Born to Run

Most readers of this book–from my limited research before I picked it up–come for the running aspect but their takeaway is this whole concept of barefooting. It was the other way around for me, I needed to learn more about barefooting. Having tried barefoot footwear for the past year, I was hoping to learn the science behind it and its origins, etc. But surprisingly I stayed for the running aspect.

First off, the storytelling is insanely good, I couldn’t put down the book once I started and guzzled it down as soon as I possibly could. All the recipes for a good story are here, adventure, humor, mystery, and even science(i know). The story is about the Tarahumara or Raramuri (literally running people) indigenous tribe living in Mexico. They are believed to be the greatest (endurance)runners of all time. The author traces them in order to find out about the secret of these running people and how are they able to run great distances without breaking a sweat, figuratively. The story quickly devolves into the scene log of organizing the greatest race of all time, one which had elite American ultra runners competing with the running people.

The title of the book is an homage to the realization the author has at some point why humans run. Our knack for running (historical, at least) is a result of our meat intake which leads to our relatively large brain. To continue feeding our brains with protein, earliest humans incorporated persistent hunting into their arsenal, an all-weather guaranteed grocery run tuned for human prehistoric times. Then there’s the biomechanics of our feet, it’s numerous bones and tendons which allow humans to run easily for long distances without damage, contrary to popular belief and limited by whatever research we have so far. And finally, the Darwinian advantage that running allowed us to survive because it was either eaten or get eaten back in the day, so running was crucial. These arguments are pretty convincing for the most part.

Re: barefooting, all the science points to its advantages, and the disadvantages modern footwear has. Not to mention the disturbing provenance of narrow shoes(ref: Chinese footbinding). There never was a functional reason for the kind of footwear we have today, it’s objectively better for humans to go barefoot. But that’s far from feasible in the concrete jungles we live in. Next best thing? barefoot footwear. The book discusses all these problems and then some more. But be warned, this is still a controversial topic, so tread lightly.

All in all, a fantastic read about running. Although on the same topic, the spirit of this one is quite different from Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, which is an amazing read on the topic btw. The difference between the two books can be summed up by two words, the art and the science respectively. If you’re interested in running, this is the book you should pick up. It will convince you to pick up running both by explaining well the science behind it and the other, more intangible reasons for which people run.