How Far Can Humans Run?
Cliff Young and Dean Karnazes May Set the Limits.
You were born to run barefoot, with nothing consoling your feet from the harsh earth. Your DNA was made for this. Your ancestors chased, hunted and outlasted even the most rapid of prey. Gazelles, horses, elk: nothing was a match for the upstanding bipeds.
Somewhere along the way, humans relinquished their genetic fabric. We displaced what made us human in the first place. We stopped running extraordinary distances. We no longer had to chase prey, instead opting for long-range projectiles and clever traps. Our intellect replaced our physical prowess. And yet, we still hold tight to the unique attributes that made us such great long-distance runners in the first place. We dissipate heat by sweating and the shape of our feet — and small toes especially — nearly “double the mechanical work of the foot”, according to a study in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
But not all is lost and there are still those that can run extraordinary distances. Over the last two hundred years, humans have time and again returned to their roots. We still run marathons, a race inspired by the story of a Greek soldier, despite it being invented for the 1896 Olympic Games.
We don’t just run against other people, either. In 1818, an Englishman bet a friend that he could beat a horse in a 48-hour race…
