Born to Run book review
I enjoyed this book immensely. I only expected to enjoy it seeing it was a book that parallels my own passion about running. There were several points that stood out.
First was the history of the Leadville 100, a race I aspire to do someday. I’ve run the marathon and heavy half, and absolutely love Leadville and would live their instantly if I could. Second was the detailing of barefoot running. Next, I was intrigued by the few chapters on why we were born to run. These chapters were haunting similar to Why We Run. I also recommend that book for the scientifically inclined.
Lastly, the final chapter where Caballo reveals his life story and specifically his love for Melinda sticks out. Very touching when she left him for his fighting prowess. “He had just smashed a man’s face on National TV, and why? TO be great in someone else’s eye?” What a great question to ponder. I’ve thought about it a lot and I run not for someone else, it’s for myself. I feel good and enjoy it. I’ve also noticed that when I lose that focus, the enjoyment of running, is when injury creeps in. That can be said for nearly any physical activity and I think McDougal hinted at this several times throughout the book. Take the very next page after Melinda leaves him and he discovers running ultra with a Rocky Mountain Double win, he starts wondering about going pro. What happens next is he ends up in the ER after a bike accident. Now that isn’t an overuse injury, but it kind of hints at my conclusion.
Once you lose that enjoyment, you think of what you’re doing as work and all work inevitably results in injury over time. That’s my take on it at least.