We're Made to Run -- Science Says So.

While perusing an old issue of Runner's World today, I was intrigued by the mention of a scientific paper published in 2004 on the evolution of long-distance running in humans and our relatives in the genus Homo. 

This article, by Bramble and Lieberman and published in Nature: 2004, vol 432, is a nice review of the research on the biomechanics of running in bipedal animals and how humans, specifically, have evolved to be especially skilled at endurance running. They suggest that certain traits--a musculoskeletal system that decreases the impact of footstrike and increases core stablization, the ability to remove metabolic heat from the skin, and our "legs with long, spring-like tendons"-- have made us especially fit for running long distances. 

The majority of the paper consists of more technical details on energetic costs and kinesiology that are beyond me, but the "Evolutionary Hypotheses" section at the end is an interesting read, in which they hypothesized that endurance running evolved as an advantageous tool our early ancestors used for foraging in areas that were large and sparse in food availability. 

Now, if only they were able to use this hypothesis to justify my need to run to a bakery to "forage" for pastries... 

--Phylly