Thanks for stopping by! I'm Cori and I'm happy you've found your way here. If you're wondering why my blog is called "Let's Eat Grandpa," it's an old grammar joke: Let's eat, grandpa! Let's eat grandpa! (Punctuation saves lives.) 
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
Narrator: Fred Sanders
Source: Sacramento Library
Read: based on the recommendation of my boss
Finished: 10/16/11
Rating: 8 out of 10
Publisher: Random House Audio
Pages: 304 (print version)
Published: 2009
Synopsis (from the product 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 world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.
Overall Impression: Since I began running, I’ve been very interested in running technique and how best to use my body to get the most results with the least effort. I don’t want to work unnecessarily hard (this is one of the tennets of karate, actually) and I definitely do not want to get injured. So my boss suggested this book because it had informed the way she thought about running.
This book has gotten a lot of hype. People either love it or hate it. Like most Americans, I can be really susceptible to the latest and greatest thing, so I went in to this warily. Basically, McDougall consults a bunch of experts and ultra-distance runners and throws out everything we’ve known about running in the last 50 years. 80% of runners are injured each year and he boils it down to how running technology (thanks to Nike and orthotics companies) have actually increased injuries by “fixing” things like pronation and using “technology” like memory foam cushioning. Before all of this was invented, running injuries were relatively low. For thousands of years, people ran in bare feet or flat leather-soled shoes and had few problems. Shoes, he says, can be pretty bad for us.
He makes a lot of convincing arguments and by the end I wanted to throw my shoes out the window. (See how susceptible I am?) But I also realize that barefoot running can be really dangerous if you’re not careful (if you land on your heels and you have no cushion…say goodbye to your bones). I did a ton of research and went out and bought myself a pair of Merrell Barefoots because I just cannot bring myself to run completely barefoot. I’m going to start breaking in my legs by running a little in them on the grass and on trails (you use a whole different set of muscles running in minimal shoes like these). I might use them for the Tough Mudder. I like the idea of feeling the ground beneath my feet and not having to drag heavy, wet running shoes through the entire course.
McDougall also goes into the way that ultra-distance runners can run so long and far and the ways that their running differs from traditional runners’ style. He follows the stories of different ultra-runners and the Tarahumara “running people” of Mexico. These stories were really interesting — I can’t imagine being able to run like some of these people — 100 miles in the Colorado mountains, for instance. But a lot of it was very inspiring, and when I run now I try and tell myself “easy and light…easy and light.” It actually works in some small way!
The book did have me wondering if the Indian tribes he goes into feel “used” at all. Some of their runners were brought out of Mexico and into the US for ultra-distance running and received very little in return. I hate feeling like people have been used so others can make a profit.
Overall, very interesting and it created a ton of questions in my mind. Have you read it? Do you run in something other than traditional running shoes? I’d love to know what you think!
Narration: I thought Sanders did a great job narrating this book. He also handled the Spanish words with no problem.
Positives: Pretty fascinating research into running that had me thinking about everything I’ve ever known about it before.
Negatives: the “plotting” of this book was all over the place. It jumped around like you wouldn’t believe. After a while I stopped trying to figure out where he was going next and just went with it. But don’t expect this book to follow any sort of a logical order.
Other books I’ve read by Christopher McDougall: none
Other books I’ve read narrated by Fred Sanders: none
Other blogger opinions:
The Broke and the Bookish: “If you are interested in running or exercise physiology, this book might have you reeling; it defies everything you thought you understood about running shoes and pronation.”
Not Enough Books: “After reading this book do I still think I made the right choice switching to a minimalist shoe? You betcha!”
Maggie Reads: “My hope is that people will read Born to Run for its many other attributes rather than write it off as a crazy author’s bid for attention.”
