Born to Run is essentially three stories in one book, intertwined. The stories revolve around the Tarahumara tribe and the “greatest race you’ve never heard of.” The book also hits upon an evolutionary discussion that humans evolved to run. The third story is on the shoe industry, which McDougall asserts is a lot of hype and marketing and that running shoes are more likely the cause of running injuries than the solution.

This book was on par with Christopher Leer’s Running with the Buffaloes, which I would say is my favorite running book of all time. I should preface my review that I have had a strong interest in the minimalist shoe theory for the last year, after coming to some of the same conclusions that McDougall made with regards to the footwear industry and running injuries.

I have had little interest in ultra-running, but Born to Run sparked an interest. A huge part of it is that I am a time oriented individual, so if someone says they ran 100 miles in 19 hours, I don’t really have a feel or gauge as to what type of accomplishment it was or if they are a good runner. For ultra runners it’s more about the experience or placement in the race than the time and the time is only relevant to others who have ran that course or if you the runner have ran that course in the past. Thus, in no way can you compare times to other ultras since most of them are run in the mountains.

Now, I have a slight interest in ultras. Not saying that I would ever do one, but I did find myself reading up on the Western States 100 and looking at the results. It was also cool to see Zach Miller take 6th in the race as we went to college together and we ran Cross Country together, he was a senior my freshman year. However, I do have a new found respect for ultras and five years ago I had zero desire to run a marathon and now I have run five, so who knows, maybe I will get out there someday.

McDougall’s assertion that humans were born to run is extremely interesting. I don’t know a lot about anthropology but the evidence that he provides seems to be solid and well documented. The stories about humans being able to literally run down an Elk were fascinating.

Lastly, the book focuses on the shoe industry. McDougall is no fan of the marketing and hype that surround shoes. For the most part I agree with him, but I think some of the conclusions are a bit of a stretch. I do believe that motion control/support shoes are not necessary and I am skeptical when I hear so called experts advising people to run in a shoe such as the Brooks Beast to alleviate injuries. My opinion is similar on orthotics and my guess is that if you were to go in to see a Podiatrist that 90% of the time they will try to sell you a pair regardless of your ailment.

Where my opinion differs from McDougall’s is that I still believe that training is the result of injuries for most runners and not the shoes. Simply that most people ramp up the training too quickly or people who have never ran before try to run a marathon six months later. A lot of the studies that are cited in the book are looking back at runners from the 70’s and 80’s and let’s face it, today’s marathons are filled with recreational runners which the sport did not have 20+ years ago.

I agree with McDougall that the human foot is a thing of beauty, flexible in so many ways and that putting a bulky shoe on your foot will only weaken your foot and affect your gait. What I’m not so sure of is that the human foot has evolved over the last two million years to be able to run and walk on dirt and grass. The modern running shoe has only been around since the Bowerman era. Where I struggle is the surfaces that we run on today are completely different than what the human foot evolved from. Thus, the human foot did not evolve to run on asphalt and concrete, thus perhaps we need more protection on the foot? On the counter argument you have people who are able to run and win marathons, running barefoot on asphalt, so it is possible.

The book has been inspirational for me. So much so that I went out and bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers and have been doing about two to three runs in them per week. I’m also gradually moving to lighter shoes, hoping to eventually do all of my running in “heavier” racing flats.

Overall, I give the book 5/5 stars. I even gave my signed copy of Born to Run to my Mom and she finished it in four days and loved it, she is not a runner. The book has wide appeal that I believe non-runners would still enjoy it; on the flip side I would not recommend Running with the Buffaloes to a non-runner that is more of a niche book.

Pick up a copy, might change your opinion of the shoe industry, regardless it’s a fantastic read.

Interview with Christopher McDougall