Born to Run: The Book Report by Aaron Tang

I barely qualify as either a middle of the road writer or runner (making me perfect as a critic since I can't achieve fame from either) but by comparing this book to Ultramarathon Man by Dean Karnazes, one is able to see that Mr. MacDougall is a writer who occasionally runs whereas Dean Karnazes is a runner who occasionally writes. In this way, Born To Run really blends storytelling, humor, and imagery together well.

I read this last year but re-read it to give this book report justice. The story is quite remarkable even if you are not a runner. Basically, Mr. MacDougall enters an arena more dangerous than Mt. Doom (thanks to ruthless drug cartels) to find THE tribe of the best runners that we've never heard of (even though I remember seeing them in an MTV Road Rules episode where the cast were running with them, playing rarajipari).

I think the best part of the book (other than the fact it is all about running) is being able to travel and meet a culture as rare as the Tarahumara (pronounced Tara -oo- mara). Part of the reason why I love running is exploration and this book is able to fulfill this using pen and paper without endangering my life.

Along the way, he is able to flesh out the characters of the story, almost as caricatures of themselves (although the characters may actually be THAT superhuman-like).

Pictures of the characters

After a year of exposing myself to the world of running, it is that much greater to read about the likes of the Czech great Emil Zatopek and on the home front, Deena Kastor, Scott Jurek and Ann Trason. There's even a semi-respective nod to Dean Karnazes the Ultramarathon Man. I think that the author views Dean as a self-promoter then a runner whereas the runners in this book have this innate love of running just for the sake of running. This ideal started me up but was lost on me in the past 6 months and I think I need to get back there instead of worrying about placing or qualifying for Boston.

He challenges Nike's very existence and goes in to the theory of barefoot running (keep in mind the biases associated with him since he is sponsored by Vibram FiveFingers--thanks Epidemiology class/ Pharmacy Journal Club). He even manages to throw in a new spin on the theory of how we came to become the dominant species instead of the UFC-like Neanderthals with the help of Harvard.

If you are a runner and read, this is the book you HAVE to read. This is THE runner's book of the past couple years. Ask anyone who runs and reads and they have read it.

other points of interest:

Chia pets are apparently edible and give the Tarahumara their strength. (Chia seeds, that is)