NYTimes-The Human Body is built for Distance

Great article from the NYTimes Well Blog found by my friend Eddie Knapp. If you are a runner and have not read "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall you should as this book gets to the essence of why we run and why it is so elemental to humans. These insights into why we were Born to Run are helping me get back to the basics of running: run for fun, simpler shoes, and varied surfaces. The NYTimes article expands on the subject. The two key paragraphs:

"Mr. McDougall makes the case that running isn’t inherently risky. Instead, he argues that the commercialization of urban marathons encourages overzealous training, while the promotion of high-tech shoes has led to poor running form and a rash of injuries."…“It’s only recently that running has become associated with pain and injury.”

"What’s the solution? Slower, easier training over a long period would most likely help; so would brief walk breaks, which mimic the behavior of the persistence hunter. And running on a variety of surfaces and in simpler shoes with less cushioning can restore natural running form."

 

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