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Museum Store Company : The Finest Selection of Historic and Museum Jewelry, Art History Replicas and Museum Reproductions! Own a Piece of History...Give a Piece of History (tm) MuseumStoreCompany.com | |  | Books | Home » » Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen | | | | | | | Description: | | Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.
With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.
From the Hardcover edition. | | | Features: | |
• ISBN13: 9780307266309
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
| | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Christopher McDougall | | Hardcover:
| 304 pages | | Publisher:
| Knopf | | Publication Date:
| May 05, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 0307266303 | | Package Length:
| 9.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 6.5 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.2 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.3 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 422 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
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 That Was A Good Time!Mar 09, 2010
After reading the other reviews, I was a bit skeptical of McDougall's writing - I didn't want to be bothered with over-the-top similes and amateurish writing. But I'm glad I read this, McDougall knows how to keep his subject matter interesting, and it was good to hear that I should enjoy running instead of it being a painful, `just-get-through-it' event.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Changed my life!!!Mar 08, 2010
I read the reviews for this book, and one of them said,"changed my life." I went in this story extremely sceptical that a book could change my life. I was very wrong. This book has, indeed, changed my life as it will yours. It is not just a motivational story. It is much more than that. I have been in the military for eight years, and it is a shame that I just started to really learn how to run after reading this book. Everyone needs to read this book. thank you C.M.
 A great message, but a tiresome narrative...Mar 08, 2010
"Born to Run" is a revolutionary book containing an invaluable message that could change the way you think about running forever. Unfortunately, this message is buried within 282 pages of rambling narrative filled with improbable characters and punctuated with hyperbole on nearly every page.
By the time I had reached chapter 8, I had tired of the narrative and was wishing the author would simply get to the point. Where was the great stuff about "the joy of running" that other reviewers had said they'd found in this book? Where was that eye-opening screed against Nike as the company that had single-handedly destroyed running for an entire generation of runners? So I did a little digging, and I found the two chapters that addressed these topics. They were terrific! Then I basically skipped the remainder of the book.
As far as I'm concerned, the "must-read" chapters in this book are chapters 15 and 25.
Chapter 15 speaks about running for the pure joy of it. The Tarahumara Indians of Mexico who make up the main characters of this book evidently are a tribe who never forgot what a joy it is simply to run! This chapter talks about where running goes wrong for most of us - how it is that something so joyful can so easily devolve into a chore or a contest, and also how it is that America lost its dominance in distance running as soon as money entered the equation. The chapter equates love of running with love of life. It is an inspiring and thought provoking read.
Chapter 25 describes the devastating effect that Nike's invention of the running shoe has had on the sport of running, dramatically escalating the rates of injury that people suffer from running. This astonishing chapter, to me, would be enough to make buying the whole book worthwhile. The chapter cites several studies that have shown that the more expensive a running shoe you buy, the MORE likely you are to suffer running injuries! The heavily-padded and rigidly constructed cocoons that pass for modern running shoes have robbed the foot of the ability to do the things it was designed to do for the runner. As a result the foot becomes weak and out of shape, and injuries result. The heavily padded heel also has changed the stride of the modern runner to a long, heel-striking stride that is destructive to the joints no matter how heavily padded the shoe. Prior to this invention, runners ran on the outsides and balls of their feet, and injuries were substantially lower. Nike itself seems to have finally caught on to this by designing a new kind of running shoe (called the "Free") with minimal padding and support.
Unfortunately, most of the medical establishment has evidently not yet caught up to these truths, according to the author. He cited expert after expert who all sang the same tune that "running is hard on the feet and joints" and "our bodies were not made for running." They generally counseled buying expensive running shoes or even more costly orthotics, or else giving up running as a sport altogether. Thankfully, there are also a few more enlightened medical experts out there, also cited in the book, who paint an entirely different story. The human foot is a marvel of engineering. It is only our tinkering with its environment (by encasing it in supports it doesn't need) that have made it seem so ill suited for what it was made to do.
I would advise busy readers to either buy this book used or else check it out of the library, reading perhaps the first few chapters just to get the background of the narrative that winds its way through the book, and then reading chapters 15 and 25. Some people evidently enjoy the narrative; if so, by all means read the whole thing! But regardless, chapters 15 and 25 are definitely worth the reading, and may change the way you think about running as a sport for yourself, especially if injuries have hindered you from running in the past.
0 of 7 found the following review helpful:
 BoringMar 07, 2010
I too was bored and only made it half way thru...skimming at that. I read about 100 non fiction books a year, and this didn't do anything for me. I don't understand the rave reviews.
Insightful, inspiring, entertaining readMar 07, 2010
I'm very much a runner but not much of a reader... this was the third book I picked up to read for leisure purposes in the last 4 years. After I started it, though, I couldn't put it down. It's an inspiring read, especially for a runner. It gives new meaning to my running ability. Nevermind the fact that the book is already very entertaining and thought-provoking. For any runner or anyone looking for inspiration to run, or even someone trying to understand the mindset of a runner, I highly suggest this read.
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