Christopher McDougall talks about running, four years after Born to Run.

Christopher McDougall: ‘Every step I run, I’m focusing on form’

Interviewed by Adharanand Finn of The Guardian.

Hi Chris. Hi. Good morning. Man, it’s too bad you couldn’t be over here this past weekend to join us for a really spectacular trail run with some Amish friends.

Sounds great. Do you run with the Amish a lot? Increasingly, yeah. There’s a group out here that has just started becoming really passionate about running. Passionate in a way I think most of us forget about. They’re not only running marathons, but they’re trying to improve their one mile time. I just saw these dudes recently, and this guy’s in his 30s, and he says, “Yeah, I just did a 4.50 mile.”

Do they wear old fashioned running kit? If they’re out in the world, they’ll wear shorts and T-shirt, but if they’re at home for local runs they’ll wear their long pants and long shirts.

And what about footwear? You know, pretty conventional, normal running shoes. It’s funny because the Amish tend to go barefoot all the time, so that whole question about running shoes is probably among the most intense conversations I’ve had with them about running. Read More »