Book review: Born to Run


Whether you run a lot, a little or not at all, Born to Run is a thoroughly enjoyable and facinating book. It focuses on the Tarahumara tribe that live in Mexico and are known to run hundreds of miles in thin sandles without so much as batting an eyelid.

The book asks the question ‘how come they can run this far without all the paraphenalia of expensive shoes, scientifically designed nutritional supplements or getting injured?’ and concludes that they can because we all can. It describes how all human beings could do it, the majority of us have just just gotten out of practice and out of touch with what our bodies can do. It argues that, as the title suggests, we’re in fact ‘born to run’.

All of this unfolds against the backdop of a race between a few Tarahumara runners and some of the best ultra runners in the world. There are a few interesting charaters that are due to take part in the race, notably Barefoot Ted – who, as his name suggests, is an advocate (and a very convincing one) for running barefoot and Scott Jurek – possibly the best ultra runner in the world and a vegan.
I’d known about htis book for a while but hadn’t read it as I assumed that as I’m not an ultra runner it wouldn’t be relevant to me. I was wrong. Whether you run a few miles or not at all this book is all about what your body is capable of if you just give it that chance. Read it!