When I travelled around Mexico the first time, I went high into the mountains out of Chihuahua and into the Copper Canyon. This part of Mexico is very remote and very rough country. The Canyon itself is much larger than the famed Grand Canyon but have you heard of it? Hidden away in the area is the intriguing but very reclusive Tarahumara people. They live largely traditional lives although those lives are now, of course, mixed indelibly with a more mainstream existence.
I was really captured by this place and those people. What I didnt know when I was there was what the Tarahumara would become really famous for – and the subject of this best-selling book – running. LONG distance running!
This is from the Amazon description:
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.
The book is amazing and I can thoroughly recommend it. If you would like your own copy at a discounted price, you can buy it through the Nick Bowditch Travel Store (the list price is $24.95 but you can get it there for just $13.72). This is an interview of the author with Jon Stewart:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon – Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Christopher McDougall | ||||
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