In honor of all my runner friends, including a few tackling the Chicago Marathon this morning, I pulled this review I wrote last year out to post today.
This book changed my entire view of running, and I am so thankful for it. It’s a real story, with real people that you care about, and root for in the end. I am certain there’s another nation of runners that think the theories about running put forth in this book are poppycock, and perhaps barefoot running isn’t for everyone, but I could totally embrace the concept of being happy when you run, and how that improves everything about the experience.
Post review addendum: Of course, reading this book has not actually made me a marathon runner, and it definitely didn’t make me smart. After reading it, I promptly overdid it and ended up with a case of plantar fasciitis. Lesson? Stretching—there’s a reason entire books and classes are devoted to it!
Still, it remains a fantastic read, with the larger point being that it’s all about attitude, and the runners featured in the book embrace that concept wholeheartedly. Try smiling when you run—makes a huge difference!
Born to Run
Christopher McDougall
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