“People today run differently than they used to, between big, cushioned shoes and sitting for long periods of time,” Lieberman says. Forefoot runners’ legs absorb and distribute strike forces much differently than rearfoot strikers although forefoot runners weren’t immune to injury, Lieberman found that rearfoot strikers were 2.3 times more likely to become injured. In a recent study of the running styles of members of the Harvard track team, Lieberman and his colleagues compared injury rates between runners who mostly land on the ball of the foot and rearfoot strikers, who hit the ground heel-first. ( Get tips on barefoot running on National Geographic’s Adventure site.) Today, Lieberman continues to study the mechanics of human movement, particularly focusing on how running with minimal footwear, or none at all, is more in line with the way our feet evolved to function. A combination of speed and endurance would have allowed ancient hominins to beat rivals to a distant carcass for scavenging, for example, or to wear down prey over time and distance. In 2004, Harvard University evolutionary biologist Dan Lieberman co-authored a paper which posited that modern humans’ long legs, short toes and muscular rear ends-all useful for walking-also evolved two million years ago as an adaptation for running. Slow and Steady Wins the Evolutionary Race Their research is leading to new insights on what sets the best runners apart and how to help them maximize their abilities-as well as keeping hobbyists healthier throughout the miles. Scientists have been working hard in recent years to unlock clues about what makes these elites so fast. Photographs by Mark McCambridge, NikeĪsked after the race how he plans to shave 25 seconds off his time, Kipchoge said it would take "good training and good preparation." At nearly 10,000 feet (three kilometers) in altitude, training here boosts Delisa's ability to run harder in Monza, Italy, which rests only 600 feet above sea level. Lelisa Desisa trains in the Entoto Forest, which affords high-altitude training and magnificent views of the bucolic countryside of the Oromia region of Ethiopia.
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