Two consecutive books on running and runners life ! I am all geared up to get back to my running with more finer techniques and posture correction.

“Born to run” by Christopher Mcconagull, an eye opener to know about the not very popular mexican Indian tribe called tarahumara/ Raramuri , leading a simple running life somewhere in the barrancas/copper canyon in Mexico !

The book starts with a brief about Tarahumara and authors search for ” why does his feet hurt?” , the journey goes through various toughest ultra runners life and race ! The most impressive part of the book is enumeration of Tarahumara/raramuri lifestyle , their character , their love for running. Though the book is very lengthy with too many descriptions of real life heroes it is an inspiration for people who want to run.

I got really Impressed by the Tarahumara, and caballo blanco ( white horse) – who is the only American who has been taken up by the Tarahumara as part of their tribe ! He was instrumental behind the homeland 50mile ultra marathon in barrancas with participation from local tribes as well as Americans. Caballo was very particular in choosing the runners , he didn’t want loud and boast runners, no brand ambassadors nor any attraction from the media , picked the real passionate runners, and took all pains to bring them to the toughest places of all , planning meticulously every arrangements on his own. His own passion for running and his love for raramuri are the reason for his success of establishing the homeland running for the these tribes.

And the book royally chides about fancy running shoes and explains how human body and feet is designed to run especially barefoot! He beautifully protrays the persistent hunting by cavemen for their living. Its a very good read for people who wants to know about running and also know about the people who live for running and embrace nature!

It also proves the theory of our diet is all not that right! These tribes party every three days once as if there is no tomorrow with home made corn beer and then kick their ultra running next day and sway in the air for an easy 100 miles! Tarahumara s staple food includes corn, corn, corn!! In different forms and shapes! My friends know why I am emphasising on corn more here! Corn🌽

Research proves that these tribes have no history of major diseases. But the author throws light on how some of the tribes try to change their food habits with many visitors influence and sadly some sect of them lost their running skills with fancy shoes and diet, so called ‘ urbanisation effect’ !

The next book is by Lisa Tamati – running to extremes,an ultra marathoner’s toughest experience during her run! This Kiwi racer is known for her hot desert endurance running. She narrates how she ran 2500kms from north to south in new Zealand for fund raising in just 43 days !

This is what is amazing about running, physically strained to the core, some people may even call it crazy, but extreme focus on finishing the goal , the will power and mental strength to achieve that one single goal. And another great part of this sport is there is no segregation as man vs woman, young vs old , strong vs weak !

Infact great runners like Scott Jurek, caballo blanco and few more started running to evade the major trauma that happened in their life !!!!It is true – running is like escaping from the fast moving world and setting your own pace and living in your own world. <<<<<<<<<<<<<

Its not easy, it needs lots and lots of mental strength than just physical fitness. Infact she talks about some toughest ultra marathons like badwater ultrA, Gobi desert run, Sahara run, getting high on Himalayas and the list goes..

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With these books, I started running again learning the science behind and with much more zeal and fun. The first thing which I did is ditched my dual fusion and switched to regular flat nike shoes though I am still not ready for barefoot running considering the hygiene and road conditions in India. Running is something which liberates me and makes me proud of myself!!

I don’t know if I can visit the Barrancas to know more about Tarahumara, but I can definitely say after reading the book and watching them run in video s, this simple running tribes have made a huge impact in my running ethics !

With Tarahumara’s lifestyle and diet tips, I aspire to finish at least one half marathon by the end of this year !! Yes I will….