No doubt a lot of you have read this book already, but if you haven't, I highly suggest you add it to your 'must read' list. McDougall, a journalist, former war correspondent and recreational runner plagued by running injuries, set out on a quest to find a way to overcome his injuries and keep running. Especially while I'm recovering from a foot injury which hit me just after I started running again after getting through a stress fracture, I found this book incredibly interesting, thought provoking and encouraging.
Throughout the book we follow McDougall on his quest as he travels into the depths of the Mexico's Copper Canyons in search of the Tarahumara tribe of running people. Between stories of him dodging drug cartels, scaling cliffs and looking for people who invented the art of being invisible, he tells accounts about endurance runners and races that I could hardly wrap my mind around and proves through the support of various doctors, anthropologists, and researchers why humans are, in fact, built for running long distances. As someone who hasn't paid a lot of attention to the theory of barefoot running, I found the background and research on it very interesting.
The book ended leaving me wanting more but feeling completely satisfied at the same time. McDougall's writing style is smooth and engaging, pulling the reader into the stories. All I can say is that you need to read this book if you haven't already!
For more information on Christopher McDougall and pictures, read his blog.
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Workout Stats -
13.2 mi bike
2 mi elliptical
3x12 cable pull twists
250 various crunches (w/ and w/o stability ball)
2x cobra pose
2x full locust pose
2x plank
stretching
15 comments:
Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. An old one, but one which really made me think.
sounds great!
I also loved this book! I thought it was a great mix of storytelling, history, and biography. McDougall is a great writer!
Am curious to see some book recs as well. I just blogged last night about reading awful trashy chick lit because it's all I have on hand right now. I need something good to read!
Thanks for the recommendation, I will look out for this book :)
My husband is reading this book right now! I'll have to grab it when he's finished.
Sounds like a great book! I'll have to check it out :)
I knew you'd love it! And your review was right on - I felt the same way. He's a great writer and keeps readers interested. I couldn't stop talking about this book while I was reading it (and even after). I'm tempted to re-read just to get some motivation to try barefooting a bit!
The other running book I read recently was "A Race Like No Other" by Liz Robbins (a book about the NYC Marathon). Not quite as good as "Born to Run" (in my opinion), but still a good read for a running book!
Now I really want to read this book...thanks :)
I haven't read it, but I've read so much ABOUT it that I feel like I have! This isn't a traditional running book, but "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" by Haruki Murakami is a good read.
I'm reading this now!
Thanks for the review! I'm going tomorrow to see if my library has it! Trying to start running long(er) distances is a goal of mine :)
great review!! will definately add the book to my summer reading list!!
This is indeed a great book! What did you think about the barefoot running parts and science of forefoot running that he mentions?
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