The Evolution of Human Running

For decades, some researchers have argued that the notable human capacity for endurance evolved from the hunting practices of our ancestors, which produced physiological adaptations that make us uniquely well suited for running.

But this theory has always had its detractors.

As my guest explains, a new study addresses these long-standing criticisms and adds evidence that, indeed, we were all born to run.

Alex Hutchinson is a journalist who covers the science of endurance and fitness, and today on the show, he explains what those criticisms were and how this new research counters them. We talk about the role running held amongst peoples of the past, how running is not only primal but cultural and even spiritual, and why we continue to run today, even though we’re not hunting for food. And we discuss how, even if we are born to run, that doesn’t mean everyone will always enjoy running all of the time, and how to get into running if you’re someone who doesn’t feel an innate desire for it.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• Alex’s previous appearances on the AoM podcast:
  • Episode #382: How to Lift More, Run Faster, and Endure Longer
  • Episode #538: Research-Backed Answers to All Your Fitness FAQs
• “Why You (Yes, You) Were Born to Run” by Alex Hutchinson
• “Ethnography and Ethnohistory Support the Efficiency of Hunting Through Endurance Running in Humans”
• Indian Running: Native American History and Tradition by Peter Nabokov
• The Hunting Hypothesis by Robert Ardrey
• “The Energetic Paradox of Human Running and Hominid Evolution” — 1984 paper by David Carrier
• Why We Run by Bernd Heinrich
• AoM Podcast #691: What You Can (Really) Learn About Exercise from Your Human Ancestors With Daniel Lieberman
• Born to Run by Christopher McDougall
• “Reexamining the Mythology of the Tarahumara Runners” by Alex Hutchinson
• To the Limit: The Meaning of Endurance from Mexico to the Himalayas by Michael Crawley

Connect With Alex Hutchinson

• Alex’s website
• Alex at Outside