Comments on: Did Humans Evolve to Be Long-Distance Runners?

By: Oscar

Oscar — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:29:26 +0000

Regarding my previous comment, I now see that you have already reviewed the book and you actually support barefoot running.

By: Oscar

Oscar — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:23:09 +0000

I wonder if aside from the evolutionary standpoint you took in consideration the effects of running shoes and the western diet effects? Two books that you may want to read are born to run and in defense of food. I think this argument can’t stand until we remove the danger of our running shoes.

By: My Exercise Philosophy | Fit in T.O.

My Exercise Philosophy | Fit in T.O. — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 10:40:15 +0000

[...] low impact, so it’s suitable for almost everyone. It strengthens muscles and joints. It can primarily burns fat. If you’re looking for more intensity, you can speed it up, or add an incline. I know it [...]

By: Karell

Karell — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:14:09 +0000

I would have to disagree. It seems to me from my personal experience, and from an evolutionary standpoint, that humans are natural sprinters, and are definitely not long distance runners.

By: Jordan

Jordan — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:54:50 +0000

I would have to disagree. It seems to me from my personal experience, and from an evolutionary standpoint, that humans are natural long distance runners, and are definitely not sprinters.

By: You Are Born to Sprint, Not Run «

You Are Born to Sprint, Not Run « — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:06:14 +0000

[...] And I am especially critical whenever I read some body of work alluding to the belief that humans somehow evolved as marathon runners (In fact, if you want a good counterpoint to the “persistence hunter” argument, be sure to check out Mark Sisson’s great piece, Did Humans Evolve to Be Long-Distance Runners?) [...]

By: bo moore

bo moore — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 21:13:34 +0000

I’m not a runner, but I stumbled onto this discussion when researching bipedalism in humans. It seems clear that walking upright is the primary human attribute, but that running didn’t come until after the development of the Achilles tendon. So our early ancestors were SLOW. Bipedalism set off a chain of events; female pelvis had to reshape, which forced early birth, which provided the opportunity for the brain to grow and develop in the outside environment rather than solely in utero. The example often cited of Bushmen running down prey is outrageously inefficient! The carcass may be 20-30 miles away from the people who need fed; predators may steal it, and very little can be carried back to the home folks. Then the hunt starts all over again. And what if your “runner” gets killed. Tough luck. That’s why Bushmen are subsistence nomads and we are FAT.

By: SciFooter

SciFooter — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 19:59:15 +0000

Like with anything in life; dig deeper and I bet you’d find a gradient. The adaptations that improve Humans ability to run long (slow) distances and the possibility early Humans scavenged dead carcasses for meat aren’t mutually exclusive ideas. Running may be a bigger part of acquiring meat in one locale but in another maybe scavenging was the way to go (and how else would you avoid the large cats who also want to scavenge that nice carcass you’ve found?).

By: ian M/32/182/5'11"

ian M/32/182/5'11" — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 02:39:56 +0000

Glad to see you revived this post in the new year!
I think, however, you are throwing the baby out with the bathwater by dismissing Lieberman’s (and McDougal’s) theories.
In fact, as a couple posters above have commented, your points about human movement and evolution do not discredit the notion that we evolved as long distance trackers, but rather seem to reinforce it!
I enjoy your writing and agree with many of your opinions, Mark, and I would invite you to look closer into what makes us distinctly, uniquely human. More and more evidence points to the fact we were, in fact, born to run.

By: Paulie

Paulie — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 23:40:06 +0000

Speaking of selection, there is another explanation as to why strong, well developed gluteus maximus muscles are adaptive. They really look nice.