If you have ever contemplated running you need to read this book! Whether you are an avid marathoner or someone picking up jogging to get healthy there is something in this book for you! A great story plus advice on running. A page turner from the beginning - I couldn't put it down!

Running fans only. This is a great read for runners, especially if you want some the story behind barefoot running, but it doesn't delve deep enough for general readers. The ultra distance runners we meet are a curious bunch and worthy of a much deeper treatment than the romantcised one we are presented with. The darker side of their choice to live on the extreme edge is not even touched on, which is very disappointing. I still enjoyed it and will savour my runs in my Vibram Five Fingers just that little bit more now.

I have my doubts about some of the theories in this book, but strangely enough I haven't enjoyed a book as much as this in a long time.

I'm giving up. I don't care for the author's style. It a little like reading Bill Bryson but he spends to long on a topic. I'm listening to the audio book so skimming isn't really an option. and i can see where it's going and i'm barely into the book at all; shoes are bad, we run wrong. the end.

also his exagerated descriptions of the Tarahumara make my inner anthropologist cringe.

This started out pretty slow for me. But, like any good race, it picked up speed and was a sprint to the finish. It was interesting to learn about running from all the angles.

Especially enjoyed the second half of the book, which goes more into detail behind the history of man and running, as well as the technical aspect of running barefoot and with non-padded shoes.

Here's the one running book most every runner (and lots of non-runners) have read. I am ashamed to admit I finally just read it last week — it's one of those books I'd always meant to read, but always put off for some reason. Glad I finally did!

McDougall chronicles his journey into the barren mountains and canyons in Mexico searching for a hidden tribe of super runners called the Tarahumara Indians. He eventually finds them with the help of a mysterious gringo who goes by the moniker El Caballo Blanco who has sort of joined up with their tribe — he's a quirky, fascinating dude, to say the least.

McDougall tells us about the history of ultrarunning, delving into the Leadville Trail 100 — an almost mythologically difficult 100-mile race that takes place every year in the Rocky Mountains. This race was many Americans' first introduction to the Tarahumara, who competed and won the race for two years in the early 1990s.

McDougall takes us on a few tangents — during one of which he famously rails against the running shoe industry, citing studies that supposedly prove that running shoes neither help prevent injuries nor make runners faster than running barefoot. Sure. He also spends several dozen pages on a theory of evolution. Did humans actually evolve to be distance runners (literally born to run), and therefore, be to be able run prey to death? Both of these digressions are interesting, but I'm not sure how much stock I put in either one.

The book concludes with an absolutely pulse-pounding story of the first race pitting American champion ultramarathoners (Scott Jurek, Jenn Shelton, etc) against the Tarahumara in a race in the 100-degree heat and rocky canyons of the Tarahumara's home. It's an incredible event — and one McDougall even took part himself, pushing himself to his absolute limit.

I loved this book, even with a few hesitations. McDougall has a tendency to sort of gloss over how difficult ultramarathoning really is and, also, out of necessity, needs to invent a few details here and there for the story's sake. But on the whole, if you're going to read one running book, this is the one I'd recommend.

Absolutely fascinating. McDougall write for Runner's World magazine and has a very conversational, journalistic style that makes the book a breeze to read. Largely about a tribe of superrunners, the Tarahumara, and a 50 mile trail race in the Copper Canyons, the book also includes facts about the great trail runners out there, tips for distance runners, and the anthropological theory that argues that humans evolved to be distance runners.
It really is a fascinating book.