As awesome as the subtitle to Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run is—A hidden tribe, super athletes, and the
greatest race the world has never seen—my favorite line happens somewhere near the end by a minor player:
“You don’t stop running because you get old, you get old because you stop running.”
The words are those of an octogenarian ultra-runner and I love the double meaning! I think about it often, proving that sometimes, at least to me, the value of hours of reading and hundreds of turned pages is a single line. I suppose you could liken this to running: all those hard miles run are worth the triumph, achievement, and entry into the club of “I did it” upon crossing the finish line. But really, I like it because I believe the sentiment to be true. [Digression Alert!] Most of our lives are those years spent beyond the salad days of our youth running to friends’ houses or riding bikes all over nowhere and back. What’s more, if you’re like me, many adult days are strapped behind a desk, steering wheel or folded into an airplane seat. Most grown-up lives are what I call the Use It Or Lose It Years and I find it comforting there’s some codger out there who can outrun me. And if he can do it…OK, back to the book…
McDougall’s run through the world of ultra-marathoning (50 and 100 mile races—and longer) and a tribe of native Mexican super-runners (seriously, they run a few ultras in the States and can hardly be beaten; oh, and running shoes…fugheaboutit…) that lives a running-based life is interesting to me on just about every page. The tribe, the Tarahumara, are fascinating. They run constantly, lead a simple life and drink no shortage of beer. Cancer and war are unknown in their culture even as uber violent drug cartels’ supply lines close on their running grounds.
It helps if you’re a runner to really, really like this book as opposed to just really like it, but running is not required. Born to Run hits on cultural and human history that is super fun to dig into—and waaaay more interesting to read than the sentence I just wrote about it. The title isn’t a direct nod to Springsteen’s epic tune either which is a credit to McDougall’s running research (he’s also been a war correspondent; he’s no joker.) He literally lived this book, running with the Tarahumara and other ultra runner down in old Mexico while interviewing super interesting experts and some totally whacked out dudes. Born to Run, instead, is an observation of humanity’s unique biology: of all the creatures on this earth we, the Apex Species, are the only ones born to travel long distances on foot. Think about it.
So slap some Boss on your MP3 player and run to get this book. Use it or lose it.