It's all very factual and subjective - not preachy- like some of these topics often are.

The book is very interesting, and hard to put down. I recommend it to anyone who is a runner, interested in running, and, in particular, interested in ultra marathons.


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