Running with Sherman

McDougall, while bonding with Kip, the owner of the Earthship, draws a distinction between American sports and burro racing (298) through the punk rock, anti-establishment lens, suggesting it is an outsider sport. He sees those who compete as misfits, those who live on the margins of society—much like animals, who must exist in a habitat that can be quite bewildering and hostile to them. Curiously, however, this does not make the sport more exclusive; instead, it suggests how inclusive the sport is. This identifying with such a motley crew is a form of McDougall’s Tao-like philosophy, a shedding of ego and the release of selfish goals and conservative wants. It is also a celebration of The Therapeutic Aspect of Sport, which can give even the most unexpected people (and animals) a sense of community, purpose, and achievement.

In Chapter 26, after focusing his attention upon the other members of the community who assisted in Sherman’s recovery, McDougall reserves his final digressive focus on his wife, Mika, whom he credits as “the loving spirit who made this possible” (324). He differentiates her from himself, Zeke, and Sherman, who he acknowledges all “needed fixing” (324) and were therefore able to draw a therapeutic benefit from their training. By positioning Mika outside this group, McDougall seems to suggest that her support and effort springs from a more selfless source. His situating Mika in this way also draws a subtle implication that the same selfless process she went through with Sherman is that which she went through with McDougall himself. Though McDougall never directly references what about himself requires “fixing,” his own sense of physical and emotional rejuvenation suggests that he, too, has now experienced The Restorative Power of Connecting with Animals.

The moment when McDougall takes Karin’s advice and tries to understand Sherman’s behavior from Sherman’s perspective is the climactic turn in their relationship. Temple Grandin gives similar advice, and McDougall tries this out earlier in the book (81), but he is much more successful during the race. The visceral moment of seeing Sherman in the back of the trailer evokes the battered and neglected donkey that first arrived at his farm, spurring him to put all that he has learned into practice. McDougall has reached a new level of his relationship with Sherman by denying his own ego and ignoring what he wants—instead, he focuses on the lived experience of the donkey. This is a natural communion, rather than the imposed will of one being upon another, suggesting that there is a deeper victory behind their race.

The final chapter functions as an epilogue, providing information on the characters but not revisiting any of them. The news is primarily good, imparted in McDougall’s tone of a proud patriarch, though the death of Imrie lends a somber moment and a suggestion of the generational shift that is happening in the sport, as highlighted by McDougall’s profiles of younger racers like Lynzi Doke. His return to focus on Hal’s son again emphasizes McDougall’s focus on The Therapeutic Aspect of Sport and its community-building aspects.

The return of the animal hoarder to say goodbye to Sherman provides some emotional resolution and closure to the narrative, with McDougall’s forgiveness mirroring the remarkable manner of Amish forgiveness. This is the final burying of Sherman’s past, an act that allows him to move into the future, surrounded by his companions and his carers, never to be alone again.