McDougall. This all sound okay, yeah? It's not echoing kind of weird?
Actually McDougall, the writer of the book Born to Run, said it eloquently at the Google talk he did recently which was we're kind of a culture now where we've thrown somebody
And McDougall was recording this entire trip.
Chris McDougall: Hi. Thanks a lot for having me in today.
Chris McDougall: Yeah. Chris McDougall: He's telling me how handsome I am.
Chris McDougall: I'm doing fine without you.
Chris McDougall: You're talking about my good looks and _______ Q I was saying I got a chance to read the book and found it wonderful as a historian,
Chris McDougall: Yeah, that's a great question. And it's exactly the question that Caballo wrestled with for a long time before he decided to launch this race.
Chris McDougall: Oh. The way they run?
Chris McDougall: Yeah. There's a couple good ones.
Chris McDougall: Thanks. Q It was very inspiring as a runner. In the book, you speak a lot about the Running Man Theory, about why we run -- or why we originally ran.
Chris McDougall: Yeah. I was debating whether to get into that in this talk too, but it can sort of octopus out in so many directions. But it's essentially this.
Chris McDougall: Yeah. What's kind of cool about this Running Man Theory is that -- it was both cool and vexing at the same time -- when these anthropologists at Utah and
Chris McDougall: Yeah, I mean you can buy these things too.
Chris McDougall: And these are too painful for you?
Chris McDougall: Yeah. I mean, I do. Where I live out in the _____ of Pennsylvania, it's all paved, asphalt farm roads. What I do sometimes, if I'm heading off somewhere
Chris McDougall: Oh yeah. So you have been training with Lee Saxby?
Chris McDougall: Oh, good. He's fabulous.
Chris McDougall: Mind if I interrupt you and tell this story?
Chris McDougall: Hang on. The one time I've gotten injured in the past couple of years was the time I went back to wearing shoes. I thought, "Okay, now I run like Caballo,
Chris McDougall: Yeah, it's a great question. I mean, I think I'm not actually a big fan of big, urban marathons, for that reason. Because it really creates like, this 'moral
Chris McDougall: Absolutely, buy this book, number one.
Chris McDougall: Yeah, it's true. There's a significant amount of work to be done, but it's unbelievable how quickly you can do it.
Chris McDougall: Yeah, I was going to tell you.
Chris McDougall: Those guys actually have the best "before and after" videos I've ever seen online for running. You watch the 'before' and then 'after' and
Chris McDougall: You got one person there?
Chris McDougall: Yeah, thank you.
Chris McDougall: Oh thanks.
Chris McDougall: Great, great.
Chris McDougall: Well, let me ask you, "What would you do if you're facing this kind of crisis or this scandal as an advertiser/marketing person? What would you do?"
Chris McDougall: Yeah. Q I'd be hurting right now. I don't know. I'd probably -- I might approach you.
Chris McDougall: Yeah, you'd design something else and try and capitalize on it, right?
Chris McDougall: Yeah, thanks a lot.
So what I think McDougall says in the book and I agree with and what I think the science backs up and I agree with, is that this capacity to run is a fundamental human capacity, and
TED McDONALD: Actually McDougall mentions that in the book, too.
Q Chris McDougall: Sure. Thank you.
Q Chris McDougall: Sure. Thanks.
Q Chris McDougall: No. I mean, there's still shoes.
So thank you once again to Allison McDougall Wheel from the Roots user experience team who's
Please join me in welcoming Chris McDougall.
I'd like to welcome Chris McDougall to Google today.
maybe go to marathons without training Chris McDougall: Yeah. I mean, I like the way -- I like the whole culture of ultra running.
I'm pleased to introduce Christopher McDougall, the author of "Born To Run.” His writing apparently has inspired a handful of Googlers to compete in relay races as long
episode that's just about barking and we shot on McDougall in third which was really crazy. It's the same corner that
And I was going to be going down there with Christopher McDougall, who happens to the writer of that book, and if you've read the book 'Born to Run', what I'm going to be telling
Q Thank you. Chris McDougall: Sure thing.
Q Yeah. Chris McDougall: Yeah. And I'll tell you, if you had a five-year-old here, he could show you a lot better than I can. It's bizarre how complicated we make the simple
Q Yes. Chris McDougall: Take them off. Honestly, take them off.
Q Any mantra? Chris McDougall: You know, pretty much not. Those things, "When in doubt, relax." "Easy, light, smooth and fast." But, I just find running -- yeah, I just do
Q Thanks. Chris McDougall: Sure thing.