Christopher McDougall is roughly 54 years old during the events depicted in the book, having been an established presence in the Southern End for over twenty years. He has a wide net of support to draw from as he takes on the responsibility of caring for Sherman, as well as his background in caring for the various other animals mentioned in the narrative, such as the goats Chili Dog and Lawrence.

McDougall is a freelance writer who previously worked as a war correspondent in Angola and Rwanda and has also trained as a long-distance runner, something which he details in his previous book, Born to Run. These connections gave him the impetus to chronicle his training with Sherman in the running world. More so, the techniques McDougall practices toward healing, particularly the concept of “movement-as-medicine” (58) that he applies to Sherman’s recovery, are drawn from the knowledge he accrued while working on Born to Run.

Humor characterizes much of McDougall’s narration. This can be seen early on in McDougall’s digressionary discussions of the event in which a character, often times an animal, secures their name. McDougall’s comedy serves a larger purpose, however. McDougall often seizes the opportunity to make light of adversity and inopportune circumstances, using levity to counteract the heavy territory his subject strays into.