Born to Run

Burned through this in two days, which is pretty rare for me.

Very entertaining book, and great writing. Not sure how accurate it is - some parts tend to be exaggerated to the point of hyperbole - but that doesn't take away much from the sheer entertainment in reading about the events.

Recommended, and you don't have to be a runner to enjoy it.

Like many other runners, I was drawn to Born to Run because it captured the tale of the fascinating Tarahumara Indians—a community of cultural ultramarathon runners in Mexico. This book is much more than a book about running, though.

McDougall's book takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure through the dangerous Copper Canyons of Mexico and some of the craziest ultramarathons in the U.S. The first two-thirds of the book centers around his experiences trying to find the mysterious Tarahumara and a man who has become associated with them, Caballo Blanco (White Horse). Along the way, McDougall introduces some light sociopolitical issues in Mexico—though certainly not enough to irritate the anti-politics reader—and offers a humorous outlook on the experience. Later in the book he gets to the more physiological stuff that will probably interest runners and forensic anthropologists more than anyone else.

I read the book after a discussion with a colleague about how much I hate running. He did too until he read it so I gave it a try. I enjoyed the book, a mixed of stories about ultrarunning, a Mexican running tribe and (pseudo)science.
I'm now intrigued about minimalist shoes but not sure if I'm ready to fork the cash to buy them. Can it really make me like running?

Honestly I loved almost every piece of this book. The narratives, the racing, the profiles, maybe not so much the science, but I don't really think that's what this story is about.

As long as you don't take too much of the “science” as fact (and resist the urge to start barefoot running throughout whatever city you're reading this from), this book is pure hype on the human body and spirit - and a sport that unites the entire human race.

I've gone through all the personal phases of running as the author and I found myself cheering him on throughout the entirety of the book. Am I inspired? Yes. Am I more hyped on going on my next run? Yes. Did I just sign up for a 50 mile ultra? No. But who cares!

The worst part of this book - he follows every basic Spanish phrase with the exact English interpretation. Give your readers a little faith they know some basic Spanish or can get through with context clues.