Humans Evolved to Be Long-Distance Runners
Tara Parker-Pope writes in The New York Times about the conclusions of some medical researchers that long-distance running is a major evolutionary advantage for humans. The ability to remain cool by sweating instead of panting and a foot structure ideal for running helped early humans hunt:
Most mammals can sprint faster than humans — having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. Because we cool by sweating rather than panting, we can stay cool at speeds and distances that would overheat other animals. On a hot day, the two scientists wrote, a human could even outrun a horse in a 26.2-mile marathon.
Why would evolution favor the distance runner? The prevailing theory is that endurance running allowed primitive humans to incorporate meat into their diet. They may have watched the sky for scavenging birds and then run long distances to reach a fresh kill and steal the meat from whatever animal was there first.
Other research suggests that before the development of slingshots or bows, early hunters engaged in persistence hunting, chasing an animal for hours until it overheated, making it easy to kill at close range. A 2006 report in the journal Current Anthropology documents persistence hunting among modern hunter-gatherers, including the Bushmen in Africa.[...]
There is other evidence that evolution favored endurance running. A study in The Journal of Experimental Biology last February showed that the short toes of the human foot allowed for more efficient running, compared with longer-toed animals. Increasing toe length as little as 20 percent doubles the mechanical work of the foot. Even the fact that the big toe is straight, rather than to the side, suggests that our feet evolved for running.
Link via Instapundit | Image: U.S. Secret Service
Comment (14)
Permalink
Please share:  email
this 
|
| Neatorama Shop » Funny T-Shirts | |
 |
|
| Make Loaves ... Not War | See more Outrageously
Funny T-shirts » 
|
Slow Motion Running in Japan
Ah, the beauty of slow motion video…with a crazy Japanese twist. I ended grinning like a fool by the end of the video as each individual running has a unique and hilarious run. This certainly made my day a whole lot bearable. Keep this in mind when you get near the end,”It’s like a lava lamp…”! 
If anyone is interested in the song used for the video it’s “Luv (sic) pt.2″ by Nujabes.
TGIF! 
Via from the crazy folks at Urlesque – Link
Originally from NicoVideo – Link
|
Comment (14)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
Is Running Barefoot Actually Better For You?
It may be counterintuitive (and hard to digest for parents like myself who always have to tell our kids to wear shoes when playing outside) but going barefoot may actually be better for you.
Here’s a New York Times article by Amy Cortese about the controversial movement of running barefoot (or barely barefoot anyhow, as these runners still wear thin rubber running shoes like the ones shown to the left):
Recent research suggests that for all their high-tech features, modern running shoes may not actually do much to improve a runner’s performance or prevent injuries. Some runners are convinced that they are better off with shoes that are little more than thin gloves for the feet — or with no shoes at all.
Plenty of medical experts disagree with this notion. The result has been a raging debate in running circles, pitting a quirky band of barefoot runners and researchers against the running-shoe and sports-medicine establishments.
Naturally, Nike and other large shoe manufacturers aren’t amused:
The shoe industry giants defend their products, saying they help athletes perform better and protect feet from stress and strain — not to mention the modern world’s concrete and broken glass.
But for all the technological advances promoted by the industry — the roll bars, the computer chips and the memory foam — experts say the injury rate among runners is virtually unchanged since the 1970s, when the modern running shoe was introduced. Some ailments, like those involving the knee and Achilles’ tendon, have increased.
Link (Photo: Jodi Hilton for The New York Times)
|
Comment (27)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
95-Year Old Competitive Runner
(Video Link)
Frank Levine began running competitively at the age of 65 — nothing big, just a marathon. He’s run seventeen marathons since that time. Levine just broke a world record for the 5000-meter in the 95-99 category with a finishing time of 50 minutes and 10 seconds.
Via Urlesque
|
Comment (1)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
10 Extreme Marathons
Competing a grueling marathon isn’t challenging enough for some runners. Woman’s Day has a list of ten marathons, some of them run under brutal conditions. The picture above is from Greenland’s marathon. Others featured include a marathon run up and down the steps of the Great Wall of China, one that starts at 17,000 feet above sea level, and another run at the Dead Sea.
Link via The Presurfer
|
Comment (4)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
| Neatorama Shop » Funny T-Shirts | ||
 |
 |
 |
See more Outrageously
Funny T-shirts »
|
||
Olympics Hopeful "Discovered" While Running After a Bus
Missing the bus may have been the best thing that ever happened to UK sprinter Jeffrey Lawal-Balogun:
"Then one day I was on my way to college and had to run after the bus. I must have been quite fast because a girl came up to me afterwards and asked if I ran with a club."
It turned out the girl was from Kent Athletic Club and she introduced him to leading sprint coach Clarence Callender, who was immediately impressed. Jeffrey, now 23, of Mottingham, South London, is already carving out a name for himself – and encouraging children to take up athletics at an early age. [...]
He added: "I never thought running after a bus would lead to all this. And the funny thing is, I missed it."
Link | Jeffrey’s profile at The Stellar Group
(Photo: Stellar Group Ltd)
|
Comment (1)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
Four Really Fast Runners
I’ve been training for a 20k that takes place at the end of May, and I can definitively say that you will never find me on anyone’s “Fastest Runners” list. “Slowest Runners,” “Saddest Runners,” “Runners with the Worst Form,” “Runners Who Hate GU the Most,” maybe. But not “Fastest Runners.” However, if you’re looking for some inspiration to give your jogs a little boost, here are four guys who should do the trick.
Roger Bannister
Sir Bannister is the first man in history to run a mile in less than four minutes, but he wasn’t the only one in pursuit of the elusive goal: American Wes Santee had been clocking in at 4:02.4 and Australian John Landy was down to 4:02.00. On the magic day, May 6, 1954, Bannister almost scrapped the whole run. It was windy and he preferred to save his energy for another run when the wind wouldn’t ruin his time. But Mother Nature smiled upon him – the winds died down and Roger consented to race. When the announcer took the mic to tell the excited stadium what the final time was, he purposely drew out the announcement as long as possible to tease the masses. When he finally said, “3…” the crowd went nuts and drowned out the rest of the result, which was 3:59.4.
He only held the record for six weeks, though: John Landy surpassed the sub-four-mile mark by just a sliver (3:57.9). On August 7 of the same year, though, Bannister got his chance to win the title back when he and Landy faced off at the British Empire and Commonwealth Games. Although Landy led for the majority of the race, Bannister came up with his famous “Bannister Burst” in the last quarter of the race and sped past Landy to win. Too bad Landy ended up retaining the record anyway: they both came in at times slower than Landy’s previous 3:57.9. You can watch it here – it’s pretty fascinating. I can’t imagine running a mile in less than four minutes and still losing. The current record of 3:43.13 was set by Hicham el Guerrouj of Morocco in 1999.
Eamonn Coghlan
A sub-four-minute mile is incredibly impressive, no doubt, but it’s even more impressive when you’re over 40. And so far, Irishman Eamonn Coghlan is the only man older than 39 to have clocked 1600 m in under 240 seconds. Ever. Eamonn was no amateur runner – in the ’70s, famous track coach Jumbo Elliott offered Coghlan a scholarship to come run for Villanova. Coghlan accepted, and there he won four NCAA titles. He ran his first under-four in 1975 and has since accomplished the feat 83 times, including his record-setting over 40 run in 1994. He was 41 at the time. Interestingly, a sub-four over the age of 50 has never been accomplished, so maybe we’ll see another record out of Eamonn Coglan yet. And if the name sounds familiar to you, but the sport seems all wrong, that’s because Eamonn’s son, also named Eamonn, is a golf pro in the U.S.
Bill Rodgers
Usain Bolt
I think I’ll do a follow-up on amazing female runners next. If you have some suggestions, leave me a comment and let me know!
|
Comment (9)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
How a 61-Year-Old Farmer Won the World's Toughest Ultra-Marathon
Between 1983 and 1991, Australia held an annual ultra-marathon of 544 miles (875 km). World’s most elite racers ran from Sydney to Melbourne in 5 days – these athletes trained specially for this event, which was considered one of the world’s most grueling races.
One day, a 61-year-old Australian potato farmer named Cliff Young entered the race …
In 1983, a man named Cliff Young showed up at the start of this race. Cliff was 61 years old and wore overalls and work boots. To everyone’s shock, Cliff wasn’t a spectator. He picked up his race number and joined the other runners.
The press and other athletes became curious and questioned Cliff. They told him, "You’re crazy, there’s no way you can finish this race." To which he replied, "Yes I can. See, I grew up on a farm where we couldn’t afford horses or tractors, and the whole time I was growing up, whenever the storms would roll in, I’d have to go out and round up the sheep. We had 2,000 sheep on 2,000 acres. Sometimes I would have to run those sheep for two or three days. It took a long time, but I’d always catch them. I believe I can run this race." [...]
All of the professional athletes knew that it took about 5 days to finish the race. In order to compete, one had to run about 18 hours a day and sleep the remaining 6 hours. The thing is, Cliff Young didn’t know that!
When the morning of the second day came, everyone was in for another surprise. Not only was Cliff still in the race, he had continued jogging all night.
Eventually Cliff was asked about his tactics for the rest of the race. To everyone’s disbelief, he claimed he would run straight through to the finish without sleeping.
Cliff Young won the race, and became a legend: Link – Thanks Ali!
|
Comment (7)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
Five Races That Make Running Fun (and one that might kill you)
I’ve just gotten into running in the past nine months or so. I went for my first run on my birthday last year – July 21. I mean, I worked out before that – I used to be a big fan of the elliptical. But I really wanted to be able to run in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in October ‘08 because my mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer just a year prior to that. So that was my motivation. I trained from July to October (and let me tell you, running in Iowa’s 90 percent humidity when it’s 90 degrees out is no piece of cake) and completed the race swimmingly. Since then, I’ve found myself getting kind of addicted to races. I did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving at the Iowa State Fairgrounds (less guilt for gorging later that day), signed up for the Red Flannel Run in February (but ended up being out of town), completed the five-mile Run for the Egg the day before Easter and managed to show up for the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick 5k after downing an entire bottle of wine all by myself the night before (whoops). I’m just amazed at how many races are going on at any given time – there’s a whole running community I had no idea existed. This probably seems silly to you seasoned runners, but I just honestly did not have a clue. Des Moines is not a small town by any means, but it’s certainly not a bustling metropolis either. Yet, I could easily find a 5k to run every single weekend if I wanted to.
Anyway, in the spirit of my newfound motivation, I thought I’d write about interesting races. Whether it’s the cause that seems questionable, the costumes people wear or an interesting race route, the races below are sure to catch your attention.
1. The Oatmeal 5k – Lafayette, Colo.
Lafayette holds the Oatmeal Festival every year. In addition to a health fair, Oatie the Quaker Oats Mascot and a giant, inflatable bowl of oatmeal, the Oatmeal Festival hosts the Oatmeal 5k. The best part really comes post-run though – all runners get to eat their fill of oatmeal with all of the trimmings. Considering the race occurs in January in Colorado, I bet a nice warm bowl of oatmeal is greatly appreciated after running 3.1 miles. Photo by Cliff Grassmick
2. Beat Beethoven 5k – lots of places
When I first read about this, I got a mental picture of a guy with wild white hair dressed up in period clothing running his heart out. But no. The point is to beat Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. At 33 minutes long, this would mean the runner would have to run slightly under 11 minute miles. A challenge for some, totally easy for others. Beat Beethoven is often held as a fundraiser for music departments. I bet some people dress up like Beethoven though. At least, I hope they do.
3. Living History Farms Cross Country Road Race – Clive, Iowa
This one is my goal for the year. It’s only seven miles, but the tricky part is the terrain you’re running on. You’re running through waist-deep ponds, through trenches, off small cliffs, using rope to pull yourself up steep inclines – it’s insane. And people dress insane. Check out this photo gallery from the Des Moines Register – in just one quick run-through, I spotted Superman, Santa Claus, Snow White and a number of ballerinas. There’s even one dude running with no shirt on – in late November in Iowa, that’s just asking for pneumonia (Oh God… I think I just channeled my mother). Photo from fitnesssports.com
4. Tower of Terror 13k – Orlando, Fla.
This is my other goal for the year, but really it’s just an excuse to get to Disney at Halloween. I LOVE Disney World at Halloween. In fact, I’m a lover of all things that are campy-creepy, so the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 13k (get it… 13?!) is perfect for me. It starts at 9:30 at night and gives runners the chance to run through Disney properties late at night. Afterward, the Tower of Terror and several other rides at Hollywood Studios are open for the sweaty runners to enjoy. I. Can’t. Wait. Let’s just hope I can run eight miles by then. Photo by Stacy Conradt
5. The Doughnut Run 5k – Ames, Iowa
I’m not sure that it’s a great idea to run while stuffing your face full of glazed doughnuts, but the Iowa State Triathlon Club seems to think it’s not a problem. Here’s how it works: at each aid station along the route, you have the opportunity to scarf down doughnuts. If you eat one doughnut, you get to take 15 seconds off of your time. Two doughnuts gives you another 30 seconds off. Three doughnuts gets you 45 seconds off. So if you run the race in 20 minutes and eat two doughnuts, you get a total of 45 seconds off your race time – 15 seconds for doughnut #1 plus another 30 seconds for doughnut #2. But only the weak eat a mere two doughnuts. For every five doughnuts you eat past the first five, you get a bonus two minutes off your race. The catch? You have to keep the doughnuts down at least past the finish line.
Graphic from the Iowa State Triathlon Club
6. The Badwater Ultramarathon – Death Valley
It’s 135 miles, folks. ONE HUNDRED THIRTY-FIVE MILES. I’m in pain just thinking about it. Add that to 120 degree temps in the shade and you’ve got a marathon only the most hardcore runner would even consider running. Even then, 20-40 percent of participants don’t complete the race. The first time this race was completed was 1977, after several attempts by Al Arnold. Successful try #2 didn’t happen until 1981 when Jay Birmingham put himself through the torture. It became an official race in 1987, but only five runners completed the race. Making this race even harder is the fact that there are no water stops. Each runner has to provide his or her own pit crew complete with water, ice, food and first aid. You might think there’s a fantastic prize for finishing 135 miles in Death Valley, but not really. Runners who finish in 60 hours or less get a medal. Runners who complete the course in 48 hours or less get a belt buckle. Suffice it to say people are running for the glory, not the winnings. So far, no one has died. Photo by Geoff Tripple via badwater.com.
What crazy races have you participated in? OK, forget participation – what crazy races have you heard of?
|
Comment (40)
Permalink
Please share: email
this
|
-
Your purchase helps support the blog - Thank you!
