Were we born to run?

I just finished reading a new book out there called Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. He's a journalist who was writing for the likes of Men's Health and Runner's World magazines when he happened on the story of the Tarahumara people in the deep canyons of Mexico. Here he was, a young hotshot fitness buff who couldn't keep himself out of knee injuries and plantar fasciitis despite seeing the best sports medicine specialists in the world. And there they were, men and women in their 50's and 60's who ran hundreds of miles a week over impossibly rocky terrain wearing nothing but a little bit of leather, never getting injured. Not only that - they didn't even act like it was hard! They would complete a fifty-mile run looking as if they had just had a refreshing day at the beach.

The book is pretty well-done - a combination of journalism about the world of ultra-running and the world of the Tarahumara, a really good story about this crazy race in the canyons of Nowhere, Mexico, and a case for why all humans ought to run. In fact he would have us believe that running isn't just good for us, but that our bodies are designed for nothing other than distance running and it is in fact a biological imperative if we want to be healthy. He makes the case for running without extensive cushioning, but does stop short of saying that everyone needs to run barefoot.

I have done two things since finishing this book that I probably would not have done if I hadn't read it: 1) I ordered some old-school Saucony shoes with the idea that they'll be my primary walking shoes as I get ready for the Avon Walk and that maybe I'll try this less-cushioning thing. He quotes a statistic that, of all runners in the U.S. between 60-80% of them will be injured EVERY YEAR. I was part of that this year, and I figure my $100 shoes didn't prevent it so I'll try it his way and see what happens. 2) I ate a salad for breakfast. He's totally a fan of salad for breakfast. (I also tried a trick Ann taught me - cook an egg over easy, plop it on top of your salad and slice & mix it up for a quick & yummy dressing.)

There are a couple of YouTube videos that talk about this running style, which McDougall describes in somewhat vague terms (his book is not a training manual). "Imagine your kid is running into the street and you have to sprint after her in bare feet. ... You'll automatically lock into perfect form -- you'll be up on your forefeet, with your back erect, head steady, arms high, elbows driving, and feet touching down quickly on the forefoot and kicking back toward your butt." It also seems similar to something dubbed "Chi Running," which has its own little cottage industry and YouTube videos to check out. The idea is that 30 years of "improving" running shoes has only increased the number of sports injuries and allowed us, by blocking our contact with the ground we run on, to become so sloppy in our form that we whack out our knees, hips & feet. By running in less-cushioned shoes, or even barefoot, our feet are forced to tone and strengthen their muscles which ends up protecting the whole body. (He mentions one man whose feet shrank 2 shoe sizes due to the toning and better arch he got.)

There's another section I won't even try to summarize, but basically he visits Harvard science labs and delves into evolutionary biology to answer the question of why our small, skinny, hairless ancestors outlived the much stronger, faster, and by many accounts smarter Neanderthals. The answer? Naturally, it's distance running. Go read the book yourself to find out why.