Author Christopher McDougall constructs a great read, “Born to Run”, around the story of the Tarahumara, an ode to joys of running and how far we’ve strayed from it as a natural function. We follow him through the Copper Canyons of Mexico to visit this tribe of Indians, legendary for their ablity to run extreme distances withouth exhaustion or injury. These superathletes run on a diet of ‘corn beer’, chia seeds and ‘pinole’ (a corn hash). His quest begins with him as a torn-up runner, an enthusiast who has been given a doomed diagnosis from top doctors that he should “take up biking”, but decides to ignore them and find the culture that had been born on running for 500 years… barefoot.

Turns out that part of their history is running on the cheapest, flatest sandals, which have saved them from the unnatural running habits we have developed using modern footwear. He shares the tales of the Tarahumara, not as some overly simplistic key to success, but of the core value of folks like himself that have a love of the sport and their desire to get back to basics, where running is not for money, but for the sheer joy of using their bodies for a basic, essential purpose. “Born to Run” is a tome of cross-cultural understanding and a catalogue of philosophies of living. McDougal introduces a wide array of characters, like the infamous Caballo Blanco, the gringo that begrudgingly acts as his guide, that help bring to life an infectiously told tale, as well as create an easy Summer read. A must for any runner.