Reviews

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall

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suzettmolina's review against another edition

3.0

It’s a solid 3.5! With this book being older certain things didn’t feel appropriate any longer to be said the way they were said in this book. Overall the messaging was run barefoot, eat vegetarian, and capitalism has ruined the true love and quality of running lol.

mugwumpun's review against another edition

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4.0

A page turner for me as a past runner riddled with various injuries, but felt less like a true non-fiction account. It's more of a personal account, with not enough of the training tips for preventing injuries, too little of the raramuri lifestyle and training, and filled with some sort of pseudo-running mysticism, which I still ate up. The profiles he creates of the runners were interesting, and the description of the great race in the Urique canyons was riveting. I'd recommend with some reservations about the claims sprinkled throughout the book, but definitely keep a skeptic's mind.

zachnachazel's review against another edition

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4.0

I've had this one sitting for a while, and finally got to it. I'm torn about this book. On one end of the spectrum, the cultural anthropologist in me finds Tarahumara a people I crave to learn more about. On the other side, there's this strong tie to the barefoot running movement. While both did work together really well, it seemed like there were a few really long chapters that were only there to convince me scientifically that my body was meant to run without shoes or at least minimal. It just felt like a clash between the two stories instead of having the two mesh throughout the entire book.

Setting that aside, I loved hearing about the Tarahumara people, learning more about the legendary Scott Jurek, and how barefoot running is not hippie nonsense, but supported by some evidence.

bookbabebloom's review

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adventurous challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

A good mixture of science and personal stories, makes me want to run 😂❤️

gadicohen93's review against another edition

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5.0

This book came at the worst time for me. I've been running a few miles every day since summer started, but the day I started reading this book was the day my calves decided to give out after I went jump-roping/overrunning Monday/Tuesday. Imagine reading back-to-back passages about runners who could speed through dozens upon dozens of miles in one sitting (running?) while you're sprawled on the sofa, your legs feeling like they've been scooped out with a spoon, and that spoon is currently moving from the blueberry bowl and into your mouth.

Born to Run was super accessible: Fast, easy, and all the other adjectives Caballo used to try and make Christopher McDougall move his legs like the White Horse. His writing had "cool" scribbled all over it. So did his adventures in Mexico and the background ultramarathanoning research he so expertly narrated. I especially loved the biology chapter that explained why human beings really evolved, through a running lens, which is awesome.

Overall, I had few qualms with this book, too few and too minor to move it to a 4-star. I wish I could learn more about the narrator, Christopher, who seemed like too much of an enigma as a protagonist--more than the fact that he's an often-injured journalist. I also agree that he exaggerates way too much, and that it definitely serves as a flaw in the way we perceive him and his stories. However, I think the hyperbole also thrust the narrative forward in a pace I've rarely encountered in non-fiction like this. Definitely read this if you run and want to learn more about this habit of yours.