• Born to Run

  • A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
  • By: Christopher McDougall
  • Narrated by: Fred Sanders
  • Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (19,881 ratings)

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Born to Run  By  cover art

Born to Run

By: Christopher McDougall
Narrated by: Fred Sanders
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Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The astonishing and hugely entertaining story that completely changed the way we run. An epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt?

“Equal parts quest, physiology treatise, and running history.... The climactic race reads like a sprint.... It simply makes you want to run.” —Outside Magazine

Isolated by Mexico's deadly Copper Canyons, the blissful Tarahumara Indians have honed the ability to run hundreds of miles without rest or injury. In a riveting narrative, award-winning journalist and often-injured runner Christopher McDougall sets out to discover their secrets. In the process, he takes his readers from science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultra-runners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to a climactic race in the Copper Canyons that pits America’s best ultra-runners against the tribe. McDougall’s incredible story will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.

©2009 Knopf (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

“Compelling. . . . Entertaining. . . . [McDougall] uses an extended portrait of one of the world's least known cultures, the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico's Copper Canyons, to put modern American running under an exacting magnifying glass.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“Equal parts quest, physiology treatise, and running history. . . . [McDougall] seeks to learn the secrets of the Tarahumara the old-fashioned way: He tracks them down. . . . The climactic race reads like a sprint. . . . It simply makes you want to run.”—Outside Magazine

“Hugely entertaining. . . . One of the most joyful and engaging books about running to appear for many years.”—The Irish Times

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What listeners say about Born to Run

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

You don't have to be a runner to love this book!

For runners and non-runners, this is a wonderful story (non-fiction mind you) with colorful characters and an awesome race. When I say colorful characters, I mean that there are some runners featured in this book that have such awe-inspiring athleticism that I had to look them up to be convinced that they were real! Great fun and a great read.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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I enjoyed it

I enjoyed the story. And the reading narration was good. I’d highly recommend this book to any runner.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Learn something new

Great story with some science and history mixed in. Really enjoyed learning about the importance of running to our history and development. Trying some barefoot running now.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What an amazing journey!

Husband has always yelled at me to put shoes on. Now, he can just sit down and be quiet.
This book was truly a joy to listen to. Hopefully. I will have the opportunity to meet the author at a running event.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Great Story

Great book about running. Very good and engaging story. Also, a lot of great information and tips and tricks about running.

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  • R.
  • 03-12-15

Will change how you view running!

Great book. Highly recommended. The reader gets a bit old hearing him over pronounce "taco," "tortilla," and "Colorado." Everything else...amazing!

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Loved this book

Makes you want to run a marathon and probably will in the next year!

Definitely a must for all endurance athletes.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Good book

Sometimes I was lost in the continuity of the story and wondered what was happening now and what had happen then! However it shed light on an indigenous people and their Super human ability I never heard of before! Also it gives me foods for though in relation to our potentials as human being when compared to our prehistoric past! What was also appealing to me was the foods they ate and the benefits derived from eating these meals! Finally, it confirms my secret suspicion, which I inherited after reading kelly starrett’s book ‘supple leopard’, that us human were born to run and that our multifaceted orthopedic problems are of our own doing!

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Loved it

Great book! All the things I love; true life, events, history and medicine! Will read again

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Fantastic

Very good and informative book on running, how to prevent injury and the history behind it.

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