On May 5, 2009, Christopher McDougall published Born to Run. McDougall had many disappointed doctor consultations and ineffective treatments after he suffered repeated foot injury. This led to the search of the Tarahumara; a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners. McDougall writes about the Tarahumara Indians that live in Mexico and their superhuman ability to run hundreds of miles without getting injured. McDougall proves that genetics is not the sole reason that makes the Tarahumara super athletes, but the simplicity of their lives and how our bodies are born to run.
Running, for the Tarahumara is integral to everything they do. Their societal structure depends on the strategic formation in running regarding their social rank. This …show more content…
There are two teams with two wooden balls, each about the size of a baseball. One member of each team takes a wooden ball and kicks the ball ahead. The members of that team then chase after the ball, pick it up then kick it again. They would end up running 4 miles minimum. “We say the rarajipari is the game of life, ' Angel said. 'You never know how hard it will be. You never know when it will end. You can't control it. You can only adjust.”(McDougall 41). Games are viewed differently in the United States compared to the Tarahumara. The Tarahumara don’t have set rules or officials that control the game. They adjust their games to their liking. “No one really seemed to care who won; there was no arguing, no showboating, and, most noticeably, no coaching” (McDougall 42). The Tarahumara are not competitive, they are just playing for …show more content…
He gave several examples to show how the Tarahumara simple lives are one main reason they are the greatest distance runners to exist. McDougall kept his readers interested in the connection of our complex lifestyles and the simple lessons we can learn from the Tarahumara. He also proves that following this lifestyle of the Tarahumara can transform runners to become less injury prone. By proving that our bodies are born to run without all the high-tech technology. We can be fascinated by the fact that our society believes we need all these complex features to become a better runner, but actually, it is hurting us in the end.
McDougall teaches us by living a life of simplicity, we can become better runners. Our feet and bodies were made for endurance running. The cushioning in most of today’s athletic shoes do more harm than good by weakening our body’s natural running equipment. Since the Tarahumara runs so many miles, fueling with the right foods is important. Chia seeds provide protein, carbs, omega-3 fatty acids and energy. The great distance runners that exist continue to show the love of running and we were born to
Running, for the Tarahumara is integral to everything they do. Their societal structure depends on the strategic formation in running regarding their social rank. This …show more content…
There are two teams with two wooden balls, each about the size of a baseball. One member of each team takes a wooden ball and kicks the ball ahead. The members of that team then chase after the ball, pick it up then kick it again. They would end up running 4 miles minimum. “We say the rarajipari is the game of life, ' Angel said. 'You never know how hard it will be. You never know when it will end. You can't control it. You can only adjust.”(McDougall 41). Games are viewed differently in the United States compared to the Tarahumara. The Tarahumara don’t have set rules or officials that control the game. They adjust their games to their liking. “No one really seemed to care who won; there was no arguing, no showboating, and, most noticeably, no coaching” (McDougall 42). The Tarahumara are not competitive, they are just playing for …show more content…
He gave several examples to show how the Tarahumara simple lives are one main reason they are the greatest distance runners to exist. McDougall kept his readers interested in the connection of our complex lifestyles and the simple lessons we can learn from the Tarahumara. He also proves that following this lifestyle of the Tarahumara can transform runners to become less injury prone. By proving that our bodies are born to run without all the high-tech technology. We can be fascinated by the fact that our society believes we need all these complex features to become a better runner, but actually, it is hurting us in the end.
McDougall teaches us by living a life of simplicity, we can become better runners. Our feet and bodies were made for endurance running. The cushioning in most of today’s athletic shoes do more harm than good by weakening our body’s natural running equipment. Since the Tarahumara runs so many miles, fueling with the right foods is important. Chia seeds provide protein, carbs, omega-3 fatty acids and energy. The great distance runners that exist continue to show the love of running and we were born to