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Why We Run: A Natural History |  | Author: Bernd Heinrich
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $12.99
Buy Used: $6.25
as of 9/8/2010 16:00 CDT details
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Seller: big_river_books
Rating:  28 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint.
Pages: 304
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060958707
Dewey Decimal Number: 612.044
EAN: 9780060958701
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In Why We Run, biologist, award-winning nature writer, and ultramarathoner Bernd Heinrich explores a new perspective on human evolution by examining the phenomenon of ultraendurance and makes surprising discoveries about the physical, spiritual -- and primal -- drive to win. At once lyrical and scientific, Why We Run shows Heinrich's signature blend of biology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy, infused with his passion to discover how and why we can achieve superhuman abilities.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
 Great Justification for Nutso Runners Like Me September 26, 2006
Kevin M. Gianni (Danbury, CT USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This book is truly a classic on the biology and anthropology of exercise. I first stumbled upon it in the bookstore when I was just looking for some more books on running. I wasn't looking for anything in particular and I picked up "Why We Run" off the shelf to give it a chance.
It was just what I was looking for.
The exploration of human anthropology and the scientific explanations of why we run were in exact alignment with my beliefs. Heinrich's basic assertion is that we run because we're supposed to run. Our systems are made to use fatty acids and glycerol as fuels for long distance, nomadic type activities, not quick glucose intensive activity.
This clearly sheds light on the heart rate formula for weight loss and what is particularly best for any specific person. If Heinrich's points are correct, then the conclusion would be a lower heart rate is most effective for weight loss and the preferred zone for any type of exercise. Any exercise in the higher heart rate zones could be classified as survival training--or expending energy that is meant for fight or flight type activities, like running away from tigers or the like. This is clearly not anything we have to do in our modern times.
Heinrich goes to great lengths to explore his arguments. He takes the biology of the other animals and compares them to ours in a very "easy-to-read," unscientific way--something that is relieving for anyone who's spent hours with their nose buried in anatomy books.
The book is anecdotal, because Heinrich bookends the story with his own 100K run. This makes the book entertaining as well and not just a dry scientific read. It's also great biological justification (translated: "excuse") to tell a spouse who thinks you spend too much time training for the next big race!
Perfect for runners and walkers who want to understand their body and what is best for optimal health!
Kevin Gianni, NCSF-CPT
Author, Personal Trainer
not the regular running read. May 25, 2004
J. D. Clark (Cincinnati, Ohio United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
My wife bought me this book before we left for the Boston Marathon. She and I have built a pretty decent running book library but they all focus on training, diet, form etc, etc. Mr. Heinrichs book focused on why we are all runners by design. He explores the relationship between prey animals and the hunters and how we fit into the picture. Great read that is off the beaten running book path. I loved it.
a must read for endurance athletes in any sport March 19, 2006
Donald H. Crawford Jr. (Buffalo, NY USA)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This book was published in 2001, 20 years after the author ran in the 100 kilometer ultramarathon race in Chicago at the age of 41. You can guess the outcome :) This is one of those rare books where the writing gets better towards the end, unlike the deadline rush or inspiration vacuum that afflicts the quality of too many books in the last chapters. The early part of the book is devoted to biological treatises on various animals and examples of extreme adaptations (e.g., the speed of the antelope, the distance capacity of the camel without water, the extreme distances of certain bird migration patterns). This stuff reads very academically (the author is a PhD biologist) and won't appeal to all readers, but is interesting in that you see how it fuels the author's thinking about his own training preparations later in the book. The last few chapters are simply superb. It is the story of the author's training and experimentation with energy management of fats and carbohydrates during training, his stream of consciousness during the race itself, and of course the race outcome. Imagine running 62 miles in less than 7 hours! At the age of 41. Some of the author's philosophy of running and of life itself emerges as well, and you get a sense of an unassuming ego that is so pleasant in today's fist-pumping narcissistic age.
The best book I've read that combines running and science June 27, 2002
Matt Langdon (Los Angeles, CA United States)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This really is a remarkable book about not only the science of running but the science of endurance and survival. Bernd Heinrich combines an autobiographical journal-type approach to launch off into a fascinating scientific inquiry. By studying birds, antelope, camels, bumblebees and frogs (to name a few) he basically comes to the conclusion that all animals rely on endurance in some way or another to survive. The book will possibly be appreciated by runners and athletes more than not but it's full of so much interesting information that it should hold the interest of anyone willing to learn new things.
What a great book . . . November 28, 2007
Bert Krages (Portland, OR United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
. . . is what I said involuntarily just after finishing the book. This is a very well written book that compares the physiological aspects between animals and humans as they pertain to running and endurance. It covers a wide breadth of material ranging from bird migration to the running differences between prey and predators, but it all comes around to answering the question of why humans run and have a very high level of endurance. A good part of the book is autobiographical as the author begins by discussing the effect that running and nature had on his earlier life and ends with describing his experience competing in a 100-kilometer race. This book would appeal greatly to runners who want (or need) to go beyond the run-a-bunch-of-intervals and drink-a-bunch-of-sugar-water style of running books. It would also appeal greatly to readers who generally enjoy popular science or nature books.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 28
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