Man against horse – who should you back? D. Legakis/Alamy Stock Photo
A couple of months ago, Daniel Lieberman set out on the race of a lifetime. A 25-mile slog in the Arizona heat, climbing a mountain more than 2000 metres tall. To top it all, 53 of his competitors had four legs. This was the 33rd annual Man Against Horse Race.
Lieberman, by his own admission not a great runner, outran all but 13 horses – and so could you.
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Lieberman studies human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, and part of his work over the past 15 years has focused on a unique set of adaptations that suggest modern humans evolved not just to walk, but to run long distances.
One is our cooling equipment. “The fact we have sweat glands all over our body and we’ve lost our fur enables us to dump heat extremely effectively,” says Lieberman. This is crucial when running for long periods. It helps to explain why animals struggle to beat us in the heat, even though sled dogs can run more than 100 kilometres a day pulling humans in cold climates. Hence also Lieberman’s success in Arizona. “The hotter it is, the better humans are able to run compared with horses,” he says.
Then there are adaptations that offset our clumsy, inefficient bipedal frames. Short toes and large gluteal muscles assist with balance and stability. The Achilles tendon and other springs …
