Running with Sherman

The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero

By: Christopher McDougall

Narrated by: Christopher McDougall

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's Summary

"A delight, full of heart and hijinks and humor.... McDougall is a gifted storyteller who gets to the heart of the human-animal connection." (John Grogan, author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog)

From the best-selling author of Born to Run, a heartwarming story about training a rescue donkey to run one of the most challenging races in America, and, in the process, discovering the life-changing power of the human-animal connection.

When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived, Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move, and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body but to heal his mind as well. It turns out the best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job, and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run. He'd heard about burro racing - a unique type of race where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to mining days - and decided he and Sherman would enter the World Championship in Colorado.

Easier said than done. In the course of Sherman's training, Chris would have to recruit several other runners, both human and equine, and call upon the wisdom of burro racers, goat farmers, Amish running club members, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers. An entire community comes together to help save Sherman, and along the way, Chris shows us the joy of a life with animals.

©2019 Christopher McDougall (P)2019 Random House Audio

amazing story

Another amazing book by Christopher McDougall!! I will say i didn't think i'd be interested but decided to get it anyhow due to my love of his previous books. I wasn't disappointed in the least running with Sherman is just as well written and entertaining as born to run and natural born heroes. I recommend all of his books and will continue to fallow his work in the future.

I’m so happy you found Sherman

My heart is full of enormous emotion and awe. I learned so much about the depth of euphoria and passion one can experience with an animal. I want to learn more about donkeys. My niece introduced and gifted me this audible selection; we want to go to Colorado and see the Annual Donkey Races; but more than that, we want to meet Sherman.

Thank You

This book was suggested to me by a friend. It is not normally a genre I would gravitate to, so I was shocked how quickly it sucked me in and honestly, has affected me in ways I would have never expected. This book made me laugh and cry multiple times and I’ve already suggested it to half a dozen people, as well as my entire online “Run for Mental Health” support group.
Thank you.

Sweet, fun, inspiring.

This was a great mix of history, running inspiration, acknowledgement of mental health challenges & the resiliency of both animal and human alike. I enjoyed it thoroughly. My only challenge with it is now I really want a donkey....or maybe a goat.... Definitely worth a listen.

A bit disappointing

I wanted so much for this to be good. Alas, I was disappointed. Kudos for rescuing an at risk animal from horrendous conditions but the book has too much emphasis on side stories that do not contribute in advancing the primary theme that I got bored. Donkey racing sounds like fun work but typical of my understanding of East coast liberalism the author was totally surprised that caring for livestock is tough work & requires a giving spirit. I'm guessing that there is a hilarious & heartwarming story about Sherman & company but sadly the tale told here ain't it. Can't say I'd recommend purchasing it to others.

Very enjoyable

Having had 2 mini donkeys I can totally relate to joys of donkey ownership! Loved the story, the writing style, the presentation. I absolutely agree about the benefits of having animals in your life. Loved the characters and the race- makes me want another donkey! I recommend this book.

Another McDougall great

I am doing something I have never done before, and that is review a book before I am finished with it. This book is that good. It is also a case where the author is ever bit as good a narrator as writer. You hear the emotion and love in the narration. My husband is hard of hearing and some narrators are difficult for him to understand; he only gets part of the story. Christopher speaks clearly and enunciates; which means Wolf can actually hear the entire story and not just pieces of it.

Yesterday I opened my new edition of Runner's World to read an article about running with a donkey. Enthralled I texted my husband, we need to get a donkey, great running partners. (There has been a running joke with us for over 15 years about getting a donkey). As I am reading this story a little light goes on, this has to be Christopher McDougall. Checked the byline, yep, it is our guy! I HAD to immediately get the audio book.

I am a lifelong horse and dog owner. (No horses now but three dogs). And we are as vegan as we can be, in that we try but don't always get it right. At first, when Christopher got veered towards telling about the history of man and animals, I was a little like, 'this is not the story line'. Yet the deeper he went, the more I got from it, and it shored up our resolve to be better vegans. NOTE: as far as I can tell, this book is NOT about being vegan. Not a word about that. For us, it just told us what we already knew, animals are way more clever than given credit for. Goats. Donkeys. Dogs.

There is the aspect that the McDougall's were willing to take on a very sick, very depressed little donkey that by all accounts was not even going to survive the first week let alone the first night. The support from his Amish neighbors is heartwarming. It really puts this group of people in a much more human light. Having read about an Amish serial killer and a woman leaving the Amish, those biographies do NOT put this group in a positive light. The give and take, the helping your neighbor, the amazing Tanya and Scott. It all gives me hope that there is still a place in this very fractured country we are living in that harkens back to what I remember growing up in cotton farming/cattle ranching country 15 miles from the nearest town of 400 people. We all helped each other. Black, white, republican, democrat, straight, gay, Catholic, or Baptist, and even Hindu in our little isolated world. This book just has that feel to it. All for one and one for all. Live and let live. Help your neighbor and be kind. Take care of your piece of the world. No judgements.

As an endurance runner this book has a special appeal to me. Training to run ultra marathons with the dream of running the Leadville 100 and Hardrock 100 in my very close neighboring state of Colorado. (New Mexico girl here). I loved reading the magazine article about the women Amish runners. I can't wait to get to that part in the book. I told my husband that it goes to show that the desire to run, (and I have run since I was a tiny child) is there, no matter what social or economic group you are from. No matter what you look like or wear. If you have that desire, you will willingly run in a long black dress, cap, and apron, and still kick ass! Those women are my kindred spirits. Try NOT letting a runner run. We will go crazy.

I never listen to audio books when I run. Never. I tend to listen to a special Spotify soundtrack I have created that keeps my pace going. I went for a short run yesterday, and ended up looping around longer for 10.5 miles as I was enjoying the story so much. That alone is a huge testament to the power of this delightful book. If I can listen and still run and still keep a good pace, then it is golden.

Sherman, Sherman, Sherman! I can't get enough of this this little spirit. There is a good chance I will eventually run across Christopher at one of these ultra events in the Rockies. And learning more about the burro races and thinking I don't actually have to own a donkey to run it, will I? Not sure. At 110 pounds it would not be a great idea for little, scrawny me. But we are planning on going to watch the races this summer and hopefully volunteer. I am already planning on a high altitude training session up there this summer. Might as well work it around the burro races in Leadville.

Christopher, thank you for this very wonderful, very heartwarming book and sharing so much more about your family! See ya on the trails!

So much more than a donkey story!!

I really enjoyed this book! It was interesting and heartwarming and about so much more than a donkey race. I loved the way Chris McDougall incorporated a variety of other human challenges into the story...and did so with sensitive insight.

Amanda

I adored this book! As a runner myself I love the different stories this book incorporates and of course listening to the transformation of this lonely donkey was inspiring. Such a fantastic read! Highly recommend it!

Great story

It took me a little bit to get used to his reading style, but the story is fantastic and gripped me quickly. Every diversion the story took, was equally as entertaining.