Born to Run

For the few who may not have heard of it yet, Born to Run is a book about the Tarahumara of Mexico, a group of preternaturally good runners. In this book, author Christopher McDougall uses the Tarahumara and a race staged on their home turf as a backdrop to discuss running, particularly long distance running, in many different ways.

The story is compelling, the characters fascinating and larger than life, and the writing is engaging and immediate, while still remaining thoughtful. It does come across as somewhat sensational at times, and you are left wondering just how solid the studies that are referenced are. However, there really is a powerful story here, with some evidence to back it up, that running really is something we humans should be doing. Not just something that we can do. Running really does seem to be almost an essential part of our nature, and this book does a great job of eliciting a response in the reader. I definitely recommend Born to Run, and plan on re-reading it whenever I feel my running mojo fading.