Born To Run free essay sample

Are we as humans truly â€Å"born to run†? If this is true, why do we need orthotics, knee supports, fish oils/supplements, ice packs, and top of the line name brand running shoes? Christopher McDougall asks exactly that in his journey to find the answer to these questions. His journey begins with his own simple question: â€Å"Why does my foot hurt? † Now, I’m sure this is a question we all have when it comes to running. Whether it’s your feet, shins, or knees†¦ none of which should really be an issue according to McDougall. He discovers this fact after visiting a couple doctors in the beginning of his story. The first of these doctors instructs him to buy $150 custom orthotics, and even pricier running shoes just in order to run properly, but later tells him that his body isn’t â€Å"made† for running, and recommends that he should stop entirely. The next visit McDougall makes, runs along the same lines as the previous one, until he hears of another doctor that finally takes the time to sit down with him, and actually video tape a recording of his running performance. She then plays the video back for him, in slow motion, so that he can fully grasp what exactly it is that he is doing wrong when running. He watches â€Å"in disgust†, saying that his legs sloughed along and his back was hunched over and he described himself as â€Å"flopping around like a fish on a hook†. It wasn’t until this realization that McDougall really understood what it was that he was failing at when it came to his â€Å"relaxing† sport of running. It’s not that he wasn’t â€Å"born to run†, it’s that he didn’t understand how to. He needed to comprehend the mechanics of running, make his body flow more easily, and relax his form as opposed to the clenched, rigid, and thundering form he had originally possessed. Christopher McDougall is actually a writer for the Men’s Health magazine, and in his studies for athletic performance, he ran across data stating that, â€Å"eight out of ten runners are hurt every year, doesn’t matter if you’re a natural runner or not†¦ running is the fitness version of drunk driving [and] each foot strike causes force on your legs of twice your body weight†. This information alone would scare away anyone from the sport of running. According to this information, it seems that people are running for the sake of losing weight and because they feel that they have to run, not necessarily because it is a relaxing, stress relieving activity. McDougall noted that the sport of running â€Å"ignites† from time to time, it becomes more and more popular when devastating events occur to a population. Events such as these induce a fight or flight adrenaline rush where the population â€Å"runs for fear†. He cites many examples such as the Great Depression, the Great American footrace (which caught fire in the seventies), the Vietnam War, and it especially became common after the crippling events of September 11, 2001, where trail running and adventure racing, statistically became largely popular again. It is our nature as humans to possess survival instincts such as running. McDougall decided to take a trip after experiencing these newfound facts about his desire to run, and heard of an ancient Mexican tribe given the name, the Tarahumara. Spanish conquistadors invading Mexico bestowed this name upon them, but their original name was the Raramuri, which meant, â€Å"the running people†. McDougall met a man by the name of Caballo Blanco who talked with him about tales and secrets, and told him what he knew of the Tarahumara. The two ran into some trouble along the way, experiencing the Zetas, in the â€Å"death mobile† and barriers with communicating. However, McDougall quickly learned that not only did the Tarahumara have amazing athletic capabilities, but they could essentially run ultra marathons with ease, without hesitation and on the thinnest handmade sandals. There were stories and records of these people running hundreds of miles at a time and because of this, he labeled the tribe the â€Å"Shao Lin monks of running† because of the grace, serenity and ease they run with, but then refuted the statement by stating that they drank like every day was new year’s eve, and all they ate was ground corn and barbequed mouse. McDougall realized that it’s not necessarily that the Tarahumara drank, or only ate what they could find, but that their technique for running and their form of flowing from step to step in a natural barefoot way was ultimately the best and most efficient way for a human body to run. He begins training with them, finding his own balance of foot strikes and body movement, and in time decides to train up for a fifty-mile ultra race of his own. McDougall begins to contemplate why we as humans have developed and adapted to endurance type running. He comes up with many theories, of which are, that humans eventually moved out of forests and into the deserts, then had to learn and adapt to physical hunting down their prey, and that we run because we fear. With this data, he composes his â€Å"endurance running hypothesis†. McDougall composed this book incredibly well, and at times it was a bit long winded, but I learned from what he had to say and the experiences he shared with the reader. He is an extremely intelligent, accredited man, but his story makes it relatable to the reader, saying that he injures himself in running just like any other regular Joe. Ultimately, I did learn a lot of data and general information from reading Born to Run, I learned that in order to perfect my form in running, maybe all it takes is for someone to tell or show me what it is that I am doing wrong, so that I can fix the issues. On the other hand, I have run barefoot and in minimalist shoes before, when the trend really started up again, a couple of years ago. It felt wonderful and natural for a while, and I would run barefoot everywhere, but when I donned my minimalist shoes, it was painful and with the training we do in ROTC, I could not continue to wear them, so I have taken up shoes with a smaller drop, in hopes of helping to improve my running capabilities like the Tarahumara.