Born to Run
by Christopher McDougall, Fred Sanders · first published 2009
60% recommend33% neutral6% critical
Why HN recommends it
Entertaining, inspiring story of a Mexican running tribe that makes the case for barefoot or minimalist running and natural gait; runners credit it with helping them cut injuries and start running again.
Common criticism: Some doubt its claims about human evolution for running and find the accounts embellished
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, is a 2009 best-selling non-fiction written by the American author and journalist Christopher McDougall.
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Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
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…protein into our diet also helped trigger brain growth. So some combination of sociability, persistent running, and animal protein helped accelerate human brain growth back in the day. Recommend reading Born to Run or watching the Ted talk by the author for those interested.[1] [1]https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_...
on “Which Type of Exercise Is Best for the Brain?” ↗2010 - Outliers, Malcom Gladwell 2011 - In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan 2012 - Born to Run, Christopher McDougall 2013 - Four Hour Work Week, Tim Ferriss 2014 - Nourishing Traditions, Sally Fallon 2015 - Awaken the Giant Within, Tony Robbins 2016 - Black Swan, Nicolas Taleb 2017 - Surely…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in the past decade?” ↗…sufficiently) and thus can only get rid of the heat through breathing. Eventually it will overheat and either rest or die. Humans don't suffer from this limitation. If you're curious I suggest you read Born To Run http://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Run-Hidden-Ultra-Runners-Greate...
on “The humans who outrun horses” ↗I suspect this will be a long-tail answer, but what the heck: Born to Run by Christopher McDougall It is not a perfect book, but it did get me running, and in that sense literally changed my life.
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013?” ↗Obligatory plug for Chris McDougall's great book _Born To Run_: http://www.chrismcdougall.com/
on “Humans hot, sweaty, natural-born runners” ↗…Humans evolved on the plains of Africa, hunting animals by running them down to exhaustion[1]. I think some of the bare foot running purists become cult-like in their views, but I think Chris Mcdougall's "Born to Run"[2] book is worth reading and thinking about. It's an easy, well written and entertaining read too. [1] Watch the amazing Attenborough clip of them running an healthy, fully grown male antelope down.…
on “Roger Bannister has died” ↗Awesome! I'm so glad someone posted this link. I read Chris McDougall's book Born to Run recently and it was really eye opening. As a long time runner I felt that the key to avoiding injuries was good running shoes. The idea that no running shoes was actually the key would never have crossed…
on “To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes” ↗The book referenced in OP called Born to Run talks about the Tarahumara a lot. Its a really interesting story and I'd recommend the book to anyone.
on “To Run Better, Start by Ditching Your Nikes” ↗I love that there is another reference to Born to Run on HN. I think that the book appeals to the hacker in us with the way Chris McDougall ignores any pre-conceived notions of running and just starts looking for what is the simplest answer that works?…
on “World-Class Performers Don't Work - They Enjoy High Performance” ↗…I'm lucky to live in San Francisco, where much more scandalous activity happens and the sight of a guy running in his boxer briefs is not a big deal. If you want some motivation to run, try reading _Born to Run_ by Chris McDougall. I'm almost done. Every chapter just makes you want to leave the house and start running. It's great.
on “Running in My Boxer Briefs” ↗Born to run by Christopher McDougall Read it in the beginning of this year when I was starting to run, very inspiring. And look, I'm still running!
on “Ask HN: Best book you read in 2011” ↗If you enjoyed this article and are unacquainted with the world of running, I highly recommend the book "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall.
on “Marathon Man: A Michigan dentist’s improbable transformation” ↗…Google. I found it the best book on Google. Better than some of the others, which seem a bit like officially authorized versions. Below ones I read it in 2011. But haven't posted here, so here goes: Born to Run (By Chris Mcdougall): A health book. Has really helped my running. Highly recommended to all. A guide to a good life: The ancient art of Stoic Joy (By Joseph Irvine): A very good book on philosophy.…
on “Ask HN: Best books you read in 2012” ↗…we throwing the baby out with the bath water? On another note, I suspected that TED was using TEDx events as a vetting process for finding speakers to invite to the big show. For example, you'd think Born to Run author Christopher McDougall would have been a great presenter, but watch his TEDx talk from portland, and you'd barely have any interest in the book, which is surprising because it's a great read. But…
on “TEDx talks discredited: Sheldrake speaks, argues that speed of light is dropping” ↗I would recommend reading _Born to Run_ by Christopher McDougall. Later in the book he addresses this very topic and expands much more upon the topic of humans and long-distance running. Humans sweat, which most (all?) other animals don't.…
on “Go master Lee Se-dol says he quits, unable to win over AI Go players” ↗