We Are Born to Run — But We Are Doing it All Wrong
Unlocking the hidden evolutionary talent
Have you ever heard about the Tarahumara tribe? They are a group of Native American people living in Northern Mexico who can run more than 400 miles in less than 50 hours. Sounds impossible. Nonetheless, it is true. This tribe consists of men and women, old and young; each member is capable of running at least 200 miles non-stop, without shoes.
How are we evolved to run?
Running is one of the most altering events in the history of human evolution. When someone tells me that they dislike running, the first thing I’d say now is that you’re probably not doing it right.
We are evolved to run, period.
- The fossil evidence of a few distinctive features suggests the fact that humans have been running for the past 2 million years. A relatively new study suggests that we left our tree swinging ancestors far behind because we developed the ability to run long distances. This ability may be a key aspect in explaining the way we look today.
The Achilles tendon, for example, is ideal for endurance running and gave our ancestors an evolutionary edge in pursuit of prey. It is a spring-like tendon that stores energy and reduces the metabolic effort of running in the body by half.
Similarly, the longitudinal arch of our foot- another example of a well-developed set of springs that ism crucial to running, seems to have evolved from Homo Habilis. - Many aspects of our human form, from our toes to our head are specially evolved to make us able runners. We have a ligament called the nuchal ligament, which stops our head from tipping ahead. Moreover, the fact that our faces are more or less flat and our teeth placed back inside our heads does wonders for a good center of gravity while running.
- Long legs are also crucial for endurance running. Speed is effectively gained by increasing the length of the strides instead of the rate. Researchers say long legs in comparison to the body mass first appeared in Homo Erectus some 1.8 million years ago.
- When it comes to sprinting, we are embarrassingly awful compared to many animals on the planet, but over distance running, we are the best. While chasing a Hyena or Zebra, in the first hundred meters or so, we would be left far behind, but since we can lose heat much more efficiently, we become active hunters over long distances.
- Our nervous system releases endogenous opioids (or pain killers) to combat the pain associated with strenuous activities. This is commonly referred to as the famous ‘runners high’.
Why run in the first place?
Why run when you can walk?
So, early humans looked for proteins provided by meat. Humans have been on this planet for the last two million years, but they started making tools such as spears and arrows only two hundred thousand years ago. So how did our ancestors hunt and survive without tools? It would be optimum to give our endurance running ability credit. Our ancestors simply exhausted their prey, allowing themselves to get close enough to kill them. In a few parts of Africa, this technique is still used by hunters today.
Another possibility is that they used their swift feet to reach dead animals before other scavengers.
Our aversion to running- what makes us hate running this much?
Human running ability is often misunderstood. It’s essential to combine speed with endurance. All of us are looking at the watch numbers which don’t necessarily give us an accurate picture.
Don’t run to get fit; instead, get fit to run.
The present-day civilization seems to be heading into a more sedentary lifestyle. At present, it seems running has become insignificant for our survival and has evolved into a sport fixated with numbers and statistics.
Don’t get me wrong. The sport of running is great, that being said, more of us are growing suspicious of this activity. We generally associate running with something straining and unpleasant. That need not be the case.
Treadmills are now making matters worse.
The treadmill was invented at the beginning of the 19th century as a form of punishment to prisoners. It was just short of the death penalty.
For about a hundred years or so, they were something people were punished with. You can imagine the fantastic PR work done afterward to make for the kind of rebranding of treadmills that we see today.
Vybarr Cregan-Reid, author of the book Footnotes: How Running Makes us Human says that- “To me, treadmills are like junk food, which gets rid of all the good stuff in food- like finer, vitamins, and minerals-all that’s left is fat and sugar.”
We are wired to be outside
Have you noticed that most people are not that happy when at work (or stuck in the present lockdown scenario)? They’re the most content when on vacations that get them outside.
A research study in Illinois shows that proximity to nature can reduce the crime rate. It doesn’t mean we simply plant trees and dispense with the cops. Nonetheless, this is an indication that staying in sync or connect with nature has a positive influence on humans (and other animals alike).
In Japan, there is something called Shinrin Yoku or ‘forest bathing’. Researchers in Japan observed that when we are inside, all our senses are under-utilized other than eyes and ears, of course.
When you feel the air breeze on your skin or smell the forest aroma, listen to the sound of a nearby creek, our sensory system activates the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) which in turn does wonder for the human body. You can read more about the PNS here and how running plays a role in it.
Soldiers that sometimes have PTSD are often advised to go outdoors for camping or river rafting.
The Takeaway
In today’s scenario, running is regarded as a form of exercise. It is. But it can be much more. It could be the very reason that explains our existence today.
Next time someone tells you that runs are boring or how much they hate running, you have some evolutionary history and facts in your armory to change their minds, including yours.
