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Description
Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis
Summary
"Born to Run" is one man´s quest for the truth in long-distance running. When Chris McDougall comes across rumors of a secret band of marathon runners that rule the hills of the Sierra Madre in Northern Mexico, he goes a lot farther for this story than he every expected possible. Their the... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Cast of Characters/Important People
- Christopher McDougal: The author plays a major part of the action. Not only does he report on the running, he gets into it. At first, i was wary of the battle hardened, cynical ace reporter, but McDougal builds credibility with the reader by putting in the miles. The most inspiring part of the book comes from his obvioius shock and excitement of the other characters in the book. The emotion jumps off the page.
- Caballo Blanco: This guy is insane. He has left his civilization and society far behind. Where has he found God. Well, He must be running right in front of him along the dangerous trails of Northern Mexico. This guy lives to run. That´s what he does. 30 miles here. 50 miles there. Running is life.
- Ann Trason: She is crazier than Caballo. She is works in a science laboratory, and runs 20 miles before work. Guess what she does after work? She runs 20 more. What could possibly be better? A few timess a year she runs in 100 mile ultra marathons. In fact, her competition against a few of the Tarahumara Indians in a race brought some dramatic tension to the book. Its seems as if that the Tarahumaras don´t really approve of women runners. That´s fine with Ann. She´s probably thinking they can stare at her ass for like the last 25 miles.
- Jenn and Billy Bonehead: These guys are too young to be intimidated by anything. They are like in their 20´s. They probably have friends that can pack up their surfboards on a moment´s notice and head anywhere in the world for the perfect wave. For them, the perfect place to go is right at their feet. They are distance freaks. They drink all night, and run it off the next day. And man, they drink a lot!
- Barefoot Ted: Barefoot Ted is the heir to a fortune, but he doesn´t want any of that. He doesn´t want his dad´s money. He doesn´t want the house. Barefoot Ted doesn´t even want shoes! He believes that he just may have discovered the most important technological development of the 21st century - the barefoot! He believes that humans are born to run. The new age training shoes only slow them down.
Memorable Quotes
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“Ëvery morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up," Bannister said. "It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Everymorning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn´t matter whether you´re a lion or a gazelle - when the sun comes up, you´d better be running."”
First Sentence
Table of Contents
Authors & Contributors
- Christopher McDougall (Author)
Awards
- Amazon.com's Best Books (2009: Editors' Picks, #85)
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