Were We Born To Run, Not Walk? (Part 1)

Edward Muybridge’s 1887 motion study of an athlete running (Eadweard Muybridge/Bettmann Corbis)

To run or to walk?  Which is the preferred method of travel?  Most of us would probably pick walking.  It’s low impact, easier, and although it takes longer, most of us can walk for much longer distances before we run out of gas.  But what if I told you that our bodies are designed to run, not walk?  According to a study done by University of Utah biologist Dennis Bramble and Harvard University anthropologist Daniel Lieberman, we evolved from more ape-like human ancestors that survived due their ability to run longer distances for hunting animals and scavenging carcasses—and it’s what shaped our anatomy.  This theory goes against the popular long standing theory of bipedalism, which states that we evolved to walk first and that running was just a simple byproduct.  Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman state that some of the most compelling evidence comes from our own anatomy. 

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