Born to Run: Why I Am Excited to Run The Biofreeze San Francisco Marathon
Contributed by Daniel Lieberman
Daniel Lieberman is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Sciences at Harvard University, and a member of the Scientific Executive Committee of The Leakey Foundation. He is also a marathon runner who will be running the 2016 San Francisco Marathon as a member of Team Leakey.
Dr. Daniel Lieberman
I have run many marathons but am especially excited to be running 26.2 miles through the streets of San Francisco on July 31 to raise money for the Leakey Foundation. In fact, running for the Leakey Foundation—which supports research on human evolution— couldn’t be more appropriate because we humans evolved to run in order to help each other survive.
The evidence that we were not only born to run but also evolved to run comes from abundant fossil and archaeological data. These finds show that by 2 million years ago our early African ancestors had evolved adaptations such as short toes, arches in the feet, long Achilles tendons, and big buttocks that made them superlative long distance runners. We also lost our fur and developed the ability to dump heat by sweating. These and other features, which we still retain, helped early humans first scavenge and then hunt large animals millions of years before the invention of projectile weapons like the bow and arrow. An especially important benefit of running was the ability to chase animals over long distances in the heat, driving the prey into a state of heat exhaustion. Early human hunters then shared the meat, helping feed their families and each other.
As we struggle through Golden Gate Park, it might help to remember that today we are running for same fundamental reason as our ancestors did 2 million years ago in the savannas of Africa: to help each other. Two million years ago we ran to hunt and provision each other with sustaining food; today we run to raise funds for charities including the Leakey Foundation, as well as to promote fitness and to build community. It really is true that we run to make the world a better place.
Dr. Lieberman is giving a talk called “Being Human: Born and Evolved to Run” on Thursday, July 28th at Public Works in San Francisco. Get discounted tickets with the offer code TEAMLEAKEY16.
Why did humans become such efficient long-distance runners? How can runners avoid injury? Join Daniel Lieberman on July 28th for Being Human: Born and Evolved to Run and learn about the evolution of endurance running.
Humans and our recent ancestors have been accomplished endurance runners for more than a million years, and this evolutionary history as runners partly accounts for why aerobic exercise is such a key component of human health. However, despite our long history as runners, studies suggest that at least 30% of runners get injured each year!
Join us as we explore how the human body evolved to run and how evolutionary insights can be used to prevent many kinds of injuries.
Being Human mixes short talks from great minds with fun hands-on experiments, drinks, conversation, and storytelling. Each month we explore different aspects of our evolution, our behavior, and the human experience.