Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

After I finished this book, someone asked me whether it’s a good book for non-runners. Honestly, I have no idea.

Running has been a big part of my life for some time now. For the last ten years I’ve run. So it’s hard to say. When you put enough time into something, it’s pretty hard to separate yourself from it.

I can’t write a review from a non-runner’s perspective because that would be total speculation on my part.

What I can do is tell you that this is a fantastic book. If you are a runner, this is a must-read, easily the best book about running out there, and I’ve read a ton. You won’t find anything this in-depth, in touch, and you’ll never read anything else that gives you the vicarious thrills of superathletes and scientists alike.

The story is about the greatest endurance race of all time, but really that’s only a small part. It’s about a man who is feeling his body age and trying to figure what he can do about it. It’s about Caballo Blanco, a living legend whose story, a tall tale, is only more incredible because it is 100% true. The story of the Leadville 100 and the Tarahumara racing against Ann Trason is one of the best sports stories on the planet, expertly told by McDougall, and as any great sports story, it brings about greater truths about who we are and why we run.

More than anything, this books sets out to prove its title. Through science, through example, and through story after story of one incredible athlete after another, this book will leave no doubt in your mind that the greatest athletes in the world still like to get their drink on, that a group of humans can run down a deer, and that you and I were born to do it too.

It’s motivated me to try some new things. I don’t know if chia seeds are making me faster or stronger. And I can’t say for sure that barefoot running has unchained my feet and transformed them into running machines. But I can say that the spirit of the runners, Barefoot Ted, Scott Jurek, Billy “Bonehead” and Jen, the Lunas, and the dozens of characters in this book, each one more incredible than the last, the spirit of these runners is infectious and fuck this review I’m hitting the road.