Born to Run by Christopher McDougall: Wild, Weird, Inspiring

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I’m currently deep in my “running book” era. Probably because I ran exactly one marathon (slowly, painfully) in my life and now that qualifies me as a running expert. As such, I now feel the need to keep up on all the running books – you know, to connect with fellow runners, like me. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall kept popping up as a must-read among running fanatics. The book is often held up as evidence that humans are somehow meant to run long distances. (REALLY long distances.) I’m not about to lace up sandals and run 50 miles through the desert anytime soon. But the book was intriguing enough for me, a 1-time marathoner to pick up.

My Born to Run by Christopher McDougall book review:

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Born to Run by Christopher McDougall Book Summary

Full title — Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

At the start of Born to Run, Christopher McDougall has one pressing question: Why does my foot hurt? McDougall was a recreational runner plagued by injuries. So he sets off on a journalistic quest to find out how some people run long distances seemingly pain-free. This leads him deep into Mexico’s Copper Canyons and into the hidden world of the Tarahumara (Rarámuri) people. The Tarahumara are a tribe of reclusive, sandal-wearing ultrarunners known for covering 100+ miles at a time with ease AND JOY. (Running with JOY is an important theme in the book.)

As McDougall digs deeper, he not only uncovers the Tarahumara’s running secrets but also transforms himself into a legitimate ultramarathoner. His journey culminates in an epic, once-in-a-lifetime race through the canyons. He helps pit Tarahumara champions against elite American ultrarunners like Scott Jurek. The race is a brainchild of the mysterious Caballo Blanco, a reclusive former American boxer who’s lived among the Tarahumara for years.

But Born to Run isn’t just about one race. It’s about a theory that flips everything we think we know about human evolution: that we are literally born to run. McDougall weaves in compelling science suggesting that humans are the best endurance animals on Earth. We’re not the fastest, but the most persistent. With our ability to sweat, our springy tendons, and upright posture, we may have evolved to chase prey for hours across the savannah, outlasting it by sheer stamina.

Throughout the book, McDougall tackles some big running questions:

• Do modern running shoes cause more harm than good?
• How did a group of superathletes with no coaches, gear, or supplements become the world’s greatest runners?
• What have we lost in our tech-heavy approach to running?

In the end, Born to Run is a travel and sports adventure memoir that mixes in sports science and a celebration of human potential.

Who is Christopher McDougall?

Christopher McDougall is a journalist and former war correspondent who stumbled into the world of ultrarunning. While trying to solve his own running injuries, he ended up chasing a mystery deep into Mexico’s Copper Canyons for Born to Run.

Find Chris here: Christopher McDougall – New York Times Bestselling Author

List of Runners in Chrisopher McDougall’s Born to Run:

Here are some of the REAL runners featured in McDougall’s Born to Run:

• Scott Jurek — Legendary American ultramarathoner.
• Caballo Blanco (Micah True) — The mysterious “White Horse,” an American who lived among the Tarahumara and organized the big Copper Canyon race.
• Ann Trason — Female ultrarunning legend with numerous victories and records.
• Barefoot Ted (Ted McDonald) — Eccentric barefoot runner and advocate for minimalist running shoes.
• Arnulfo Quimare — Tarahumara runner.
• Billy “Bonehead” Barnett — Young, wild and fast ultrarunner. Partner of Jenn Shelton.
• Jenn Shelton — A tough, no-nonsense, often comical ultrarunner. Partner of Billy Barnett
• Eric Orton — A running coach and ultrarunner who plays a key role in training Christopher McDougall for his ultramarathon debut.

Now onto the rating! Born to Run by Christopher McDougall Review:

Overall Book Awesomeness Score: 4/5 

The wild idea that humans are literally built for endurance running hooked me. I also was intrigued by the counterintuitive advice about minimalist shoes (or even NO shoes) and simple nutrition. The book jumps around a bit, but I loved the way it all builds up to the big, epic race that Caballo Blanco put together.

Things I liked:

• My favorite “proof” that humans are born to run: The anecdote of a traditional persistence hunt, where hunters chased an antelope for miles. And then more miles. And miles after that. The human hunters weren’t faster, but they had more endurance. Eventually, the antelope just… gave up. Exhaustion did it in. Maybe we are built for long-distance running after all?
• Absolutely unhinged characters (aren’t all ultra-runners?) that were both fascinating and inspiring.

Things I didn’t like:

• Lots of “tangents”. Stories about the author’s own running journey, the epic Copper Canyon race, the mysterious Tarahumara tribe, the science and evolution of running, and the gospel of barefoot (or at least minimalist) running. They all fit together, just not always seamlessly.

Have you read any other great running books? Send suggestions my way in the comments!