Amazon.com: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (9780307266309): Christopher McDougall: Books

Amazon.com: Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen (9780307266309): Christopher McDougall: Books: "Q: In this difficult financial time, we’re experiencing yet another surge in the popularity of running. Can you explain this?

CM: When things look worst, we run the most. Three times, America has seen distance-running skyrocket and it’s always in the midst of a national crisis. The first boom came during the Great Depression; the next was in the ‘70s, when we were struggling to recover from a recession, race riots, assassinations, a criminal President and an awful war. And the third boom? One year after the Sept. 11 attacks, trailrunning suddenly became the fastest-growing outdoor sport in the country. I think there’s a trigger in the human psyche that activates our first and greatest survival skill whenever we see the shadow of approaching raptors."