Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
You can view this book's Amazon detail page here.
First, let me say, this book is not only for runners. I’m not a runner and I enjoyed reading it. I’m sure if you run, you’ll like it even more because you can reflect on your personal experiences.
I’m fascinated by ultramarathoners who can run a hundred or more miles at a time. It’s simply shocking that the human body can take such abuse. As I’m entering my second half-century in age, my body is breaking down faster than I can repair it. Yet, there are examples of people routinely doing what would seem as superhuman acts into later in life.
That’s sort of what McDougall is trying to get at with this book. As a runner with an increasing number of injuries as he gets older, he’s looking for the fountain of youth, or endurance, or anything that’ll help him run longer and. maybe, live longer.
When I picked up the book, I thought it was going to be about the Tarahumara, the indigenous Mexican tribe that runs great distances effortlessly, but what the author spends most of the book describing is how we, as homospaiens, are all born to run. He wraps his descriptions in great stories about the people involed in setting up and running a terrific race of Western ultramarathoners against Tarahumara runners.
While totally enjoyable and motivational, the problem I have with the book is that the author details loads of statistics supporting his argument without ever touching on the other side of the story. Some of his conclusions make the reader question his data which is not validated with the whole story. Statements like the number of knee injuries have increased since Nike introduced the running shoe cannot possibly tell the entire story.
So, read the book for enjoyment and do your own research to validate it’s conclusions. Totally fun and a kick to read.
- Started reading:
- 18th October 2010
- Finished reading:
- 29th October 2010