Born to Run : The rise of ultra-running and the super-athlete tribe

Imagine running a marathon.
Imagine running another immediately afterwards …
Then another, and another
In the desert (or high mountains)
Oh, and with almost no food or water …
(Bare feet are optional) 

At the heart of Born to Run lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians, the Tarahumara, who live quietly in canyons and are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993, one of them, aged 57, came first in a prestigious 100 mile race wearing a toga and sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets and then take them on over a course 50 miles long.
With incredible energy and smart observation, McDougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard, Nike, and elsewhere, he comes across an extraordinary cast of characters, including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles and for her encore ran a 2 hour 50 marathon in a bikini, pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark. 

Review

"Quite simply the best book you’ll ever read about running … brilliant, and brilliantly life-affirming." Lloyd Bradley, former Consultant Editor, Runners’ World and Men’s Health

"A journalist's adventures in a secluded Mexican community of the best endurance athletes in the world. On an unrelated assignment, Men's Health contributing editor McDougall (Girl Trouble: The True Saga of Superstar Gloria Trevi, Her Svengali, and the Secret Teenage Sex Cult that Stunned the World, 2004) uncovered the legend of the Tarahumara Indians, a tribe of astonishingly fit runners concealed deep within the Copper Canyons of Mexico. Determined to learn their secrets, McDougall braved uncharted territory and encounters with lethal drug-smugglers in search of Caballo Blanco, one of the only outsiders to befriend the bashful natives. The colorful Caballo recounts an enthralling story involving the arduous Leadville ultra marathon and Rick Fisher, a greedy, hotheaded opportunist who bribed the Tarahumara out of hiding to compete. The exploited tribesmen participated in the grueling event three times before they disappeared back to their villages for good. An inspired Caballo followed the Tarahumara back to Mexico, where he ran the local trails and lived peacefully in isolation. His dream was to draw the top American contenders to this remote locale to lock horns with the clan in the ultimate endurance exhibition, and he wanted McDougall's help to make it happen. The author returned to the Copper Canyons with a handful of prominent distance champions, including Scott Jurek and Jenn Shelton, and the story culminates in a final 50-mile showdown. McDougall's background as a magazine writer is readily apparent-his prose is light and airy, informative without being pretentious. Most passages are short and engaging with extra doses of drama and exclamatory phrases thrown in to great effect.McDougall wisely grounds the narrative in his own struggle to engage in the concluding race-he was frustrated with his tendency to get injured-and he offers insightful sidebars on a variety of topics, from the development of the modern running shoe to an evolutionary argument that humans are literally "born to run."A terrific ride, recommended for any athlete." Kirkus Reviews

About Chris McDougall 

A former foreign correspondent for Associated Press, Chris McDougall is a contributing editor for Men's Health, and writer-at-large for Runner's World. He has been sportswriter for Outside, Esquire and the New York Times Magazine, and has run numerous races, including the Death Valley Marathon.