UTICA, N.Y. -- With Utica's world famous Boilermaker Road Race quickly approaching, local runners got a boost of inspiration at Mohawk Valley Community College Saturday night.

Chris McDougall, author of the New York Times Bestseller, "Born to Run", made a tour stop at the MVCC performing arts theater. His book began as an article assignment on ultra-marathoners, but turned into a study on the history and evolution of running and why some people are able to run long distances while others struggle.

His quest took him from Harvard science labs to isolated canyons in Mexico and turned him into a big proponent of the barefoot running revolution. It also changed him into an ultra-marathoner himself, which is something he did not expect.

"I wasn't a runner at all. I went down to Mexico only to report a story about these strange Indians who could run 150 miles at a time. I never imagined I would end up being one of those guys. I was a broken-down ex-runner, I was always getting injured. And so it came as a shock to me to realize that just by changing the way you run, you can revolutionize your own approach to the sport," said McDougall.

According to McDougall, he's been hearing about the boilermaker for 20 years and hopes to experience it first-hand this year. The 35th running of Boilermaker is Sunday, July 8.