Singletrack

Bernd Heinrich | Why We Run, Endurance History, Racing The Biological Clock

Aug 10, 2023

43:57

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Bernd Heinrich is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Vermont where he made major contributions in the study of the physiological, ecological, and behavioral adaptations of animals and plants to their physical environments.

He’s also regarded as one of the best American ultramarathoners of all time. In the early to mid 1980s, for example, he set records in the road 100K, road 100 mile, and 24 hour track events.

Later in life, he published two books that have received widespread acclaim in our community - Why We Run and Racing The Clock. These two books, as well as Bernd’s notable running career and iconoclastic lifestyle serve as the basis of our conversation.

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Timestamps:

(1:06) - introduction, Ocean Spray sponsorship, 200 mile weeks, 80s ultrarunning culture, nutritional experiments
(7:40) - honoring evolutionary history through ultrarunning, cultural versus biological factors that lead to excellence, when records can longer can broken
(15:11) - whether its productive to be curious about aging, declining athleticism
(18:26) - curiosity, dreaming, and long-term goals in running, logic and emotion in running, hope and realism in running
(25:45) - explaining the Church of Nature
(32:59) - what day to day life looks like right now, tradeoffs of individualism, future work, final thoughts and advice to listeners

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