When my wife first presented this book to me a couple of weeks ago, I had mixed emotions. I had heard all the hype. Christopher McDougall wrote a book preaching about running barefoot…yada, yada, yada. The great debate on whether the running shoe industry is ruining those it caters to. That humans were natural runners and the foot should be left alone. In all honesty, I’m tired of this subject and didn’t know if I really wanted to read about it…AGAIN!!!

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Born to Run ranks right up there with one of the best running books I’ve read. What Christopher McDougall has done is craft one of the greatest race accounts I’ve come across (before this book Duel in the Sun had no contest). He had me hooked from the first sentence.

“For days, I’d been searching Mexico’s Sierra Madre for the phantom known as Caballo Blanco – the White Horse.”

White Horse? It’s a person? What in the world is going on?

From there, a wild running story is crafted. Set in an exotic location with a crazy cast of characters I never would have imagined the story that awaited. I couldn’t wait to dig in and get my hands around his experience that not only clued me in on some of running’s history but also of those who were responsible for carving it.

The Tarahumara Indian’s of Mexico’s Copper Canyons, Caballo Blanco (aka Michael Hickman, aka Micah True), Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton, Billy Barnett, Luis Escobar and “Barefoot Ted”. As soon as I was done reading the book, I spend a couple of hours reading up on these runners and all their accomplishments. It’s quite a resumé and outside of Scott, you’d have a hard time recalling any of these great runner’s unless you were an Ultra geek.

Besides spinning a great tale, Christopher McDougall did something pretty ingenious. The aforementioned “running debate” was snuck in as part of the story. The best way I can describe it as commercials to the story. He didn’t come out and preach for 5-10 chapters but wove the research and medical opinions so they flowed with the story. Not only did it soften the blow of the topic for me but it actually got me doing a little preaching myself. There was a longer segment toward the back of the book where I thought it was a little long but maybe it just seemed that way because I wanted to get back to the “Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.”

To give you the Cliff Notes version of this book wouldn’t do the story justice. Please do yourself a favor and go grab a copy from your nearest library or bookstore.

Before reading this book, I had already started converting over to minimalist running by ditching the clunky shows and going for a trimmed down version (Nike Free). After reading this book, I’m ready to start incorporating barefoot running into my training schedule.

RMFR

I just finished reading John Brant’s book “Duel in the Sun” and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend it. Being fairly new to running, I didn’t know much about Alberto Salazar or Dick Beardsley except for the fact that I knew who they were…or so I thought.

The thing that most caught my attention in this book was not what you would think. Yes, the narrative of the 1982 Boston Marathon was gripping. Yes, Dick Beardsley’s addiction and recovery is an inspirational story everyone must know and learn from. Yes, Alberto Salazar’s health problems and inability to recover from the aforementioned battle evoke sympathy and praise. The thing that really touched and inspired me was reading about Alberto’s faith.

Without ruining a great read, when Alberto Salazar was at his lowest battling depression and his health, he turned to God. It was nothing that happened right away. He didn’t pray one day on a long run and BAM he was cured. In fact, when he rededicated his life to God to the time he finally found a cure for his ailment was nearly 3 years later.

“I believe that God guided me to keep the faith through all the years because the answer – in my case, Prozac – would be coming,” Salazar said. All those years unable to run and he never gave up faith.

We sometimes get inpatient when our prayers go unanswered. We sometimes question our faith and wonder if God is even listening. Remember that we’re His children and he loves us. There’s a plan for each and every one of us and when it’s time, He’ll lead us where He wants us to go.

“Run toward God and know that far in the distance God is running toward you.”
- Roger D. Joslin