Wednesday 9th November 2011 - Review - Born to Run

Today was a rest day.  Not really a scheduled one but I had to get up at 4:30 for a train to London for a work conference and I didn't get back into the flat until 10pm.  Naturally I felt a little reluctant to don my trainers and head torch and hit the lanes!  I guess I could have done some exercises in the flat but to be honest I was goosed and went to bed without having done a thing towards my training; and not even feeling that bad about it!

Instead though, just to maintain my record of having a posting to cover every day of training I have decided to write a little book review of another book I read recently.



The book is called "Born to Run" by Chris McDougall.  On the surface it tells the true story of the author's search for an obscure community in Mexico's drug belt who maintain a lifestyle of constant distance running.  He tracks them down via a search for the mysterious Caballo Blanco (The White Horse) who is an American who has been accepted into the community.  This tribe, the Tarahumara, eschew contact with the outside world and yet contain some of the world's best ultra-distance runners. 
He eventually tracks down the Tarahumara, and Caballo Blanco and tells of Blanco's attempts to stage a 50 mile race between the western world's greatest runners and the Tarahumara.  It is a good story and is well told but there is a second story being told in this book; and that is the story of mankind's relationship with running through our evolutionary history.

McDougal presents a thesis that the adaptations that made us evolve into who we are today were all brought about because we adapted to running whereas our rivals were all adapated to walking.  This allowed us to have greater success in the hunt and the protein rich diet we enjoyed fuelled the incredible growth of our brains.  He makes a powerful case that humans were indeed born to run.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book although my main complaint is that the picture painted of both Caballo Blanco and the Tarahumara at the beginning of the book is almost supernatural, but when you get to the end of the book you sense that this community is not as isolated as first described.  Indeed you find that the elusive and mysterious Caballo lives within a short walk from a bus stop; which begs the question of why the author walked for three days through the jungle to find him in the
first place!

Also, one of the characters, Jenn shelton, later criticised the book for painting too romantic a picture of the Tarahumara.  A community, she says, who struggle with desperate poverty.

Those criticisms notwithstanding though I really enjoyed the book and would encourage anyone interested in running, in particular long distance running, to read it.
As for me.... well I'm a long way from the Tarahumara!  I enjoyed my rest day but am itching to get back on the road.  Seven miles planned for later.

Peace, out!
JUST THE FACTS!!
Weight: 81.2 Kg

Today
Distance 0 miles
Time  0
Kcal  0
Elevation 0 ft
Press-ups 0
Swimming 0 m
Sauna  0 mins

Total
Distance 105.51 miles
Time  18:33:04
Kcal  10901
Elevation 3732 ft
Press-ups 220
Swimming 4750 m
Sauna  1:30 mins
CHARITY HURTS!!
I felt really tired yesterday (Wednesday).  Not too much pain apart from my calves but a general fatigue and a feeling that I'm on the verge of surrendering to a cold.
FUNDRAISING

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