Born to Run

Recently the book "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall was recommended to me.

I started reading it not because I am particularly adept at running, but because I am incredibly awkward at running. After a mile or two my right knee and hip flexor start to hurt, leaving me with an adorable limping gate. I always go with Evey but when she pulls on the leash I have to hunch over to regain control and to be honest, she can pull a lot. I also never wanted to put much money into a sport I might not get all that into and usually wear mismatched sweats and curry stained t-shirts.

That's right. What I'm trying to tell you is that I am the Quasimodo of amateur jogging.

So I started in on this book right away. These lost tribes who could run incredible distances--sometimes sprinting hundreds of miles obviously knew something I do not. I couldn't wait to dig into this fantastical side of history and maybe even discover a few techniques that could improve my modern form.

But then it hit me a few pages in, as I'm sure it hits most readers. This Christopher McDougall guy wasn't writing about an ancient race of superathletes, he's writing about a modern one. That lives in Mexico. At this very moment.

It was jarring. For whatever reason, it's a lot easier to swallow the notion of weird Herculean cultures living thousands of years ago than it is to believe they could exist today... especially when most people get out of breath walking from their car to their booth at Applebee's.

But there it was in well researched black and white. The Tarahumara not only run enormous distances but do so in the treacherous Copper Canyon.

No matter how implausible you believe the story itself to be, please continue reading. The pages that follow contain something much more valuable than a social studies lesson on indigenous cultures or training tips. The pages inspire. And they don't just inspire one to run they inspire all activity weather it be hiking, biking, swimming, whatever. The Tarahumara's secrets are not rocket science. They have just retained the knowledge that humans are creatures meant to be active and activity is, at its very core, fun. It feels good. And depression, anger, hatred-- it all falls away with the miles.

How could that be a bad thing?

Suffice to say, it is a very good winter read and comes highly recommended.