Book Tip No. 30 (2018): Christopher McDougall: Born to run

4th edition Munich 2015.

When a running enthusiast journalist sets out to explore the secrets of the Tarahumaras’ running in northern Mexico, it sounds like an exciting story. Christopher McDougall indeed manages to convey his enthusiasm for running to the reader by telling about more or less crazy world-class runners, their successes, defeats and life stories. In the process, we learn incidentally why barefoot running can make sense, why the most expensive running shoes are no guarantee against injuries, who wins in that race where people compete against horses and how differently runners prepare for an ultramarathon. And we also learn why people are actually born to run and how a good runner can bring down an antelope. Absolutely worth reading.

Dr. Hans-Christian Riekhof