Born to Run

We may be technologically advanced, but are we really “advanced”? The Tarahumara are a group of Native American people who are well known for running long-distances in sandals or barefoot and their amazing endurance. They tend to practice a traditional lifestyle, living in natural shelters. The problem with Americans, as explained by McDougall in Born to Run, “Everyone thinks they know how to run, but it’s really as nuanced as any other activity” (McDougall 202). Most people believe they just run the way they run which is absolutely ridiculous! That’s a big problem with American’s; we believe that whatever we do is right. We would rather just execute whatever comes to us and believe that it’s the right way to do it, then practice and actually learn the correct way. Running over 20 miles a day seems like nothing to the Tarahumara people, but to American’s it seems nearly impossible. The Tarahumara hunted deer by chasing them, while we would just whip out a bow and arrow because it was “easier”. We seem to always be taking the easy route.
The practice lifestyle of the Tarahumara compared to ours is astonishingly different. They run similarly to how a child would and don’t wear any fancy shoes that almost every American owns a pair off. While their method of training can be argued to not necessarily be the “right” way, they are doing something right. They suffer way less injuries than us and they also can run longer distances. Not only is the posture different but their diet is also. They eat a high protein diet and cut out processed foods that American’s all seem to love so much. Even though their society and technology is hundreds of years behind us, they are still placed among and can probably outrun elite runners. I also think that the Tarahumara put more heart into running. They do it because they love to do it.

We think that our society is so advanced because of all of the new technology. People believe that because of all this advanced medical