Christopher McDougall

Author and Innovator of the Barefoot-Running Movement 

When Christopher McDougall first ventured down into Mexico's Copper Canyons, he was a broken-down, ex-athlete who'd been told by top sports scientists that his body was too brittle for even a basic sport like running. But after encountering the Tarahumara Indians, he learned how to access such unexpected natural ability that within nine months, he was able to join the Tarahumara for a 50-mile race through the canyons.

That experience also sparked his research into the science, folklore, and breaking research surrounding human capability, and taught him that many of the limitations we put on human capability are false. McDougall's book about his research and adventures - "Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and The Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen" - has been on the New York Times bestseller list for two years.

McDougall is credited with sparking the biggest innovation in modern sportswear: the barefoot-running movement, which in less than two years since the publication of his book has created a nearly $2 billion market for barefoot-style shoes.

His most recent article for the New York Times Magazine spent more than a week as the most widely-read article in the paper. McDougall began his career as a foreign correspondent for the Associated Press, covering wars in Rwanda and Angola. He's a three-time National Magazine Award finalist, and is currently at work on a new book that expands on the concept of human potential. "Born to Run" is being developed into a feature film.