Born to Run

I had been training for the Lucky 7 K in Saint Paul, MN that was supposed to occur this weekend. Upon receiving the email that the race was cancelled due to the Corona virus outbreak, I could not stop the tears from flowing from my face.  Cognitively, I understand the public health concern but training for this race was a milestone for me. After a very severe car accident that left me in a wheelchair the summer after I graduated from college that if I lived to see my 24^th birthday that I probably would not walk again…and one of the things that kept me motivated every day was being able to tell myself that I turned 40 years old this year and I was able to run in a race despite what doctors had told me.  


Last year I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes quite unexpectedly. While the diagnosis is quite manageable, the drive to stay healthy effected every aspect of my life imaginable. While being alone and feeling the flow of my limbs against the morning air as the sun against the Mississippi river brings looks nature’s diamonds is a sensation that I have fallen in love with, the drive to stay healthy is a mundane, solitary task at times.


Reading can be a quieting way of connecting to someone else.  I sought out the book Born to Run because I understand that reading other people’s accounts of running is a way to find a sense of community on the page. Christopher McDougall wrote the book in efforts to understand the Tarahumara tribe, a culture in Mexico, that is able to run great distances without shoes.  The writing style was surprisingly exquisite as McDougall captured the poetry of the way bodies move as he communicated the experiences that this tribe had.  


I got criticisms for reading this book at times--being warned that many people suffered from injuries after trying to run without shoes after reading this book. I was also met with cynicism that the study of just one tribe who does this does not constitute as solid science. While I took both of these criticisms seriously, I still could not help but feel very inspired by this book. I read an account of 95 year old man who ran a great distance over a mountain with the reflection “Know why he could do it? Because no one told him he couldn’t.” I also read the story of a woman who beat men in a race while still stopping at every station to nurse her baby. Stories like this served as great inspiration for me to keep moving my body no matter what.


I will not gloss over the fact that main point of the book is a critical reflection of the way shoes are utilized. The critical reflection on how shoes and the lack of proper running techniques can cause injuries spurred a lot of discussion with the work friend that I read the book along with.  Thinking about how shoes can cause injuries and stressing the importance of techniques was actually helpful for me to consider. In our market driven culture, it was helpful to hear that a lot of the extra bells and whistles is actually not good for our feet and that if you must wear shoes its best if they are more basic shoes. As a woman who lives in the city there is a lot of pressure to look as fashionable as possible even when I am running. While the reminder that what I buy or how I look is not what makes me a runner sounds like a pretty basic one, I liked the inspiration that it provided me to just focus on my body, enjoying the process and focusing on technique. I am constantly bombarded by messages that what I buy is important.

And yes, I read this book with someone that I trust…which added another layer to appreciating the book as we were able to reflect on some of our personal experiences with running as we were reading the book together. I mentioned that the journey to try to be healthier can be a solitary journey and it felt like sharing this book together served as a bridge to be able to discuss our experiences with running together.

As the book concluded by saying that one of the best things about running is that it is FREE,  I wiped my tears away. even though the race would not continue that I could still go for a run. I do not need a race to keep running! There may have still been tears on my face as I started running towards the river, however I realized that nothing could prevent me from moving my body.