June 8, 2010

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

I just finished Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. As he decribes it, it was a book about "a Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen." Chris goes into Mexico and finds the Tarahumara Indians. They are runners who will run 60 miles at the drop of a hat, run a deer to exhaustion, and have foot races between tribes. In reading this book I learned a lot about running. I took the principals of the Tarahumara Indians to heart and the next day ran 10 miles. That 10 mile run was one of the best runs I have done in a long time. I was strong, fast and very happy the whole run.

Chris also goes onto talk about shoe technology and how modern day racing shoes are the cause of our injuries. 8 out of every 10 runners will suffer an injury and the "better," more expensive your shoes are the more likely you are to suffer an injury. That hit home because ever since I started running I have been dealing with some small injury here and there and the only cure has been to stop. But I love running too much to stop.

In another chapter Chris talks about how as a human race we are meant to run. We are not built to be sprinters but to be marathoners.

This book is a must read for every runner out there. It is well written, keeps you thinking, keeps you on your toes and you will not want to put it down until you are done.

3 comments:

funderson said...

LOVED this book!

GreenStyleMom said...

It's on my reading list, but I don't actually own it yet. Might have to just spring for it.

Musings of a Housewife said...

I just downloaded this book to my Kindle and started it. This post is SO ironic b/c my knees were doing okay till I went out and bought pricey running shoes last spring. I've been having trouble EVER since.