Born to Run - Overall Thoughts

[Alex]

What are your overall thoughts on this book?

[Alex]

I think the most interesting character in this book was absolutely Caballo Blanco! I Googled him and found all sorts of information. Apparently, he died a couple of years ago, I think after the book was published. There's a Wikipedia page for him stating that he died while on a run, possibly from a fall.
I had no idea that Ultra Marathons existed. In fact, I had no idea that the human body could handle that kind of race. If I learned anything from this book, it's that people are capable of much more than I ever thought in terms of athleticism. It almost motivates me to try running again. Well, almost... :) Hope everyone enjoyed the book!

[Megan]

I really enjoyed Born to Run. I had no idea Ultra Marathons existed either! Or that people are even capable of running such distances! I thought the book contained a lot of interesting information related to the "barefoot running movement" which I never knew too much about until now (I thought you just had to wear the funny shoes with the separate toes.) So the idea of an entire evolutionary theory having been devised based on human ability to run was really what threw me for a loop while reading this! I guess I need to up my game at the gym!
Some of the narration I found to be a bit flowery and over-the-top at times but overall I think McDougall did a great job of drawing the reader into the storyline through characters and climax as well as weaving the science and mechanics of running into the plot along the way. It was an easy and interesting read though, so if you didn't get to it yet, I recommend it!