Fit Momma Wish List: "Born To Run" by Christopher McDougall

Holidays are coming!  Here's another addition to the ever-growing "Fit Momma Wish List":

In the long (OK, not so long) history of Trainer Momma I have recommended a grand total of one -- count it -- one book.

There are many reasons for that, but most of all, if I'm going to recommend something for you to read in your little window of spare time, I've got to believe in the book and its message 100%.

I've have officially found another book that has inspired me like no other book has in quite some time and it definitely has earned a place on the Holiday Fit Momma Wish List.

The book is called "Born To Run:  A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" by Christopher McDougall.

Wow.  Where do I begin?

It is the true story written by a journalist who set off to figure out why his foot hurt when he ran.  His quest landed him in the Copper Canyons of Northern Mexico running with the Tarahumara Indians along with the top ultramarathoners in the world.

The author is an excellent writer (that is a must for me) and pulls together an incredible cast of real-life, colorful athletes whose talents are mind boggling.  I was in awe of Scott Jurek, cracked up at Barefoot Ted, admired Caballo Blanco for his authenticity, couldn't get over how Jenn and Billy could pull their runs out of a hat, and was intrigued to learn more about the quiet Tarahumara Indians and their ancient cultures.

Mr. McDougall  pulls in tons of history of the sport of ultramarathoning and gives us mile by mile accounts of some of the craziest, most intense races of all time.  He digs into the ancient past of certain tribes and convincingly explains the theory that we are all truly "Running People".

There has been boat loads of research done for this book and the author has an easy, entertaining way of explaining it all to all of us non-scientists out there (my hand is raised).

He does jump right into the middle of the barefoot running debate and it is quite obvious where he stands on the matter (he's tossed his Nikes, let's put it that way).  He puts some interesting ideas out there why our feet hurt, our knees hurt, our hips hurt when we run.  It's not because we aren't meant to run, only that we are running the wrong way.  He argues that we are all born to run if we just get back to our roots and run like we used to.

More than anything, this book dishes out so much inspiration that it makes you want to just close it up, step outside your front door, and just run.  And run. And run.

I will admit, I have done just that for the past few weeks since I finished the book.

I still can't say I'm even remotely interested in running an ultramarathon, or a marathon, or a half-marathon -- but during the short distances that I do run a few times week I find myself much more relaxed and settled into the rhythm of running.  I am actually enjoying running for the first time.  Ever.  That's a far cry from my jogs -- or more accurately termed "hobbles" -- that I used to take.

I must mention, since this is a G-rated blog, there is occasional "rough" language in the book.  Despite that, I still highly recommend it to anyone.  Runners or non-runners alike.

And who knows -- even though I am HUGE fan of my Newtons, after reading this book, I'm just that much closer to getting me a pair of these babies:

How about you, Fit Mommas?  Have you read "Born to Run"?  What did you think?  

** Full disclosure:  I was in no way paid or compensated to read or review this book.  The Doc shoved it under my nose and insisted I read it.  I'm very glad I did.

You can find "Born to Run" in my Trainer Momma store.  It is listed in  the "Favorites" tab under the Trainer Momma header or you can link to it here.

Fit Momma Wish List:

Heart Rate Monitor

Adjustable Dumbbells

Gym Membership

Shoes

Workout Clothes

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