Born to Run

Human beings owe much of their survival to the development of an upright posture. It is now well known that this unique ability to move was fundamental for our ancestors as they spread across the globe's savannahs. But how exactly did this happen? Why? And how much did it influence our ability to run and walk?

Every answer to life's great dilemmas begins with a story. This is true in one’s private life as well. A sudden flash of insight always follows a chain of events to which one has managed to assign a meaning. The same happened to the American sports journalist, who in 2003 was intent on finding a remedy for a foot pain that no longer allowed him to run.

He was leafing through a travel magazine when he came across an article about the Tarahumara, a little-known people hidden in the depths of the Mexican desert, who made running the backbone of their culture. As luck would have it, Christopher was headed to Mexico for work and decided to take the opportunity to uncover a few tricks to run better and, perhaps, find inspiration for a good story. He didn't yet know that this would be the strangest period of his life.