McDougall, Christopher

"When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body, but to heal his mind as well. It turns out, the best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run. He'd heard about burro racing--a unique type of race out west where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to mining days--and decided he and Sherman would enter the World Championship in Colorado. . . In the course of Sherman's training, Chris would have to recruit several other runners, both human and equine, and call upon the wisdom of burro racers, goat farmers, Amish running club members, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers"--Provided by publisher.

"When Chris McDougall agreed to take in a donkey from an animal hoarder, he thought it would be no harder than the rest of the adjustments he and his family had made after moving from Philadelphia to the heart of Pennsylvania Amish country. But when he arrived Sherman was in such bad shape he could barely move and his hair was coming out in clumps. Chris decided to undertake a radical rehabilitation program designed not only to heal Sherman's body, but to heal his mind as well. It turns out, the best way to soothe a donkey is to give it a job and so Chris decided to teach Sherman how to run. He'd heard about burro racing--a unique type of race out west where humans and donkeys run together in a call-back to mining days--and decided he and Sherman would enter the World Championship in Colorado. . . In the course of Sherman's training, Chris would have to recruit several other runners, both human and equine, and call upon the wisdom of burro racers, goat farmers, Amish running club members, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers"--Provided by publisher.

Collects twenty-five selected examples of sports writing, including work by Amanda Ripley, Patrick Hruby, Alice Gregory, and others.

Investigates how a small band of Resistance fighters on the island of Crete in World War 2 were able to abduct a German general while surrounded by German troops; discovers that techniques for extraordinary endurance, natural movement, and nutrition allowed the ancient Greek soldiers and Cretan shepherds to cross mountains on all-night missions; and provides inspiration for readers to leave the gym and take fitness routines to nature to climb, swim, skip, throw, and jump to heroic feats.

Recounts the author's experiences with the reclusive Tarahumara Indians, whose techniques allow them to run long distances with ease, and describes his training for a fifty-mile race with the tribe and a number of ultramarathoners.

The author describes his work with Caballo Blanco, an outsider who befriended the Tarahumara Indians, in which the two men organized a running event between the tribesmen, who are considered to have superhuman running abilities, and Americans, including a ultramarathoner, a surfer, and others; and includes facts about techniques and the history of running.