It's not that you aren't warned by the title of this book: three superlatives in one sentence should tip you off that there is a lot of hyperbole in this book.

"Born to Run" is an entertaining read, as long as you don't mind that a lot of the facts and characters are exaggerated. It's kind of funny to read that American River 50m is a "hot, hilly, and hazardous cross-country ramble" when in fact the race is one of the easiest 50m races in the country: most of the course is flat and run on a bike path! Also, the Leadville 100m raceis hardly the beast it sounds like: it's not even in the top ten hardest 100m races.

What bothers me more than these embellishments is the depiction of ultrarunners as a bunch of fringe folks or freaks. I'm an ultrarunner myself and have run numerous 50m and 100m races. The overwhelming majority of ultrarunners are perfectly well adjusted people who lead normal lives, and this book does a real disservice to them. Depicting ultrarunners and their accomplishments in a breathless and exaggerated tone also undermines the central argument of the book, i.e., that running long distances is something normal that humans are well adapted to do.

This brings me back to the main message of the book, which makes the book worth reading. The sections on the evolution of humans and the science of running are quite interesting and compelling. Focus on those and read the rest with a grain of salt!

One more thing. If you go to Luis Escobar's site [...] and scroll half way down you can see what looks to be the non-photoshopped version of the cover image, along with photos of the Copper Canyon race described in the book (apparently it was 47m and not 50m like the book says. Details, details ...).

It is important to receive email from seller to confirm the transaction, which he/she did. Prompt delivery. Book arrived in good condition as stated.