[maxmcorp]

I find it interresting that no one questions the "we are born to run" claim. I have seen very little evidence for that. We are able to run, but that does not mean that running is a good way for us to move in general.

Having reached 50+ my estimate is that only 1 in 20 of the people i have known and who has been running still do. Perhaps even less.

You simply get too many injuries. Your cortisol levels rise. You destroy your joints etc. etc.

I also find it very hard to imagine that running would have been better for some imaginable forefathers who had to run barefoot in nature with no roads.

[mapleoin]

I find it interresting that no one questions the "we are born to run" claim. I have seen very little evidence for that.

There is a link to a study in the first paragraph of the article:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1117_041117_...

> The researchers identified a range of physical traits that suggest human ancestors evolved as distance runners. The adaptations helped them chase down prey and compete more effectively with the speedier carnivores on the open plains of Africa, the study says.

> The researchers say adaptations for running stretch back more than two million years, allowing humans to evolve from our apelike ancestors Australopithecus.

> "We think running is one of the most transforming events in human history," Bramble added. "We are arguing the emergence of humans is tied to the evolution of running."

[maxmcorp]

Yes, but it is all just speculation. And when you compare it to how poorly our bodies handles running now I would say it is a weak argument.

Also the "we can run the prey tired" argument clashes with the observations of hunter gatherers where large animals plays a very small role in day to day diet.

Also there is a very large opportunity cost for running after large pray.

Imagine 5-10 hunters running after a big pray, and not catching it. Now they have been running a half marathon. They might be far from water. They have expended a lot of energy and will be hungry and tired and will have to walk home to camp. With nothing to eat.

I think there is a good reason that hunting aminal usually just sprints for short durations. The other approach is simply too risky.

Nope. Walking it is.

[wyclif]

I suspect that the cause of that is running on pavement. Doing that for decades is hard on the knees and joints. I wonder if there would be more people in the over-50 age group still running if they had spent their younger years running on grass or sand. I don't have any evidence that they would, but it's an interesting question.

[maxmcorp]

But nature is hardly better for running than pavement. Stones, grass, roots, mud etc. There are a lot more ways to get injuries in nature than on a gravel path.

[Tade0]

I guess people just don't take into account the fact that our ancestors usually didn't live to their 50s, so they couldn't experience most of the problems that nowadays middle-aged runners do.