Was it a coincidence that the world's most enlightened people were also the world's most amazing runners?

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you're a lion or a gazelle--when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

--Roger Bannister, the first person to run a mile in under four minutes.

I started listening to a book today I've been looking forward to for a long time. Not only did it not disappoint, it's so far better than expected. Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen by Christopher McDougall. First a quote I like then a full introduction via The Daily Show

There's something so universal about that sensation, the way running unites our two most primal impulses: fear and pleasure. We run when we're scared, we run when we're ecstatic, we run away from our problems and run around for a good time.

And when things look worst, we run the most. Three times, America has seen distance-running skyrocket, and it's always in the midst of a national crisis. The first boom came during the Great Depression, when more than two hundred runners set the trend by racing forty miles a day across the country in the Great American Footrace. Running then went dormant, only to catch fire again in the early '70s, when we were struggling to recover from Vietnam, the Cold War, race riots, a criminal president, and the murders of three beloved leaders. And the third distance boom? One year after the September 11 attacks, trail-running suddenly became the fastest-growing outdoor sport in the country. Maybe it was a coincidence. Or maybe there's a trigger in the human psyche, a coded response that activates our first and greatest survival skill when we sense the raptors approaching. In terms of stress relief and sensual pleasure, running is what you have in your life before you have sex. The equipment and desire come factory installed; all you have to do is let 'er rip and hang on for the ride.

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Christopher McDougall
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And for a taste of things to come, we'll be discovering a group of people who exemplify this from another favorite book:

In skeletal form, it appears horribly uncomfortable, as though the knee would be pounded to paste in a couple of miles. But the entire human body has been remodeled to make the most of this joint. From head to toe, I’m built to run, with the knee forming a hinge that allows my leg to swing forward for the next stride. . . .

Only a few animals enjoy membership in the distance-runners’ club. They are the horse, wolves (and domestic dogs), African hunting dogs, the hyena, the migrating wildebeest, and we Homo sapiens. . . . And when biologists compare humans to other distance runners, we travel at the front of the pack. . . .

The Bushmen of the Kalahari still hunt antelope that way. For hours they’ll chase the animal, preventing it from resting or cooling off. Antelope, and most other animals, will tire before we will.