Book Review- Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

I have a book rec. I know! A book. I wish I could say I read it. LOL. I didn't. I downloaded it from Audible, but now that I've listened to it, I fully intend to buy it so I can underline and love it to bits.

STOP!

Before you say, "Oh, it's a book about running," and scroll past, I beg to differ. Obviously, I bought it because it's about running, but it's sooo much more than that. This book has something for everyone:

-Amazing characters who not only happen to be real people, but who are the kind of people we all wish we had the inner strength and peace to be. (Ignore that glaring generalization in favor of glowing melodrama, k?) These are the dudes and dudettes who walk the walk, and they do it while overcoming the same trials and tribulations that all of us face. Where other people make excuses, they make tracks. I dare you to read this and not love or find a piece of yourself in at least one of the characters.

-Conspiracy theory. Your running shoes are causing your injuries, not preventing them. And the running shoe manufacturers know it.

-Drama. Set a foot race in Copper Canyon, Mexico, the heart of drug runner territory. This isn't just a hostile backdrop, but a part of the story that will break your heart.

-Cultural study. The Tarahumara, a Mexican tribe known for their triumph as ultramarathoners are not only some of the most amazing runners on the planet but also the most amazing people. Of the Tarahumara, one observer in the book noted that the difference between the Tarahumara runners and the people they run against is that "Man's capacity to love is directly proportional to his capacity to love running." While the book is criticized as focusing only on the Tarahumara as runners and ignoring the fact that they're so poverty stricken that they truly have nothing, I think that's even more inspirational in that, people who 'have nothing' as one reviewer noted, still have something that they not only excel at but that they love and use to bind together as a community.

-Inspiration. Some of the world's top runners should not be the world's top runners. They do everything wrong. Wrong shoes. Wrong form. Wrong training plan. The difference? They love running. One quote that stands out (and I'm paraphrasing because I can't go back and find direct quotes on the audio file) is this. "Running is man's superpower, and we all have it." And even if you never intend to run a race or a step out your front door, the graphic re-telling of some of the world's toughest ultra marathons (50 miles and over) will help you get through the day with that nagging pain in your knee or your foot or your... ass(speaking personally here, LOL.)

-History. The title isn't just a catchphrase. It's a statement of fact. If you don't believe running is your privilege and your superpower rather than your punishment by the time you finish reading, you'll at least believe that there's an athlete in you just waiting to be resurrected.

-Story. So, you don't care about running, history, conspiracy theories, little known cultures and the human spirit, it's still a gripping, moving story. I have to admit, I got so caught up in the rest that I completely missed who wound up winning the race at the end, because more than anything, this book reminds you, it's about the race, not the finish.

I don't have my own personal star rating, but on Amazon it has over 4 stars and over 459 reviews, so there ya go. Would I steer you wrong? (Okay, ignore the fact that I once recced the Cal Leandros books on here. I had no idea how bad that was going to get. This is just one book, a'ight? And it's looong.)

So there. Read it. Then strap on your Vibram Five Fingers and go for a... walk.

Until the next bend in the road, watch out for plot holes.

Tracy