Despite spending ten years in the military, I can't say that I've ever been much of a runner. Maybe it was the whole obligation thing or, perhaps more likely, it's just the pain of it all. I remember in basic training that I got shin splints so bad that I had to go on sick call (the one and only time I ever did). They sent me to the hospital for some physical therapy for half a day, where a pretty second lieutenant nurse gave me a leg massage and showed me some stretches to do to loosen up the leg muscles. Best moment of the whole basic training experience, I might add.
The next morning, we ran another ten miles and a couple of buddies carried me up the barracks stairs. But the stretches (and the memory of the nurse) helped me get back on my feet each day. From then on, running was way more like work than anything close to fun.
Christopher McDougall's book Born to Run, however, may have convinced me to try it again (I've become more obsessed with the bike in recent years). His look at a tribe in the remote wilds of Mexico and their running habits was inspirational and informative. Imagine, for example, running 50 miles at a pop and actually enjoying the experience. These folks run ultramarathons like they were a simple walk across the street.
Turns out that there's a reason for it–as humans we were, indeed, born to run. Our physiology and structure are designed for us to cover long distances, which our human ancestors used to literally run down food like deer, who are designed for the short sprint. McDougall's discussion of all the anatomical and cultural background of that is a fascinating read.
What interested me even more, though, was the assertion that we were born to run but born to do it with very little padding on our feet. Running shoes, it turns out, are actually what cause most of the pain in our bodies when we run as our feet search out a harder surface to push off on and covet the opportunity to splay outward. I now know why my kids insist on running around outside in their bare feet–that's the natural thing to do! I'm trying to imagine an army platoon running in bare feet, but you get the picture. McDougall's case is compelling and backed by a lot of evidence.
The book is structured around an impending race between the Tarahumara and some American ultramarathoners that takes place in the remotest of wilderness areas, out of the limelight of media coverage. Those sections read almost like a novel. McDougall's a good writer and this book will hook you.
I was a little disappointed that he didn't offer much in the way of tips for those of us who may have been inspired by the book. I, for one, am a little skeptical about running being that much fun, but this book at least gives me the impetus to try it the right way.
All in all, a really interesting book about changing one's perceptions and expectations.
