Quotes from Christopher McDougall

Strictly by accident, Scott stumbled upon the most advanced weapon in the ultrarunner's arsenal: instead of cringing from fatigue, you embrace it. You refuse to let it go. You get to know it so well, you're not afraid of it anymore.

Think of these runs as dance rehearsals rather than exercise: your goal is to master moves and rhythm, not just bash out distance.

I've butchered my own chickens, milked my own goats, and ridden in Amish buggies, and believe me, when it comes to meals and daily commutes, you need only one go-round with those experiences to appreciate how nice it is to have machines take all the gore, udders, and manure off your hands.

When you live in a place like this—small, by itself—you're brought up to give help, not wait for it,

You've got this fancy machine, and it's controlled by a pilot who's thinking, 'Okay, how can I run this baby without using any fuel?' You and I know how good running feels because we've made a habit of it." But lose the habit, and the loudest voice in your ear is your ancient survival instinct urging you to relax.

One pacer got a little freaked out after she saw her runner stare into space for a while and then tell the empty air, "I know you're not real.

championships, and went on to break the U.S. record in distances from three miles to the marathon. At the 2004 Athens Games, Deena outlasted the world-record holder, Paula Radcliffe, to win the bronze, the first Olympic medal

To look at this country is grand; to travel in it, is Hell,

Know why he could do it? Because no one ever told him he couldn't. No one ever told him he oughta be off dying somewhere in an old age home. You live up to your own expectations, man.

crap out of him," said Dusty Olson, Proctor's star jock when he and Scott were teenagers. During cross-country runs, Dusty and his buddies would pelt Scott with mud and take off. "He could never catch up," Dusty said. "No one could understand why he was so slow, because

we got better at running because our heads were expanding, thereby providing more ballast.

An outlaw outlook calls on every citizen to create, not conform; to decide what is right and wrong and act on it, not just baa along with the rest of the herd.

You are fit if you can adapt to the demands of your environment with ease and imagination," Myers

That was the real secret of the Tarahumara: they'd never forgotten what it felt like to love running. They

it's easy to get outside yourself when you're thinking about someone else.*

All you have to do is keep the animal in sight, and within ten minutes, you're reeling him in.

if you can run six miles on a summer day then you, my friend, are a lethal weapon in the animal kingdom. We can dump heat on the run, but animals can't pant while they gallop.

To live with ghosts requires solitude.

Urique. As a mining village whose best days

He seemed to be a pure racing animal, which explained two of his other peculiar habits: at the start of every race, he'd let out a bloodcurdling shriek, and after he won, he'd roll in the

Korima sounds like karma and functions the same way, except in the here and now. It's your obligation to share whatever you can spare, instantly and with no expectations: once the gift leaves your hand, it was never yours to begin with. The Tarahumara have no monetary system, so korima is how they do business: their economy is based on trading favors and the occasional cauldron of corn beer.

A team of Harvard scientists had once verified exactly that point by sticking a rectal thermometer in a cheetah and getting it to run on a treadmill. Once its temperature hit 105 degrees, the cheetah shut down and refused to run.

Rule #1 of Step #1," he replied. "No lobbying.

Watching Ann bolt at the start of a race was like watching a mild-mannered reporter yank off his glasses and sling on a crimson cape.