When the bestselling journalist behind Born To Run and Natural Born Heroes adopted a rescue-donkey from an animal hoarder, he didn’t realize that new partnership was headed his way. Enter Sherman: worse-for-wear from poor living conditions, Sherman the donkey was so sick he could barely move, and his morale was in worse shape.

McDougall, who relishes a challenge, had already moved to Pennsylvania Amish country with his wife, and recovered from his own injuries through the restorative power of ultra-marathoning (where others might merely take Advil). So Chris and Sherman, together, undertake a recovery program in classic McDougall style: Chris helps Sherman’s body and mind recover by giving the downhearted donkey a project, taking him on as a partner for the World Championship in burro-racing.

Sherman’s training involves a cast of loving and eccentric helpers, from humans to horses, burro racers to Amish goat farmers, and a group of irrepressible female long-haul truckers.

In conversation with award-winning in-house journalist Angie Coiro, McDougall shares this incredibly heartwarming story at Kepler’s. Attendees of all ages are welcome to this once-in-a-lifetime conversation for runners and animal lovers.

The Barron Park Donkey Project, caretakers of Palo Alto’s own beloved donkeys, will join to share about the nonprofit efforts to support local donkeys Jenny and Perry. Visit them at Bol Park on Sundays at 10am if you’d like to stroll with the famous burro who inspired Donkey in Shrek… and visit us at Kepler’s on Sunday, October 20th at 2pm, to hear about Sherman’s heroic journey from his running partner, Chris McDougall.

For the love of our four-legged friends, we hope to see you there.