Born to run... but not that far
In the hugely popular running book Born To Run, author Christopher McDougall outlined the evolutionary argument for why human beings are natural-born distance runners. In short, we have big achilles tendons and are great sweaters. But a research paper* into this subject came to a more cautious conclusion. ‘While homo sapiens evolved to tolerate running long distances, humans are not optimally designed for such efforts,’ said the researchers. In other words, you weren’t necessarily designed to run, say, 50 or 100 miles at a continuous, steady pace. So signing up for the UTMB isn’t necessarily your biological birthright (though you may, of course, decide to do it anyway). ‘Modern ultra-endurance runners engage in exercise that exceeds the levels of physical activity that formed the evolutionary pressures of our ancestors, which exposes relative weaknesses and limitations,’ the researchers added.
12 weeks of running in minimalist shoes and gait re-training can lead to achilles tendon adaptation, helping you to cope with a forefoot-striking running pattern*.
The recipe for fast recovery
What to eat to get back on your feet
A LENGTHY SPELL AWAY FROM RUNNING can be tough on body and mind. But following the right kind of diet will help you to get b
