Book Review: Born to Run

Have you ever read a book that inspired you to action? The kind that upon reading the last page, you close the book, put it down, then get up and do something about it?

That’s what this book did to me.

I had heard people buzzing about Born to Run for a while, but I didn’t have the time or the burning desire to run out and buy it. After all, I wasn’t a runner. I tried running at one point, but I finally decided I just didn’t like it.

Running was boring. And hard.

Why bounce around on the pavement when I can exercise like a ballet dancer to tone and elongate my muscles?

But as we’ve been traveling, I decided I should read Born to Run. My husband convinced me to participate (and not just volunteer or cheer him on) in a 5K in October in Auckland to finish off our time in New Zealand. I gave a big, heaving sigh of resignation and said OK.

And so I sat down with the Kindle version of the book on my iPod. I read. And I read. I stayed up later than I should have to finish ‘just one more chapter.’

The author, Christopher McDougal, is a sports writer for a number of different fitness and running magazines, and he has brilliantly woven his journalistic, information-based findings through a riveting tale of crazy ultra-marathoners and ancient Mexican civilizations. I found myself so engrossed in the story that I didn’t want to put it down.

The whole basis of the book rests in the assumption that humans did, in fact, evolve from monkeys to cave men to the more civilized type of person of the present day. I don’t agree with this line of reasoning (being a follower of Jesus who created humans in the image of God and set them apart in Creation), but it was still fascinating to read about the scientists’ findings through the course of his research. It spoke to me of the incredible wisdom and creativity of my Creator.

And it truly inspired me to lose my shoes and go for a run (or two or three). Here are some of my favorite take-aways from Born to Run:

• It is entirely possible for a person to run hundreds of miles at a time–and enjoy it.
• Nike knew their running shoes were bad for people, but they created a new market and sold them anyway.
• Running barefoot can reduce or completely eliminate feet, knee, and hip injuries.

I will say that I have ZERO intention to run a hundred mile ultra-marathon. I can’t say that sounds like anything that resembles ‘healthy.’ Long term cardio exercise can actually depress your immune system, lower your testosterone, and increase cortisol levels. No, thanks. I’ll stick to a good variety of cardio, intervals, strength training, and stretching and keep my immune system in tact, thank you very much.

I’m starting with a 5K distance (3.1 miles), and I’m (obviously) running it in my Vibram FiveFingers. But since reading Born to Run, I’ve done even more research into barefoot running (proper form & technique, barefoot vs. minimalist running, etc.). I have to say that if you are even thinking about making the switch to barefoot or minimalist running (which I, of course, would encourage you to do!), definitely do your research. Don’t just take off your shoes and start running. You’ll probably injure yourself and give a bad name to barefooting, due to nothing more than ‘user error.’ I’m currently reading Barefoot Running Step by Step and loving it.

It’s mostly incorrect to call Born to Run purely a ‘barefoot running’ book, but it did spark the massive surge of barefoot and minimalist runners over the past few years. Even if you have no intention of running a single step in your life, Born to Run is a fascinating story worth reading.

Get your own copy of Born to Run on Amazon (or if you have the same toys that my husband and I do–the Kindle version).

What have you read about barefoot running? Books, blog posts, news articles? What are your thoughts?

This post is linked to Healthy 2Day Wednesday