If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am runner. I didn’t start until age 50, so I am making up for lost time. I just finished a fascinating book on running by Christopher McDougall. It is called Born to Run. At the end of this post, I will tell you how to get a copy free.
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McDougall begins his book with the question that almost all recreational runners inevitably ask, “Why does my foot hurt?” I have personally suffered through bouts of plantar fasciitis and a pulled Achilles tendon. What I didn’t realize until I read this book is that 70% of all recreational runners will experience at least one running injury every year.
In McDougall’s case, his doctors told him he should stop running. According to them, he wasn’t really built for the sport and should consider doing something else to stay in shape. He didn’t really like that answer, so he embarked on a quest to see if he couldn’t solve his problem.
Over the next several months, he interviewed endurance runners, sports physiologists, and even anthropologists. He also discovered the Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico’s Copper Canyon. These indigenous people are renown for their ability to run long distances—often 50–200 miles at a time! It is not unusual for them to run into old age, some even running into their nineties. Yet, they rarely experience running injuries and seem to love traversing extreme terrain.
In stark contrast, he took an objective look at modern runners and, in particular, the modern running industry. What he discovers is startling. For example:
- 25% of all the bones in your body are in your foot. It is an engineering marvel, unrivaled in the animal world.
- Running injuries were essentially unknown until the invention of the modern running shoe in 1972.
- Not only is there a direct correlation between running shoes and running injuries, the more expensive the shoe, the more likely you will be injured.
The solution that McDougall discovers is at once both simple and obvious. I won’t give it away in this review because it is in large part the focus of the book. Let’s just say that it has turned my running world upside down. I have realized that most of what I believed about running was completely wrong-headed.
Thanks to the good people at Knopf Publishers, I have 24 copies of the book to give away. To get a chance at snagging one, you must take the following two actions:
- Leave a comment below. Tell me why you want this book. C’mon: be creative.
- Fill out your shipping information in the special form I have set up for this book.
On Wednesday, I will select 24 people, based solely on my arbitrary and subjective evaluation of their comments. If you are one of those selected, I will notify you via email. If you don’t hear from me, you can assume you didn’t make the cut.
Warning: If you are offended by rough language, this book is not for you.
Building Champions has been coaching me since 2002. They have taught me to be more proactive and intentional in both my business and personal life. Visit their Web site to learn more and see their special offer for my blog readers.
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I would like this book because I am a diabetic and my feet have been bothering me so badly that it has limited the exercise I am able to do. I don't know that I would be able to run, but at least a good brisk walk would help tremendously with sugar control.
Michael: Interesting that I "ran" across this post. I too have started my journey as a runner. I am set to run my first half marathon in October and my first full marathon in November. I have currently been diagnosed with plantar fasciitis. I would love to read the book. I am very interested in the idea of more expensive shoes causing more injuries.
I WANT THIS BOOK!!!!
I took up running last year thanks to the influence of my wife. I ran my first Half Marathon this last May (at the age of 32). I'm planning my first full Marathon in November.
I've read several reviews about this book and would be very excited to have my hands on one. I've done my own web-research about barefoot running, and I think this book is going to lean much in that direction. I had priced them before hand, but after Tim Ferriss promo'ed the Vibram Five Fingers, I took the plunge and bought a pair. So far, I've put in as much as 10 consecutive miles in them, and they are currently my sole running "shoe." I'm slower, but I can run now on consecutive days without having to put in a long time to recover.
Thanks for the book notes. I can't scream "Pick Me" loud enough to get my own copy :-).
I'd like to ask for a free copy of the book for my husband. And here is why this book…
at night his legs twitch in dream runs (he doesn't know)
i wake to an empty bed and missing running shoes every morning
his green eyes twinkle as he talks heart rate and pace
he reads running blogs religiously
he loves new challenges and ideas
But here is why I want it for him…
he is my strong oak who withstands the storms
he is my tender warrior who battled for me today
he is my laughing partner with horrible jokes
he is my gentle touch that grounds me on earth
he is my leader who points me towards Christ
I am his butterfly and he is my refuge
I want to give him a bit of gift poetry…but as many, I cannot afford to buy it.
Hey Michael,
Great post, I have heard a lot of great things about this book. It's awesome that this info is starting to get out there more and more. We have been telling our clients for years the less shoe the better. In fact the Vibram Five Fingers have become our company shoe, I wear them at least 2-3 times a week.
I would love to get a copy of this book to just better inform my clients that do run. The toughest thing for a runner to do is to truly change their mind about what is really causing their injury and having this book can help.
Keep up the great work.
TIm
Michael,
Read your post. Thanks for sharing.
I did not start running till I had a terrible back pain at the age of 34 which almost immobilized me. I refused to have back surgery and started running one block at a time. I am upto about 10 miles now after only 2 summers.. Please understand I live in Minnesota ( which I guess is the coldest place outside of North Pole) and we get only about 4-5 good months for running outside.
I want a copy of the book because I am running for my life ( not running from my life – I am actually running right into it – head first)…
You are one of my favorite people becuase you publish all (or most) of Maxwell's books. That man is a genius…
Thanks
Abir Roy
I'm training for a marathon in January in Arizona, and I'm looking for all of the resources I can get.
Last summer, I tore my ACL, and I wasn't able to run again until June of this year. I realized how much I took for granted my ability to run when I couldn't any more. I was a sprinter in high school with no interest in distance running, but my injury turned into a blessing.
I want to avoid another injury, and I think this book is another great inspiration to complete the marathon and make the most of the abilities I've been given.
I love to run, I love to read. I just turned 40 and am getting injured more often. Just recovered from a calf injury. Recently bought a new pair of shoes thinking this was my answer. I love following your blog and appreciate how you use twitter to get the word out to your tribe.
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the blog, tweets, etc.
My birthday is 9/1. This would make a great gift! I have asked for the book and some newton running shoes. I have been using the vibram five fingers, but everyone looks at me funny and they blister my toe. I could use the encouragement! Have you read ChiRunning? Have you tried to run barefoot yet?
I would love this book because I am sitting here with my heel on ice and an appointment with the podatrist who I fear will tell me a need orthodics. I am hoping this book might provide an alterative so I can continue my efforts to lose weight (I am down 5 in the past month with about 50 to go.)
I'd like a copy of Born to Run to show up my too-cool little brother.
I love my brother and his very healthy ego…he runs track and cross country for the Air Force (just graduated from the Academy) so of course he's full of running advice. He talked me into a pair of VERY expensive running shoes last year.
I'm training for my first half marathon in October, inspired by your posts about the leadership and life lessons you've learned through running.
Before I go replace those very expensive shoes, I'd love to know what to replace them with.
And have a rebuttal for my know-it-all bro.
Born To Run
"If you are going to be a runner
you must wear the proper shoes".
That is what they tell us
yet with constant injuries we lose.
Intimidated, we feel the fear
of failure or of scorn.
We keep wearing those expensive shoes
while Achilles tendons are pulled and torn.
Pacing back and forth, we cry
"Will someone show the way"?
Reveal the reason our feet hurt
before another pair we pay.
What happens when the doctors say
"stop running, that is it.
Your body isn't built for sports
maybe yoga will keep you fit".
The Tarahumara Indians had the answer,
they live in Mexico,
running 200 miles at a time
even in their 90's they still go.
So what, then, is the answer?
I'd like to take a look.
But to find out how they did it,
I'd have to read the book.
Lori Zimbardi
http://www.argyleandapricots.com
I am a new, yet very enthusiastic fan of running – solely because of my Vibram FiveFingers and the Pose/Chi running techniques. I am very much interested in learning more about Christopher McDougall's passion.
Michael – I would like a copy of Born to Run b/c I'm on my third marathon and from what you've said, this is must-read. I'm also a personal trainer with connections to many fitness people, and as my exercise career develops, I'm always looking for new and relevant material for my clients. If this is as life-changing as you suggest, I would love to share it with others. Thanks again for the offer.
After watching your video about the half-marathon that you had the Thomas Nelson employees run, I was inspired to try for myself. I've never been a runner, but I'm terribly undisciplined, something that isn't the greatest for a college student. I think that training to run a (half) marathon would be wonderful in building my self discipline.
I'd want to read the book because it would serve as a good source of information as I start running regularly.
I am a broken runner! Gave up on doctors orders with double achilles tendonitis several years ago "bad shoes and pavement" and even my "too big and powerful calfs yanking on those achiles tendons" were to blame.
I WOULD LOVE SOME INSPIRATION AND WISDOM TO GET BACK ON THE TRAIL.
I haven't found another regular exercise routine I love as much to keep my spare tire at bay. I would love a copy of the book! @mschutterop.
I am a homeschooling blogging mom of 2! My website is http://www.womenlivingwell.org I am a graduate of the Moody Bible Institute – so I mainly blog about living well – by drinking from the living well of Jesus. I have found that there is a gap in the Christian world for women in the area of exercise. We need to take care of our mind – BODY and spirit!
Exercise affects us spiritually! When I am tired and feeling blak – it's hard to be patient and kind to my husband and children.
I have done aerobics for many years – but I just started running 6 months ago! I have ran in two races one was just 2 miles and the other a 5K. I have been gathering moms from church and creating running groups and we are having a great time running to the glory of God.
I've never read a book about running – so I'd love to read it and be happy to blog about it so my followers could read it too!
Thanks for the opportunity!
Courtney
I received an email today that I am one of the winners of Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. Thank you Michael Hyatt. I can't wait to read it. You rawk :-)
Michael,
MIchael,
Running teaches me more about the spiritual life than most anything I do. Simple as that. Here is what Eugene Peterson says:
"The participatory quality of spiritual reading struck me forcibly when I was thirty-five years old. I had taken up running again. I had run in college and seminary and enjoyed it immensely, but when I left school, I left running. It never occurred to me that running was something an adult might do just for the fun of it. Besides, I was a pastor now and I wasn't sure how my parishoners would take to seeing their pastor running thinly clad along the back roads of our community. But I was noticing other people, doctors and lawyers and executives whom I knew, running in unexpected places without apparent loss of dignity, men and women my age and older, and realized that I could probably get by with it too. I went out and bought running shoes-Adidas, they were-and discovered the revolution in footwear that had taken place since my student days. I began having fun, enjoying again the smooth rhythms of long-distance running, the quietness, the solitude, the heightened senses, the muscular freedom, the texture of the ground under my feet, the robust embracing immediacy of the weather-wind, sun, rain, snow…whatever. Soon I was competing in 10K races every month or so, and then a marathon once a year. Running developed from a physical act to a ritual that gathered meditation, reflection, and prayer into the running. By this time I was subscribing to three running magazines and regularly getting books from the library on runners and running. I never tired of reading about running-diet, stretching, training methods, care of injuries, resting heart rate, endorphins, carbohydrate loading, electrolyte replacements-if it was about running I read it. How much is there to write about running? There aren't an infinite number of ways you can go about it-mostly it is just putting one foot before the other. None of the writing, with few exceptions, was written very well. But it didn't matter that I had read nearly the same thing twenty times before; it didn't matter if the prose was patched together with cliches; I was a runner and I read it all.
And then I pulled a muscle and couldn't run for a couple of months as i waited for my thigh to heal. It took me about two weeks to notice that since my injury I hadn't picked up a running book or opened a running magazine. I didn't decide not to read them; they were still all over the house, but I wasn't reading them. I wasn't reading because I wasn't running. The moment I began running again I started reading again.
That is when I caught the significance of the modifier "spiritual" in "spiritual reading." It means participatory reading. It meant that I read every word on the page as an extension or deepening or correction or affirmation of something that I was a part of. I was reading about running not primarily to find out something, not to learn something, but for companionship and validation and confirmation of the experience of running. Yes, I did learn a few things along the way, but mostly it was to extend and deepen and populate the world of running that I loved so much. But if I wasn't running, there was nothing to deepen.
The parallel with reading Scripture seems to me almost exact; if I am not participating in the reality-the God reality, the creation/salvation/holiness reality-revealed in the Bible, not involved in the obedience Calvin wrote of, I am probably not going to be much interested in reading about it-at least not for long.
Obedience is the thing, living in active response to the living god. The most important question we ask of this text is not, "What does this mean?" but What can I obey?" A simple act of obedience will open up our lives to this text far more quickly than any number of Bible studies and dictionaries and concordances.
Not that the study is not important. A Jewish rabbi I once studied with would often say, "For us Jews studying the Bible is more important that obeying it, because if you don't understand it rightly you will obey it wrongly and your obedience will be disobedience.
This is also true."
I gotta say, one of the reasons I'm hesitant to really give running a go is that injury is inevitable. While there is a certain aura surrounding "the runner" nursing a "runner's wound," the kind of affliction only known the sweat-stained-road-marred warrior who didn't sit out on the sidelines, the oddness of splints and pulls and micro-tears speak so clearly of abuse that running has seemed to me more foolhardy than anything.
but this might help.
(PS: love your tweets)
I'm going to be running my third half marathon this fall and could use some inspiration to get me through the fall races. Also, I like the main concept of the book which is to say that just because it is mainstream and everyone's doing it, does not necessarily mean it is good for you. The book's theme applies to other western fads which may be enticing, but not so good for you.
Hey Michael, I'd like a copy of Born to Run because at age 47 I want to start running.
Thanks for this detailed recommendation. I'm going to order the book for my runner, husband, who buys expensive shoes and has endured many injuries. Sounds fascinating enough to possibly even get me running!
I received "Born To Run" in the mail today. Thank you for this contest. I'm stoked to read it.
I am actually curious to see where Miller is taking the story since I just finished reading Blue Like Jazz last week while on vacation. Would be happy to write a review of the new book as well once it becomes available.
I don’t want a copy of Born to Run. I’ve read it twice already, but I’m glad you are giving this to people who may not have yet had the pleasure to read it. I’m glad you found it inspiring as well.
Hi, I'm hoping to get a copy of the book Born to Run. It is for my cousin who is starting a charity bicycle ride for M.S sufferers from London to Paris at 5am tomorrow. She ised to run marathons for charity until she snapped her achilles tendon quite badly and has begun cycling because she is afraid to go back to running again (she suffered the injury weeks before the New York Marathon and was devastated). She met a woman on the train down to London today and it turned out they were both former runners who had reluctantly given up after injury and begun cycling, both said it is not the same. The woman spent about an hour talking about this book. I would love to be able to get it for my cousin as every last penny she has goes into charity ventures and she would never spend on herself. Having sponsored her every penny I have myself for this bike ride I too am feeling the pinch…She's a great person and it would be lovely to tell her I got her a copy of the book because you thought she deserved one!!
I spotted the book Born To Run as I was walking through the fitness section in Borders. Soon as I spotted the word Tarahumara I was instantly ready to enter impulse spending mode. I read about the Tarahumara in a recent article in Outside magazine. The article was actually about Jenn Shelton and how she raced against them along with Scott Jurek, Barefoot Ted and Caballo Blanco. Prior to that I had read Utramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes. The ultramarathon niche really interest me. But I’m even more excited when I hear of a people who do this naturally-daily. For two days in a row I have actually been skimming through Born to Run when I stop by Borders. You see, hardcover books are EXPENSIVE! and I was really tempted to pull the trigger when I first spotted the book. I love reading about fitness, especially methods that have an ancient twinge to them, and I like seeing amazing feats of strength, endurance and skill. I’m not big on lifting, I ‘d rather do bodyweight exercises and I like to run in general. Whenever I do run, the beginning always hurts because I haven’t found a rhythm yet. But once I find my rhythm-specifically a breathing cadence, I’m good to go. I recently ran a 6:47 timed mile. It was the first timed mile in over a year! And it was a PR. The book has already got me hooked and I can’t afford to buy it now. Borders is my place until the book can come home to me. I have no sandals, or vibram five fingers. All I have is a pair of nike frees. I plan to get some five fingers and try them out. Thanks for taking the time to read this.
So what do you wear to run in these days?
You have probably already given away the last copy, but since I'm here, I'm glad I found out about Born to Run. The idea of "getting back to nature" has always intrigued me, but most of the time it is difficult to define exactly what that phrase means. Since everything we build ultimately comes from nature, it seems like it would all be natural.
Anyway, there are some obvious examples as to where this particular phrase holds greater weight (pun intended). The most obvious example is probably gleaned (pun also intended, and the end of the puns in this post) from the fast food industry, where wheat and other products are processed beyond recognition, and fatty acids and carbohydrates can hardly be found in greater abundance outside of [insert cliche reference to McDonalds.] Even the salads are heart-attack inducing.
But diet is hard if you aren't rich enough for a cook, and who would argue (except maybe a Hindu) that a nice grilled hamburger is delicious?
For me, however, there was running. It is really easy (in that I don't need to use anything off an infomercial which would ultimately sit unused in my basement for 20 years), and by golly it's free (freer than the Ab Roller.) My problem was that I constantly experience foot/leg injuries, so relieving my guilt for eating a hamburger and fries by running five miles grew more and more difficult the longer I ran…in that the injuries consistently grew worse.
I am going to cut this story short (because if you haven't already guessed the ending…you don't deserve to be filled in), and just say that I took up barefoot running and love it. I have had knee surgery and I haven't once had a problem with my knee, which I am sad to say always plagued me when I ran in Nike Shox. Long story short…if you got any copies left, I'd like to know why there is such freedom in running barefoot (preferably for free.)
Wow, what an appropriate subject for me right now, right here! I am a 51 year old male, who certainly at 220 lbs. is not the prototypical distance runner yet here I am after purchasing a $170.00 dollar pair of Sauconys sneaks this week when it appears my last pair has broken down. My right heel is killing me ! Im not a marathoner but run at least every other day, 3 to 4 miles with an occasional 5 to 8 miler thrown in. I have heard a bit of the theory of not running heel to toe in the past but without much explanation have chalked it up to crackpot thinking. I cant imagine going outside and running barefoot but I can be a bit of a risk taker and will try to keep and open mind. Im not a huge book reader either but if given the book would promise to read and comment. Thanks.
i've heard of this book before, thanks for shedding more light on it. also thanks for reviewing the vibram running shoes, I as well have been looking into getting a more natural feel of running, and have run barefoot before
Two words……ZOLA BUDD……I want to be fast….injury free…..in touch with the earth…..to run until I die!!!!
ok, so i have been a recreational runner for 30+ years and the injuries have mounted up the last few. PT visits and time off are becoming too regular. soinds like i need to read this book.
I have just finished reading the book over the weekend. It truly is a "must read" if one considers themselves to be a runner. This is why I would love to have a copy of the book: My daughter is a Freshman taking track at Syracuse University and she wanted to read this book but I had the library copy. She is on the track team and I feel she needs to know the information revealed in the book and possible share it with her coaches if they would be receptive to it. I also have a friend who has completed several marathons and again, this is MUST reading. I myself only read the book because a fellow running friend told me how fascinating it is.
I have the habit of sharing a particulary good book with those whom I feel would benefit from it. There is the double pleasue of not only knowing that the other party will enjoy it as much as I but also then having the pleasure of a "shared experience" later on in discussing it with them, much like you do with your blog. If I was given a copy that is what I intend to do– pass it around. THanks for your kind offer.
My physician told me about the book and the shoes. I am 61 years old and a very active person. I told him that I had really enjoyed running but that I had inured my knee and had stopped running about a year ago. jHe suggested that I read the book. He was convinced I would be able to start running again.
Last week, while picking two books fro my 10 year old, I picked up “Born to Run”; I’m an ex runner (cross country in college, one marathon…could run all day many moons ago ), stopped due to knee inuries years ago, have been rowing over the past ten years, biking in the last two months, wondering about getting back to running,. I opened the book to check it out…opened to somewhere in the midsection, when the author is talking about diet with this woman who is rated top woman athlete in the country after taking up running after being diagnosed with cancer….wait a minute, I was just diagnosed a month ago (colon cancer–I’m 51 caught in screening) she’s talking about this super corn, ultra running, 300% difference in cancer reoccurance…I’m saying to myself I picked this book up for a reason…..but i had promised two books to my son who just got an all A (basically ) report card, I was pretty much broke, and put the book down to buy another day. Tonite I come home to research this pecole corn for its anti cancer qualities, but I forgot the name “pecole”, so I googled “Born to Run” the book, and came up with your blog, referencing it…….. its all in the stars baby; love to get a copy gratis from you and your gracious supplier….can’t believe the coincidence. Thanx, have fun Edzo from Boston
Humans aren't born to run; deer and horses run within hours of birth, human infants take more than a year or two and must be carried, since they can't cling. Our endurance running stems from the same source as endurance walking, endurance cycling, endurance swimming, a ground dwelling omnivorous ancestors who evolved capable breath-hold seafood-forage-diving and backfloating at tropical lagoons and beachcombing/wading/walking and jogging along rougher waters between optimal lagoons. Note that all marathoners must have plentiful water and electrolites along the route and struggle through high humidity where sweat cooling doesn't work well, not a problem at seashores. Before horses, dogs and crops were domesticated and boats, TV, computers developed, people were far more physically active habitually, seashores provided the perfect natural firm pathway for endless jogging, swimming and shore cave cliff climbing. The Tarahumara have simply maintained this at a higher altitude in the absence of a horse/auto culture while their lowland floodplain neighbors have joined the global diabetes-obesity-automobile-'modern' lifestyle.
If you have anymore, I'd love a copy of this book :) I had to stop running a few years ago, and it's taken its toll on my legs. No other exercise compares when it comes to getting strong, gorgeous legs. But I was told if I didn't stop, I'd be risking my knees… Hoping this book has the secret, as to how to avoid harming my body and still getting to do this joyous activity.
I do believe we were "born to run." If not, why would it feel so good afterward :) Why would our bodies/legs look so good from doing so… In fact, I think human beings were meant to do whatever they can bring themselves to truly believe they can do. Seems like a no-brainer that if something makes one feel so good, look so good, be so much healthier in doing it… that they were meant to do it.
And this reasoning that we are not meant to run just because we don't start running right out of the womb… we also don't walk right out of the womb, were we not meant to walk either? :) *picturing people crawling into work* lol
Since sitting is what most of us do, most of the time, maybe that's an indicator of what we are meant to do? On the other hand, since so many of us are dying at about half the age we should be, maybe not so much.
I say, run baby run ;)
I'm out of integrity due to difficulty in sticking to a running plan… because I guess I've become injury prone and that is completely knew and foreign to me. You see, I'm a peak performance coach and I made a commitment that I would run my first marathon before my 40th birthday, which just passed. I didn't honor my commitment and now I will have to re-arrange all my belief systems as a result. There is no failure in life, just feedback, outcomes and results and all the feedback I have received is that I missed my mark.
I grew up running cross-country and could run for days and in '93 I moved to Nashville, TN to work for your company… and stopped running. Additionally, my wonderful, certified personal-trainer wife of eleven years just cannot comprehend me as a "runner."
I will run that marathon.
I didn't START running until I was 50. It's never to late to start—or re-start!
I fear I've found this site too late, but here's why I'd like to receive a copy of "Born to Run'
I'd like to share it with my dad. I'm just now starting to get back into running, and my dad feels like he's reaching the end of his recreational running career. He's run several marathons, but due to recurring pain in his feet and legs, he said he might be done. I'd love to read this book and see if it provides any insight into prolonging my dad's running career.