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Since 2009: the book’s long run

Key dates and numbers in the story around Born to Run, each one linked to its source below.

3M+copies of Born to Run sold1
+345%growth in ultramarathon participations in the 10 years to 20182
1,200+runners from 20+ countries now come to Caballo’s race, per True Messages3
23rdedition of the Copper Canyon race, first run in 2003, held in 202645
Ultramarathon participations worldwide34,401 in 1996; 137,234 ten years before 2018; 611,098 in 2018. Source: RunRepeat.34,4011996137,23410 YEARS BEFORE 2018611,0982018
Ultramarathon participations

Ultrarunning has grown since the book came out

RunRepeat’s study of 5,010,730 ultramarathon results from 1996 to 2018 found yearly participations rose from 34,401 to 611,098. That includes 345% growth over the last 10 years of the study, from 137,234.2

This is correlation, not cause: the book is one of many things that grew the sport in these years.

Timeline
  1. 2003Micah True holds the first Copper Canyon ultramarathon, on March 23.5
  2. 2004Bramble and Lieberman publish “Endurance running and the evolution of Homo” in Nature.6
  3. 2006The race in the book. Arnulfo Quimare narrowly beats Scott Jurek.7 LUNA Sandals begins with a pair made by Manuel Luna.8
  4. 2009Born to Run is published. It goes on to sell over three million copies.1
  5. Jan 2010Lieberman’s team publishes its study of barefoot and shod foot strikes in Nature.9
  6. 2011The Born to Run Ultra Marathons begin in Los Olivos, California.10
  7. Mar 2012Micah True dies on a run in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness.5
  8. 2014–15Vibram agrees to a $3.75 million class-action settlement over FiveFingers health claims, approved January 21, 2015.1112
  9. 2015The documentary Run Free.13 Jurek sets the Appalachian Trail record.7
  10. Dec 2022Born to Run 2 by McDougall and Eric Orton.14
  11. Mar 2026The 23rd Ultra Maratón Caballo Blanco.4
  12. Apr 2026The 20-year reunion on the Road Dog Podcast.15

Sources

  1. Wikipedia — Born to Run (McDougall book) — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_to_Run_(McDougall_book)
  2. RunRepeat, “The State of Ultra Running 2020” (data 1996–2018) — runrepeat.com/state-of-ultra-running
  3. True Messages — Ultra Caballo Blanco — www.truemessages.org/ultra-caballo
  4. Ultra Maratón Caballo Blanco — official site — caballoblancoultra.com/en/home/
  5. Wikipedia — Micah True — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micah_True
  6. Bramble & Lieberman, “Endurance running and the evolution of Homo,” Nature 432, 345–352 (2004) — doi.org/10.1038/nature03052
  7. Wikipedia — Scott Jurek — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Jurek
  8. LUNA Sandals — Our Story — lunasandals.com/pages/our-story
  9. Lieberman et al., “Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners,” Nature 463, 531–535 (Jan 28, 2010) — doi.org/10.1038/nature08723
  10. allwedoisrun.com — Luis Escobar / Born to Run Ultra Marathons — allwedoisrun.com/
  11. BBC News, “Vibram in $3.75m settlement over false health claims” (May 2014) — www.bbc.com/news/business-27335251
  12. Bezdek v. Vibram USA, final order approving settlement, D. Mass., filed Jan 21, 2015 (PDF) — truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Bezdek-v-Vibram-final-order-approving-settlement.pdf
  13. Run Free: The True Story of Caballo Blanco — official film site — www.runfreemovie.com/
  14. Penguin Random House — Born to Run 2 by Christopher McDougall and Eric Orton — www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/717120/born-to-run-2-by-christopher-mcdougall-and-eric-orton/
  15. Road Dog Podcast, ep. 396 “Born to Run 20 Year Reunion,” Apr 6, 2026 (official episode page) — roaddog.libsyn.com/396-born-to-run-20-year-reunion

We only show figures published by the sources listed. We have not estimated or combined anything.