At the heart of Born to Run" lies a mysterious tribe of Mexican Indians the Tarahumara who live quietly in canyons & are reputed to be the best distance runners in the world; in 1993 one of them aged 57 came first in a prestigious 100-mile race wearing a toga & sandals. A small group of the world's top ultra-runners (and the awe-inspiring author) make the treacherous journey into the canyons to try to learn the tribe's secrets & then take them on over a course 50 miles long. With incredible energy & smart observation Mc Dougall tells this story while asking what the secrets are to being an incredible runner. Travelling to labs at Harvard Nike & elsewhere he comes across an incredible cast of characters including the woman who recently broke the world record for 100 miles & for her encore ran a 2:50 marathon in a bikini pausing to down a beer at the 20 mile mark."