Runnng with Sherman

Review of Running with Sherman by Christopher McDougall - 5 stars - Lee Bradley - 9/27/22 This book was so interesting to me I've ordered eight copies to give to friends. A friend of mine gave her copy to me. She was telling me about it and the story sounded similar to another book I've read and it was quickly explained by the fact that Born to Run was Christopher McDougall's first book. You don't have to be a runner to like this book. But a runner will definitely like it. It's about a guy who gets the crazy idea of running a race in the Rocky Mountains tethered to a donkey (Sherman). This is a thing, I learned -- donkey / man (or woman it turns out) races. Annual events, attended by hundreds, distances of 15 to 29 miles. Difficult. Elevations where the air is thin. Streams that need to be crossed. Sherman is a rescue, and when found is in very bad shape. Filthy, his hooves all curled up. He is tended to and much later is able to walk, then run. There are about 5 main characters (and 3 donkeys) in the book and many more along the way. Tanya is one of them and she is responsible early on for helping Chris and Sherman. This autobiographical story is not just about training to run a crazy ultra with a donkey. It's also about the healing effect animals can have on compromised young boys and young adults. There are digressions throughout the chapters, scientific references telling us how autistic boys are often aided by their association with animals. (I ran a race in Connecticut a while back and still have the hat I bought with its Little Britches Therapeutic Riding logo.) Zeke is a college student who is helped when he hooks up with the author after an unsuccessful suicide. A brilliant, athletic, good looking guy, something went terribly wrong. He asks his mother if he can give Chris a call. Slowly but surely he and Sherman bond and somewhat reluctantly Chris takes him on as one of the three burrow / human team. Mikla (Chris's wife) and Chris are the other two. About 2/3 of the way in the book, Zeke gets his leg broken and the impossible challenge begins to look even less likely to succeed. Tanya herself (who helped everybody in many ways) is blindsided when her husband leaves her. She was to be the person who would transport the animals from Pennsylvania to Colorado. She needs to take care of the farm, now, alone. Who's going to pull the trailer? As odds against the adventure slip away, two not young at all ladies surface and take the job! McDougall writes extremely well. The book is even at times laugh out loud funny! You will love this book. Trust me.