Born to Run 2: The Ultimate Training Guide

I wanted to get into barefoot running having read Born to Run, and was delighted when I discovered a training manual was being released. This is a great book - but it is written for those who ultimately intend to run 5 or 6 days out of the week. I weight train 3 days a week and wanted something to mix in with that so that I could enjoy running again and spend more time in nature rather than always indoors. This book doesn’t allow for a part-time or mix-in schedule unfortunately, but I think I can modify it to suit me. It is written with the already-dedicated-to-running type in mind, and less suited to beginners, in my opinion.Beautiful pictures btw!

In Born to Run 2, Christopher McDougall describes the Born to Run Ultramarathon Extravaganza that Luis Escobar has set up, in the spirit of Caballo Blanco’s Copper Canyon Ultramarathon and the Raràmuri’s ball race. It’s a mix of partying, dancing, storytelling and running. The Extravaganza is all about creating a community united in the joy of running.And BTR2 achieves just that. It’s a celebration of running with all the extravaganza that Caballo Blanco would have loved.It’s got the partying (I started with that chapter when I first opened the book, and what a delight to learn that there were clubs out there whose practice sessions are all about running to a local pub).It’s got the storytelling: it’s got lots of anecdotes about Born To Run 2’s amazing athletes, and oh, joy, the first thing that’s said about them is that they too do things wrong!! So often while reading I felt as if all Chris’s anecdotes could have been told around a campfire, with listeners just enjoying his gift of the gab!It’s also got the dancing: “quick feet with partner”, and “deep squats solo or with partner”. That’s dancing, isn’t it?! It’s also got so many pictures that you can start at any page and get completely absorbed, as you would with good music at a party. The book also smells lovely (must be the ink for all the pictures!)BTR2 is spot on balance, right in the middle between Born to Run and the Cool Impossible. It’s a sequel to BTR, peppered with lots of anecdotes about what’s happened to the original BTR Copper Canyon cast in the 12-odd years since the book came out. And I, for one, was very happy to hear what had become of them.And it’s a prequel to the Cool Impossible for, in particular, garden-variety runners like me, who have no Cool Impossible ambition (yet?) and who still need basic guidance about shoes, food, how to solve aches and pains, music or no music, and really easy simple exercises to build up good running form. In particular, I must admit that although in the Cool Impossible, Coach Eric repeats that athleticism is awareness, I’d always felt guilty that I was not a real athlete because I find running on my own just simply boring. What a relief to read that it’s running as part of a group that has allowed us to evolve as a species and that we are made to run as part of a group!What I also loved in the book is that it’s not just 2 pros giving their advice on how to run better. They have made plenty room for other athletes. See Angel and Tavasolian’s Movement Snacks. See all the recipes that so many athletes have provided. See all the pictures provided by the runners themselves. BTR2 is in itself a community, but it’s an open-arms community.It does so much more than give you advice about how to be a better runner. It makes you feel you are part of a community, and with this, Coach Eric is so much closer to his own Cool Impossible of having 1 runner in every household around the world.So it’s a warm-hearted book, and for that reason it’s the perfect gift for Xmas, that time of year when we all yearn for that sense of belonging.It’s a run-to book, and now that I’ve written this, I’ve no excuse: it’s high time I got going again!

Every runner (beginner or expert) needs this book! Trust me.

Recommended reads.Born to runBorn to run 2Cool ImpossibleNatural born HeroesThese books will change your life along with the way you think about running, health, fitness, and living a long injury free life. Thank you Eric and Chris for devoting your time and effort to provide these valuable life changing books.

Born to Run is a brilliant book. I would put it up there with the likes of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - a sort of quest, binding together a mixture of facts, references, theories and lots of interesting people. Well written, it certainly motivated me to improve my running. This book is a completely different beast, I thought it might add detail on running techniques, but really it is simply a collection of diets, recipes, exercises, and random tips, very loosely bound together by references to the original story line. I may be wrong but It doesn’t feel like the original author was really much involved with this other than appearing in some of the photos. The section on injuries seemed the most useful section but really this isn’t much different from the all the other diet/exercise guides you see in book shops.

I bought this as a present for someone who likes running, they have very much enjoyed the book and I would recommend it.

I'll preface this with it might be an unfair review, as I downloaded the audio book and only got a few chapters in before returning it.When I saw that Born to Run 2 was about to be released I was excited. I enjoyed the "story" of the original, despite the craze for barefoot running dieing a death, it was a good read none the less. However, when it starts describing stretching routines with a partner I returned the book, as it wasn't what I was hoping for. There may be a story in there somewhere, but this, as the title says "the ultimate training guide" I guess is what this is, and for me, wasn't suitable as an audio book.

The title is misleading. IT IS NOT the second part of the original Born to Run book. It's more like an inflated running magazine. It has everything and nothing: exercises, stories, recipes, etc. All the things you would find in a normal magazine.I read the whole thing, and yes there are some useful exercises, but apart from that not much more good stuff. If you know about barefoot running or read the original Born to Run you may not find it that interesting.Often while reading I was wondering why this or that story was even mentioned in the book.The layout is not that great. It is quite confising what and where is. Photos seem to be all over the place, often not maching the text on the same page.I would suggest to find the book in your local bookstore and take a look inside before buying. Read few pages and decide if it is for you.