Running makes us human

In 2004 Dennis Bramble and Daniel Lieberman, two biologists at the University of Utah, published an thought provoking theory about the evolution of human anatomy. They proposed that "humans evolved from ape-like ancestors because they needed to run long distances - perhaps to hunt animals or to scavenge carcasses on Africa's vast Savannah - and the ability to run shaped our anatomy, making us look the way we do today." The timing of this publication is immensely significant. Apart from (beautifully) coinciding with the first time a human beat a horse in 22 mile footrace, Bramble and Lieberman's thesis comes to us at a time when sedentary lifestyles are increasingly becoming a norm around the world, especially in the developed west. The links between a life of inactivity and an array of avoidable health risks have long been established in medical science. In the 21st century ailments associated with a lack of physical inactivity is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world. What Bramble and Lieberman would suggest is that being a couch potato is equally a gross injustice to the mechanical intention of the human body. When I was of school going age I trained for athletics and other 'running sports' . That was years ago and today, like many of my contemporaries, I wallow in front of a computer, in a car seat or lecture hall from dawn till dusk (sleeping in a bed all night). Think about it - if one doesn't make a point of searching out opportunities to be active, there's very little need to walk or run anywhere.... So, if these reflections will be an investigation into the mental, health and anatomical effects of human running and motion, my body will have to become the experimental plane on which this knowledge is meted out. Action (in deed and thought) may just be that which separates hypocrisy from meaningful journalism. For now, in amongst curating and centralising some meaningful insight on the topic of 'humanity in motion', this blog aims to be a reflection on a personal journey from 'sedation' to motion. I'll start slowly... my car has been parked in a drive way for 48 hours, and I've since walked around 10 kilometers that I otherwise would not have done. I'll again be trekking home in a few hours to add three or so kilometers to that tally... On Sunday I played football for the first time in two or so months. Tomorrow or the next day (or the next) I'll start jogging again, something which I haven't done in over 5 years. Hopefully through my own experience I'll be able to interrogate what the rewards and challenges are with pursuing a more proactively active lifestyle. As a journalist, such insight would hopefully serve to produce more motivating and socially beneficial work.