In this episode, I am joined by my good friend Christopher McDougall, an author and journalist that is best known for his 2009 book, Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super-athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen.

In one way or another, movement is something we all do every day. That being said, all of us move differently and crave different things from our movement practice. The “fitness” industry has perpetuated a narrative that movement must be depleting or pushing our limits every day. But what if movement was simply about being present in your body and enjoying the process? 

Whether you are a runner, a happy generalist, a strength trainer or something in between, you’ll resonate with all the good insight that Chris McDougall has to share. 

His book, Born to Run, spent four years on the New York Times bestseller list, even earning the selection on Amazon’s 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime. Chris is known for sparking the Barefoot Runners Movement and remains an influential voice in the adventure sports industry. 

Alongside Born to Run, Chris has authored Born to Run 2, Natural Born Heroes, and Running with Sherman. At the core of all his books is a heartfelt authenticity that’s honest and relatable, a quality that’s hard to find in the works of many movement writers. 

In this podcast, we discuss our mutual journey as friends through the years, the importance of enjoyable movement, and the story behind Chris’s novels. We also dive into other topics like being 360 degrees strong, running, warm-ups, Movement Snacks, and much more. There’s a lot to unpack in this episode, so I encourage you to tune in and enjoy! 

Key talking points of this episode: 
[2:00 ] Introduction to Chris McDougall 
[3:28 ] Chris’s Book Born to Run 
[9:24 ] Resiliency, Adaptation, and The 5 am Club 
[13:45 ] How Born to Run Gained Traction
[18:46 ] The Common Thread in Chris’s Books 
[29:96 ] If you weren’t running, could you have written about running? 
[33:14 ] The Barefoot Movement 
[35:07 ] Movers vs. Runners 
[42:27 ] “If it feels good, you’re doing it wrong” 
[51:13 ] Everyone Craves Different Things From Movement 
[54:20 ] Enjoying the Experience vs. Suffering Through It 
[56:36 ] It Feels Good to Feel Good 
[1:00:06 ] Introduction to Born to Run 2 
[1:07:53 ] 360 Degrees Strong and Being a Happy Generalist 
[1:10:40 ] Movement Snacks and Warm-Ups For Runners 
[1:11:27 ] Movement Snacks as a Feedback Tool 
[1:16:30 ] Is What You're Doing Getting You Closer to Your Goals? 
[1:27:44 ] What Chris is Doing For Fun
[1:34:25 ] Closing Thoughts