Born To Run

A few months ago, I read a book entitled "Born to Run" by Christopher Mac Dougall. Chris is a former war correspondent and contributing editor for Men's Health. He set out to discover why 8 out of 10 runners are injured each year--he counts himself as one of those 8. His journey takes him from his doctor's offices in Philadelphia to the biomechanics lab of the University of Delaware. He winds up at Harvard's anthropology department and heads out to the West Coast to learn more at Stanford. His journey ends in the Copper Canyons of Mexico for the grand finale of the book and the greatest race the world will never see. I listened to the book and was literally in tears towards the end. Christopher beautifully weaves scientific research into a fun and entertaining story that is not just for runners. It is a story about the human spirit with a triumphant ending and a powerful message.

I picked up this New York Times Best Seller after three people told me about the book in one week. These people told me that Christopher was bringing some of the same information to his readers that I had taught within my movement principles workshop. This book gave me permission to act on what I knew to be true. A little over nine years ago I kicked off the shoes and started a yoga practice. I always thought about running barefoot yet listened to the popular myth that I need shoes to handle compressional forces. Chris's book taught me that I truly did not need them. I started running barefoot (with Fibrum Five Finger Shoes) four weeks ago and it has truly been a paradigm shifting experience for me. In my next blog I will post a recommendation on where to buy the shoes and how to begin the journey of running with the earth instead of on it.