I honestly don’t know where to start with this book – I absolutely loved it!
Author Christopher McDougall started with a simple question of trying to figure out why his foot hurt when he ran. Where it led him was on an incredible journey that turned into Born to Run – A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.
To me this book was about so many things – a running race, a lesson on human evolution, and a story of unlikely friendships. Born to Run beautifully weaves between the stories of the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s Copper Canyons, Caballo Blanco an American who lives amongst the tribes, a colorful cast of supporting characters, the history of barefoot and long distance running and the race that brought them all together.
My takeaways from this book – ultra marathon running is crazy! And barefoot running is intriguing…I am definitely going to be looking into more minimalist shoes and experimenting with barefoot running. That being said this book is definitely NOT just for runners – the story goes beyond the running to inspire all readers.
Micah True
At the heart of this story was a man named Micah True, or Caballo Blanco (the White Horse) as he was known. It was True who coordinated the race between the Tarahumara and the American ultra runners that the book is ultimately about. While reading this book I heard of an upcoming event with True not to far from me that included a 4 mile run with him! A friend and I were really looking forward to going and were shocked and saddened when just days after we learned about the event that True was reported missing…
On March 27th, 2012 Micah True went out for a run in the Gila National Forrest in New Mexico and didn’t return. His body was found several days later on March 31st. Cause of death is still unknown, but from what it seems he died doing what he loved.
Live, Run, Grow 
I’ve had this book on my list for ages now. Hopefully I can actually get to it when I finally freakin graduate! 🙂 So sad to hear about his passing.