"Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall

Many of us have wondered at one point or another whether there are people living outside the confines of conventional civilization who have managed to master some aspect of life much better than we have. 

Well, Christopher McDougall may very well have an answer to that question as in his book titled Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen he looks at the Tarahumara Indians, living in Mexico’s Copper Canyons, who have gained the ability to run hundreds of miles without resting or injuring themselves.

I know that this sounds like some kind of sensationalist fairy tale to lure you in to a rather conventional story, but ear with me. Christopher is himself a long-time runner and a renowned journalist who has won a number of awards; his integrity has already been put to the test many times, and he succeeded on each occasion.

In any case, Christopher explores not only how the Tarahumara Indians live, eat, socialize, work and exercise, but he also takes the time to explore high-tech science labs at Harvard where ultra-runners are trained… kind of like how Ivan Drago was trained in Rocky IV. As you could have probably guessed, in the end Christopher documents an ultimate race between the Tarahumara runners and America’s Ultra-Runners, taking place in the Copper Canyons. 

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (Book cover)
In the end, McDoughall’s amazing coverage of the Indians and their counterparts from the Western world goes beyond simply showing us who the fastest people on Earth are… it aims to inspire us, to show us that most, if not all of us, were born with running in our blood.



Christopher McDougall (Author)

Christopher McDougall


Personal site

Christopher McDougall is an American author and journalist who made a sudden splash in the world of literature with his 2009 best-selling novel, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe[...], documenting a reclusive Indian tribe capable of seemingly superhuman feats of speed and endurance.



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