Happy Born to Run release day!

May 5th is an important day in the barefoot running world. And, for the same reason, it’s one of the most important days in the Xero Shoes world.

What makes it so important?

As Brian Metzler from Competitor.com reminded me, “Journalist Christopher McDougall’s best-selling book “Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen” hit bookstore shelves five years ago Monday—on May 5, 2009.”

Brian describes 11 ways that Born To Run influenced the running world, from simply being a really great read, to inspiring the growth of ultrarunning, to creating a number of great races, to inspiring people to run barefoot, to encouraging shoe companies to make minimalist footwear (of course, if you’ve read anything I’ve written, you know I think most “minimalist shoes” are as close to barefoot as a pair of stilts).

The 12th way that Chris’s book influenced the world is that it was one of the inspirations for Xero Shoes.

If you’ve read Lena’s and my story, you’ll know how BTR inspired us. But, more, the success of the book created a wave that we surfed. Were it not for the millions of people who read BTR, Xero Shoes would have remained a goofy little hobby.

Now, on days when we work 12+ hours, I sometimes long for those hobby times 😉 … but given the thousands of people we’ve been able to help — people who can now run or walk or hike enjoyably and pain-free — and the fun we have when a new person discovers the fun of being able to feel the world when they’re out and about, we couldn’t be more thankful for this anniversary.

Congrats again to Chris for his success. Thanks again to him for all he’s done for ALL of us. And stay tuned and cross your fingers for the Born To Run movie!