Running. One of the most hated activities amongst people trying to get in shape. Maybe it was all those days running around the gym in middle school, but almost no one seems to want to run anymore. If this sounds like you it may shock you to learn that you are better at long distance running than any other animal on the planet. Human beings have the remarkable ability to sweat and displace heat, and in addition to incredible muscular endurance. The human body's primarily designed to be a long distance runner. This is the basis of the argument brought forth by Christopher McDougall in his 2010 TED talk. Information from Ted Talks are always very reliable as TED is well known organization that hand selects credible presenters. So while you may hate running you must acknowledge that you body is designed for it, it is in you genes to be a runner, this is why those who do chose to run long distance find it to be such an enjoyable and relaxing activity, in many ways it is return to nature for humans, we are doing exactly what our bodies are designed to do.
McDougalls TED talk deals mostly with idea that human bodies are evolved to be runners. McDougall cites the theory in archeology that early humans, soon after becoming bipedal, developed into pack hunting animals. He argues that while compared to other mammals humans are not the fastest, and do not have sharp claws and teeth but we do have the incredible ability to displace body heat. He says that this ability allows to run for very long distances without stopping, which most likely means that as early humans we would gather as a pack and simply run after our prey until it literally ran out of energy or overheated and had to stop. He then goes on to argue that as more and more time passed humans evolved based to this idea into the ideal body for long distance running and that is why to modern distance runners, while we no longer have to capture prey, it still feels incredibly natural to be running for long distances.. He then says from personal experience as a runner running simply feels like it's what his body is supposed to be doing and as a runner I can confirm this. Running for me feels incredibly natural and this is why many runners gravitate towards the sport.
While this a start it only explain part of the reason runners choose to run, in later bog posts I will examine the positive & negative physical effects that running has on the body and how that impacts runners decisions.
