Long distance running - Next form of Evolution - Oxygen Intake!

Another aspect of long distance running that I wonder is this:  how come an individual evolve?   Why am I personally struggling to run long distances?  Is there a limit?  While the biggest factors are the motivation and mental elements, let us examine the physical factors.  The first of them all is Oxygen Intake.

As one runs more, the relative consumption of oxygen - called Volume Oxygen Maximal - or VO2 max, which is by nature a key determinant in terms of a person ability to perform during an endurance sport - which could be long distance running, rowing, cycling, climbing etc., among others.  We will avoid meandering into technicalities but some key observations.  I have sourced some from the experts:

The Wiki says:

VO2 max peaks out after sometime
 vs Exerise Intensity

VO₂ max (also maximal oxygen consumption, maximal oxygen uptake, peak oxygen uptake or maximal aerobic capacity) is the maximum capacity of an individual's body to transport and use oxygen during incremental exercise, which reflects the physical fitness of the individual. The name is derived from V - volume, O₂ - oxygen, max - maximum.

VO₂ max is expressed either as an absolute rate in litres of oxygen per minute (l/min) or as a relative rate in millilitres of oxygen per kilogram of bodyweight per minute (ml/kg/min). The latter expression is often used to compare the performance of endurance sports athletes.

The Fick equation defines the same as:

, when these values are obtained during an exertion at a maximal effort.

where Q is the cardiac output of the heart, CaO₂ is the arterial oxygen content, and CvO₂ is the venous oxygen content.

(CaO₂ – CvO₂) is also known as the arteriovenous oxygen difference.

Among many other reliable tests, this test called the Cooper test is used to measure the oxygen intake of long distance runners:

Kenneth H. Cooper conducted a study for the United States Air Force in the late 1960s. One of the results of this was the Cooper test in which the distance covered running in 12 minutes is measured. Based on the measured distance, an estimate of VO₂ max (in ml/min/kg) is:

where d₁₂ is distance (in metres) covered in 12 minutes.

Elite male runners can generate up to 85 ml/kg/min, and female elite runners can generate about 77 ml/kg/min ^[8]. Five time Tour de France winner Miguel Indurain is reported to have had a VO₂ max of 88.0 at his peak,^[9] while cross-country skier Bjørn Dæhlie measured at 96 ml/kg/min.^[10] Dæhlie's result was achieved out of season, and physiologist Erlend Hem who was responsible for the testing stated that he would not discount the possibility of the skier passing 100 ml/kg/min at his absolute peak. Norwegian cyclist Oskar Svendsen is thought to have recorded the highest VO₂ max of 97.5 ml/kg/min, a "sensational" value in itself, made more remarkable by his young age (18 years old at the time).^[11] World class rowers are physically very large endurance athletes and typically do not score as high on a per weight basis, but often score exceptionally high in absolute terms. Male rowers typically score VO₂ maxima over 6 litres/minute, and some exceptional individuals have exceeded 8 l/min.

To put this into perspective, thoroughbred horses have a VO₂ max of around 180 ml/kg/min. Siberian dogs running in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race have VO₂ values as high as 240 ml/kg/min.^[12] 

Improving your Max VO2

The ability to run is about having a better VO2.  Just reproducing the article from Runners world for this:

Understanding how your body uses oxygen during exercise is the key to faster times - By Amby Burfoot Published 11/14/2001

Oxygen is the key determinant in
an endurance athelete's performance

All aerobic endurance activities, like running, bicycling, swimming, and cross-country skiing, are essentially contests to see how much oxygen your body can deliver to your exercising muscles. Increase the amount of oxygen, and you can run, bike, swim, or ski faster.
In their laboratory research, scientists frequently measure this delivery and use of oxygen, calling it maximum oxygen uptake or VO2 max. They consider maximum oxygen uptake to be the most basic measure of aerobic fitness, and they've shown that it increases as you train more and harder. I generally reverse the letter order, since max VO2 has a friendlier sound than VO2 max.

As your aerobic capacity increases, you can run farther and faster. All training improves your aerobic capacity, even slow, relaxed jogging. But some workouts improve it more than others.

The best and most efficient way to increase your aerobic capacity is to run slightly faster (10 to 30 seconds per mile) than your 5-K race pace. Faster runners should be closer to the 10-second figure, and slower runners closer to the 30-second figure. For example, if you can race a 5-K at 7:40 per mile, you should run your max VO2 workouts at 7:20 to 7:30 pace. This isn't a pace that you can maintain very long in training. You can run for distance (800 meters) or time (3 to 5 minutes).

After each repeat, jog for four to five minutes, and then do another. The workout is finished when you've completed three to four repeats (for beginning and intermediate runners) or six to eight repeats (for advanced runners).

Many runners do max VO2 workouts on the track as part of their interval training routines because they like to measure the lengths and times of the repeats exactly. That's fine, but it isn't necessary. You can also do max VO2 workouts on a good trail, a grassy field, or any other smooth surface that allows you to run at a fast clip without fear of ankle turns. Use your watch to time the four-minute repeats, and run at a strong and fast (but not all-out) effort.

Don't do these aerobic-capacity workouts more than once a week, and skip them on weeks when you have races. These workouts cover less distance than tempo workouts, but they're more taxing because the pace is considerably harder. If you were to do several max VO2 workouts a week or include one in your training program during the week of a race, you might soon find your race performances deteriorating because you'd be too fatigued to race at full strength.
In their laboratory research, scientists frequently measure this delivery and use of oxygen, calling it maximum oxygen uptake or VO2 max. They consider maximum oxygen uptake to be the most basic measure of aerobic fitness, and they've shown that it increases as you train more and harder. I generally reverse the letter order, since max VO2 has a friendlier sound than VO2 max.
As your aerobic capacity increases, you can run farther and faster. All training improves your aerobic capacity, even slow, relaxed jogging. But some workouts improve it more than others.

The best and most efficient way to increase your aerobic capacity is to run slightly faster (10 to 30 seconds per mile) than your 5-K race pace. Faster runners should be closer to the 10-second figure, and slower runners closer to the 30-second figure. For example, if you can race a 5-K at 7:40 per mile, you should run your max VO2 workouts at 7:20 to 7:30 pace. This isn't a pace that you can maintain very long in training. You can run for distance (800 meters) or time (3 to 5 minutes).

After each repeat, jog for four to five minutes, and then do another. The workout is finished when you've completed three to four repeats (for beginning and intermediate runners) or six to eight repeats (for advanced runners).

Many runners do max VO2 workouts on the track as part of their interval training routines because they like to measure the lengths and times of the repeats exactly. That's fine, but it isn't necessary. You can also do max VO2 workouts on a good trail, a grassy field, or any other smooth surface that allows you to run at a fast clip without fear of ankle turns. Use your watch to time the four-minute repeats, and run at a strong and fast (but not all-out) effort.

Don't do these aerobic-capacity workouts more than once a week, and skip them on weeks when you have races. These workouts cover less distance than tempo workouts, but they're more taxing because the pace is considerably harder. If you were to do several max VO2 workouts a week or include one in your training program during the week of a race, you might soon find your race performances deteriorating because you'd be too fatigued to race at full strength.
As your aerobic capacity increases, you can run farther and faster. All training improves your aerobic capacity, even slow, relaxed jogging. But some workouts improve it more than others.
The best and most efficient way to increase your aerobic capacity is to run slightly faster (10 to 30 seconds per mile) than your 5-K race pace. Faster runners should be closer to the 10-second figure, and slower runners closer to the 30-second figure. For example, if you can race a 5-K at 7:40 per mile, you should run your max VO2 workouts at 7:20 to 7:30 pace. This isn't a pace that you can maintain very long in training. You can run for distance (800 meters) or time (3 to 5 minutes).

After each repeat, jog for four to five minutes, and then do another. The workout is finished when you've completed three to four repeats (for beginning and intermediate runners) or six to eight repeats (for advanced runners).

Many runners do max VO2 workouts on the track as part of their interval training routines because they like to measure the lengths and times of the repeats exactly. That's fine, but it isn't necessary. You can also do max VO2 workouts on a good trail, a grassy field, or any other smooth surface that allows you to run at a fast clip without fear of ankle turns. Use your watch to time the four-minute repeats, and run at a strong and fast (but not all-out) effort.

One sure way to improve VO2, is
interval training!

Easy way to calculate your VO2 max with a guideline of the quality of your intake is here.  

A simple form of evolution of the long distance runner, especially people who are constantly looking for PB or trying longer distances and steeper courses, the VO2 max improvement training plays a vital part.  

Then the answer is intervals, intervals and intervals!!!  One such interval plan is given here.

Meanwhile another interesting topic is about Barefoot vs Shoes.  One surprising article, against all theorem is that Light Shoes are the best options, even better than barefoot.  I am a shoe-lover and hence may be biased. Barefoot lovers, please excuse, as I consider you more evolved than us, shoe-lovers.  

-The Road Runner.

Note: All links are copyrights are individual websites. 

Long distance Running - the next form of evolution - Part 1

Today's run - with a niggle on the left foot was different.  A small thought inflated in size, like a balloon.  Below is the snippet:

 Earlier human used to do everything, go everywhere with biological and  mechanical tools.  The advent of the fossil fuel, the steam engine and the automobile made human to travel long distances, without any challenge.   At the same time, there are certain achievements, mostly physical that has happened over the last few decades - which still makes one put the money on the theory that humans are still evolving.  

Human - born and evolved to run!

Everest has been conquered, the English Channel and other similar stretches conquered by swimmers more than once, Marathon records have been broken, and in fact nearing the 2 hour mark,  the 100 m sprint record, swimming records are still broken, and simply the homo sapien is becoming better, higher, faster and stronger every few years.   

The thread meandered to how more humans run long distances these days - probably the greatest achievement, though largely understated of the 21st century.   This and the 2 hour time limit are two interesting topics that we would discuss subsequently.   Another area is the environmental impact of long distance running and allied sports - cycling and swimming. 

But before that, I came across this most interesting piece, which I thought is best shared ad verbatim. As you read the article, you would realize that the greatest evolution since the brain is the butt - and it would be interesting to read the reasons that buttress this conclusion.  Hope you enjoy this, while I rest after this revealing run. 

-The Road Runner

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Born To Run

by Ingfei Chen

From the May 2006 issue; published online May 28, 2006 , part of Discover Magazine

Biomechanical research reveals a surprising key to the survival of our species: Humans are built to outrun nearly every other animal on the planet over long distances.

Late one night over beers in the Welsh hamlet of Llanwrtyd Wells, an innkeeper got into an argument with a foxhunter about who could run faster, man or horse. The innkeeper insisted that over many miles, a human runner would have greater stamina, and prevail. Thus was born a tradition: Every year since 1980, Llanwrtyd Wells has hosted the Man Versus Horse Marathon, which pits hundreds of runners against dozens of horses with riders. On two legs or four, contestants take on 22 miles of challenging trails laced across a dazzling green countryside. They trot through fragrant pine forests, scramble up mountainous rock-strewn sheep trails, cross rolling moorlands, and ford rivers. In June 2004, for the first time ever, the human won. The innkeeper was delighted—and so were University of Utah biologist Dennis Bramble and Harvard University paleoanthropologist Daniel Lieberman. That summer the two scientists were putting the finishing touches on a theory with a new view on how conditions millions of years ago molded the way humans move today. The standard explanation among physical anthropologists has long been that early hominids left life in the trees to forage on the open savanna and that walking upright was the key to surviving in that new environment. Bramble and Lieberman do not dispute this general theory, but they have identified a suite of traits in the human anatomy that add a dramatic twist to the story line.

The traits appear to be specifically adapted for running—and for jogging for long distances. So Bramble and Lieberman were not at all surprised that a man won the Man Versus Horse Marathon. It fits their hypothesis. Unlike many mammals, not to mention primates, people are astonishingly successful endurance runners, "and I don't think it's just a fluke," Lieberman says. He and Bramble argue that not only can humans outlast horses, but over long distances and under the right conditions, they can also outrun just about any other animal on the planet—including dogs, wolves, hyenas, and antelope, the other great endurance runners. From our abundant sweat glands to our Achilles tendons, from our big knee joints to our muscular glutei maximi, human bodies are beautifully tuned running machines. "We're loaded top to bottom with all these features, many of which don't have any role in walking," Lieberman says. Our anatomy suggests that running down prey was once a way of life that ensured hominid survival millions of years ago on the African savanna.

Although Bramble has studied locomotion in animals ranging from tortoises to jackrabbits for 40 years, he was first tipped off to the hypothesis that humans were born to run by one of his students, David Carrier. In the 1970s, Carrier was assisting with Bramble's studies of how dogs, horses, and people regulate breathing while running. A marathoner himself, Carrier began to wonder about the role of endurance running in human evolution. People, he noted, can shed heat quickly—not by panting, like most animals, but by perspiring through millions of sweat glands. A lack of fur also helps dissipate heat more quickly.

Other researchers have proposed that such features emerged because our ancestors had to cope with the sun as they moved from a shady forest habitat to the scorching savanna. Carrier suspected that these traits were more relevant for handling physical exertion. The human body generates six times more heat when sprinting at top speed than when sitting in the sun. Most animals, humans included, must stop trotting when they overheat, or they die.

(In one legendary experiment, Harvard biologists stuck a rectal thermometer into a cheetah, put the cat on a treadmill, and found that it refused to move once its temperature hit 105 degrees Fahrenheit, even though it was loping well below its top speed.) Controlling body temperature, Carrier once wrote, "is critical for animals that run for extended periods." Given that humans excel at releasing heat and distance running, he speculated that we were built to run far and wide.

"I didn't buy it at all," Bramble says. Like most of his peers, Bramble's first reaction to Carrier's hypothesis was that "humans are pitifully slow." From the perspective of a vertebrate morphologist, humans lack one of the most obvious features of animals adapted for serious speed: a tail. In creatures that cover ground bipedally, such as kangaroos, kangaroo rats, and roadrunners, "the tail is the major balance organ," Bramble says. "In the whole history of vertebrates on Earth—the whole history—humans are the only striding biped that's a runner that's tailless."

Still, Bramble eventually came to realize that people turn in remarkable performances. He once filmed a horse cantering, with Carrier running alongside at the same pace. The movie showed that Carrier's legs were churning more slowly than the horse's, which meant that the student's strides had to be spanning more distance per step than the horse's.

Although Carrier moved on to other research, Bramble grew convinced that his student had discovered something. During a visit to Harvard in 1991, Bramble encountered Daniel Lieberman, then an anthropology Ph.D. student, making a pig trot on a treadmill. To glean insights into how bones grow—and thus to better interpret fossilized human jaws and skulls—the student wanted to see whether the repeated impact of running would spur a thickening of the pig's skull. "You know," Bramble said, "that pig's not holding its head still." He went on to explain that adept runners like horses, dogs, and rabbits keep their noggins remarkably steady as they lope, thanks to an obscure bit of anatomy called the nuchal ligament. It's a tendonlike band that links the head to the spine. People, he said, have a version of this band.

Rummaging through a collection of replicas of fossilized primate bones in a nearby lab, Bramble pointed out that the nuchal ligament leaves a trace—a delicate ridge—where it attaches at the base of the human skull. Then the scientists noticed the ridge in a pitted, yellowed skull of our 2-million-year-old relative Homo erectus—but not in older hominids known as australopithecines, who walked the earth as far back as 4.4 million years ago. "Holy moley!" Lieberman thought. "There's something going on here, and what's more, we might be able to study it in the fossil record."

"Once the idea is in your head, then you start thinking about things differently," Lieberman says. A short 41-year-old with a receding hairline, a slight paunch, and disarming dimples, Lieberman doesn't look athletic, but he has been a jogger since his teens. I joined him for his morning run with his dog, Vashti, a border collie mix, whom he easily proved he could outlast. Lieberman says it's wrong to assume, as many do, that running is like walking. The two motions are strikingly different. He demonstrates that during walking his heel hits the ground first, the leg straightens, and then the body vaults over it.

"Your center of gravity, which is basically near your belt buckle, r-i-i-i-ses"—he takes a slow-motion step forward with his right leg and pauses, now up on the ball of his right foot—"so that it's over your leg." The body has now stored potential energy. The arch of the foot stiffens, and Lieberman pushes off against it. As he tips forward, potential energy converts to kinetic energy, and he swings his left foot ahead to complete the stride.

But in running, he says, the legs become springs. You land on and squash the entire arch and bend your knee. So initially the body's center of gravity falls. "You go down—and then you go up," Lieberman says. Kinetic energy from the crash landing is stored in the many stretchy tendons of the arch and the leg, most notably the huge Achilles tendon connecting calf muscles to the heel bone. Like rubber bands, the tendons extend and then recoil—boing!—to launch you onto the next step.

"So why do we have all these tendons in our legs?" Lieberman asks. "You don't evolve big tendons unless you're a runner." Kangaroos, antelope, and other serious animal runners all have a great set of springs, which do nothing for walking. So our tendons can't be explained as being necessary for walking.

Part by part, Bramble and Lieberman have reinterpreted the hominid physique by juxtaposing bits of fossil evidence with what's known about the physiology and biomechanics of jogging. Although much of the anatomy that lets us lope is the same equipment that humans first evolved for walking, the researchers say many of our physical traits seem tailor-made for sustained running.

To test their ideas, they conduct biomechanical studies in Lieberman's lab—Room 53 in Harvard's small redbrick Peabody Museum. The space looks more like a meld between a sports medicine clinic and an untidy engineering workshop than an anthropologist's sanctum of precious old bones. In addition to a gray-and-black running treadmill, there are wall shelves and counters cluttered with boxes of cotton applicators and latex gloves, containers of antiseptic, a small toolbox, tangles of electric cords, and plastic models of human parts, including a gigantic ear.

In one recent experiment, a volunteer named Jeff, dressed only in dark Lycra shorts and white socks, looked like a guinea pig trapped in a bad sci-fi flick. To track the electrical activity of key muscles, Lieberman and a postdoc, David Raichlen, had taped circular force-detecting pads to the bottoms of Jeff's feet and carefully rigged other parts of him with electrodes. Wires from those sensors ran through a small preamplifier box strapped to his lower back and then to a nearby computer.

To capture an image of his movement, they attached little silvery gray reflective balls onto Jeff's shoulders, hips, knees, and other joints. Three infrared cameras would track the balls' motion and record a stick-figure animation of him as he moved. Finally, to measure forces acting on his skull, the researchers mounted an inch-long accelerometer and gyroscope onto a small round tin and tied it all on top of Jeff's head with a black mesh do-rag that knotted securely under his chin.

Then Lieberman and Raichlen put Jeff on the treadmill and started it up. "Focus on the gazelle on the savanna," Lieberman instructed over the hum of the machine, indicating a big black X on a sheet of paper taped to a shelf straight ahead. The researchers gradually cranked up the pace until Jeff was pounding along at a hard run, sweaty and breathless. "Your gluteus is getting a serious workout," Lieberman said cheerfully.

The goal of the exercise was to understand how joggers stabilize their heads and torsos—part of the distinctive human balancing act that puzzled Bramble years ago. Without the balancing help of a tail, how do we avoid falling over when we run? The butt, it turns out, is crucial—right up there with the chin among traits that make us uniquely human. Chimps and other primates have little buns. Our own rear ends are huge; the upper part of the gluteus maximus is greatly expanded. Although few scholars have studied its role in running, the butt is, according to Bramble, "basically a substitute for a tail."

Biomechanical research reveals a surprising key to the survival of our species: Humans are built to outrun nearly every other animal on the planet over long distances.The treadmill studies support that idea. A few months later, Lieberman showed the results from Jeff and 15 other joggers, partly summarized in a conference presentation ("Why Is Our Gluteus So Maximus?"). Sitting at his computer in shorts and flip-flops, Raich­len pulled up Jeff's data: a rainbow-colored series of 16 synchronized electrical recordings from all the sensors. Looking like an EKG signal, the electromyograph, or EMG, reading from the gluteus maximus, in red, showed little activity when Jeff strolled. But once he broke into a jog, boom!—the red line tightly zigzagged. The faster the pace, the bigger the spikes, like an earthquake signal on a seismograph.

What that shows, says Lieberman, is that the butt isn't much involved during walking. In running, however, the body leans forward so that each time the leading foot strikes the ground, the trunk wants to topple forward. The gluteus maximus prevents that: It fires just before the foot slams into the floor, creating a braking action that keeps the torso from falling down.

Meanwhile, the way we pump our arms back and forth in a trot helps steady us too. And based on their experiments, the researchers suspect that the motions of our shoulders and arms actually help counterbalance the head, preventing it from pitching forward on each landing. Simultaneously, with each heel strike, certain shoulder muscles contract and put tension on the nuchal ligament, pulling up the skull and keeping it level.

Our long neck is also important for running, Bramble says, because it allows the shoulders to twist freely of the head as we gaze forward. Chimps, in contrast, have hulking muscles anchoring the skull to the shoulders, which appear permanently shrugged—an orientation ideal for reaching overhead to dangle from tree branches. Controversial fossil evidence hints that australopithecines also had chimplike shoulders. But by the time of 2-million-year-old Homo erectus, says Bramble, hominids had lowered their shoulders, losing the thick, muscular connections to the head.

These running features, the researchers argue, are unmistakably obvious once you look for them. What's really hard to pin down, they admit, is when these adaptations emerged. How do you figure out when the first human butt appeared on the savanna? Muscles, tendons, and sweat glands don't fossilize, and old bones can't reveal precisely how their owners moved. Still, between biomechanical studies and bone analyses, it's possible for researchers to infer whether a fossil hominid was a jogger.

For example, most scientists reasoned that the 3.2-million-year-old hominid Lucy, with her chimplike build, couldn't have been a good endurance runner. She was squat, with short legs, a wide waist, long arms, and long, ­curving fingers and toes that suggest a tree-climbing lifestyle. Although researchers disagree on Lucy's gait while walking upright, nobody thinks she could have strolled like a human. Yet more than a million years later, Homo erectus roamed Africa with a much longer, leggier build, sporting a dramatically different set of physical changes that made it harder to climb trees but easier to jog, Bramble says. "All the running equipment's already there."

What biomechanics and paleontology studies cannot reveal is why these transitional hominid types forsook life among the boughs to become earthbound marathon runners. Archaeological studies at hominid sites offer one strong clue—animal bones. About 2.6 million years ago, our forebears started eating meat and marrow, rich sources of protein and fat that perhaps eventually fueled the growth of larger brains. Bramble and Lieberman find it conceivable that endurance running helped hunters pursue prey to exhaustion.

Back in the 1980s, Carrier had read ethnographers' accounts of indigenous peoples who chased deer, antelope, and kangaroos to exhaustion under the scorching sun. The Tarahumara of the mountainous desert of northwestern Mexico, for example, were legendary runners. But by modern times, their running tradition had turned to sport: Men wearing simple tire-tread sandals bound with leather thongs compete in a 24-hour footrace that involves kicking a ball over about 100 miles of mountainous road. So Carrier, a triathlete in college, took it upon himself to prove his case. He and his younger brother, Scott, went to the desert in Utah and Wyoming to chase pronghorn antelope. The beasts ditched them every time. The sleek, bouncy animals would join up with others, and soon the men would be huffing after a dozen of them. "You wouldn't know which were the animals you started with," Carrier says.

For direct evidence of endurance hunting, Bramble and Lieberman point to the observations of Louis Liebenberg, author of The Art of Tracking: The Origin of Science, who has spent time on the traditional hunts of the Bushmen hunter-gatherers in the central Kalahari Desert in Botswana. Liebenberg ran with them when they chased down kudu antelope on two occasions. For eight other hunts he trailed them in his Land Cruiser, sometimes with a GPS device. The men attempted to run prey to exhaustion only when temperatures neared 100 degrees F, says Liebenberg. Three men would gulp a lot of water and head out together. Two initially did the hard work of tracking and pursuing over the arid grassland and woodland terrain, while the other held back. Eventually, the leaders dropped behind, leaving the third man to hound and spear the antelope when it reached its limit. "The animal will either just completely collapse, or it will actually slow down to a point where it just stands there . . . with sort of glazed-over eyes," Liebenberg says. "Essentially, you're pushing the animal to overheat." The hunters would then walk home with the meat, enough to share—in small portions—with the tribe.

During a chase, Liebenberg noted that the men maintained speeds of around 4 to 6 miles per hour, for anywhere from two to six and a half hours, and traversed up to 22 miles of terrain. These stats fall well within the performance range of the world's fastest competitive marathoners, who set a pace of roughly 12 miles an hour to cover 26 miles, albeit under far less harsh conditions.

Although Liebenberg's observations support the runner-as-hunter hypothesis, Bramble and Lieberman think early Homo would more likely have first run to scavenge prey killed by other carnivores—a strategy the Hadza people of East Africa are known to use. When leopards or hyenas bring an animal down, the hunters "can spot these fresh kills at a distance from the vultures circling above," Bramble says. A carcass is an ephemeral treasure, picked clean within hours, so the Hadza quickly head off running, chase away the carnivores, and take what's left.

Of course, no one knows whether scavenging reaped enough caloric and nutritional returns to make it worthwhile for our forebears. But Bramble and Lieberman feel that the collective evidence, fielded from so many different angles, makes a compelling case for the running hypothesis. Even ordinary studies of human physiology, for example, suggest that humans are so adapted for intense physical activity that a sedentary lifestyle spawns modern-day scourges like diabetes and heart disease. Additional support could come from the chimpanzee genome, which may allow researchers to clock when the genes for slow-twitch muscle fibers—crucial for running long distances and plentiful in people but not chimps—diverged in the common evolutionary history of humans and apes. Other clues could come from tracing the genes involved in our abundant sweat glands and loss of body hair.

Meanwhile, other researchers are looking for holes in the argument. Functional morphologist Brigitte Demes, at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, notes that the gluteus maximus is absolutely essential for rising from a squatting posture at rest or during foraging, so it might not have evolved just for running. Stony Brook anatomist Jack Stern, famed for analyses of how Lucy walked, says it's a tough call to classify the Achilles tendon as an adaptation for jogging. Longer legs evolved in many animals through the extension of lightweight tendons rather than heavier muscle, thus producing a limb that took less effort to swing—a change that would save energy during walking, Stern says.

Nonetheless, Stern credits Bramble and Lieberman for a clever, coherent theory. "In essence, this is what Darwin did when he wrote On the Origin of Species: He took a series of facts and wove a beautiful, elegant story," Stern says. His own hunch is that the running hypothesis is correct, but it will take decades of scientific squabbling to confirm it. "This is just the beginning," he says. And even Demes, although skeptical of the running hypothesis, can't think of an alternative explanation. "That might actually be their strongest argument," she admits. "Why do we have this skill to go long distances for extended periods of time? Because you really don't see that in other primates." Bramble and Lieberman have received a flood of enthusiastic e-mail messages (and even poems) about their work, mostly from runners. "Sometimes you come across an idea that for some reason has been kind of overlooked. But it's just obvious. And those are the ideas, I think, that touch a nerve," Lieberman says. The evolution of walking was unquestionably fundamental to becoming human, he says, but running played a pivotal role too. "If we can get people to agree on that, I'll go to bed happy."

- Road Runner

The twilight runs...

The twilight - colorful blood on the sky's body

Twilight is the best possible cocktail that Nature can create.  The mixture of the dying daylight and the growing dark.   The wounds of the sky after its losing war with darkness, and the multi-color blood sprayed on its body - scaring the birds into their nests;   the kids moving towards home.   The street lights glowing announcing a new war against darkness.   The masons and workers returning home, exhausted after a day long work;  Office commuters returning with groceries and other purchases;   kids winding up their play and hopping their way for completing their homework,  the nocturnal animals and insects hiding behind the ever growing cover of darkness.   Such is the beauty of twilight. 

The amber lights join the war against darkness

And enter me - the runner.  Dressed in Chennai Runners' T's, and Nikes' - the good old Red Running Hood.   Mingling in this cocktail of life and colors, each step of this short run helps me participate in the short episode - as a voyeur.  

Cattle impervious to the rain!

And another day, you miss the entire show.   The curtains are on - grey in color.  The stage is being washed.     There is no usual audience.  But this no-show gives life to another set of characters.  Teens love to kick the ball with their tireless feet.  Cattle, impervious to rain, graze around.   And the colorful umbrellas come out.   And slowly the entire picture disappears fast, consumed by the dark sky.  The amber street lights slowly fix the problem - the road glows in their reflection.   Beautiful, ethereal.   

Only teens and no soul on the street - no show!

These days, my runs are short.  But they help me steal some time mixing with this real beauty of cocktail and colors.  The mind just switches off, leaving the hullabaloo and chaos of the daily chores behind.    A true tequila shot!!!

- Road Runner!

Paralympics - Patronize our Parathletes!!!

The paralympics are on.  And nobody is turning towards the TV.  Does anybody know it is held in the same venues as the Olympics?  Is anybody aware that India has sent a 21 member contingent?  Which channel is telecasting it in India?  Where are the sponsors?

Paradox - we look for inspirations as examples of how somebody overcame difficulties to achieve something?  Are not the stories of Paralympics participants inspiring? Most of us would be watching an EPL or India vs New Zealand cricket match.   This is not wrong, but only to be expected.  Audience interest is paramount and every'body' goes after it - channels for TRP and others for other reasons.

London Paralympics are on -
are we hooked on?

Cricketers and the Usain Bolts make the stars.  Luckily for us, after the success in Olympics, this year, we had more medalists than ever before.  So some offbeat stars were born post this Olympics success.   Each story of success - how a mother of twins, how somebody broke the Chinese wall, how rural Haryanvi's won medals in wrestling, how a soldier and a civilian shot their way to glory - and the acceptance of them by this cricket crazy population was one stepin the right direction.

But Paralympics - may be still way off.   But the efforts to win a medal for the country and the pride thereof are the same.  Our discerning public, am sure would recognize this.  If you are looking for heroes beyond the above, it is here.

Fan support and awareness will bring the best from our parathletes, and encourage the differently-abled people to aspire for achievement in all forms of sports - especially in sports represented in the Paralympics.   If there are any differently abled people in your vicinity, please make them aware that this is one aim in life trying for.   Wear the Indian colours.   Lift the Indian Flag high.   Getting a shot at the medal.  In a field of fair play.

Below is the list of athletes who are right now in action -
http://www.indianewsbulletin.com/london-2012-paralympic-games-list-of-indian-contingent-members.

Telecast rights :  Channel 4
Opening ceremony highlights : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBmmA7rfliw

Indian contigent in the opening ceremony:

Please patronize our parathletes! Wishing our paralympic team all the best!   Please post snippets, video clips!   Glory to them, and Glory to Parathletes to all over the world!

- Ashok Speaks!

LOL - Lil'ol'liability?

It is the adoration of the public that is the protection.  And the fear of the selectors.   But the need - the contracts that expire in 2014.  This article was pretty damning.  But this appeared in the pink newspaper - a business newspaper, which only a few elite business-mongers read.  That was saving grace.

All of Sachin's contract
are due to end in 2014, and no
new contracts, so is that the answer?

The article explains when the little master willretire.  The first sign of his brand becoming stale - no new contract was endorsed after his hundredth hundred.  But the bigger fact - the necessity of him to play till 2014, when all the 17 contracts expire - which is 2 years from now, is the damning truth.  It is 120 crores too much for anybody - forget the little master - to refuse.   His new house in Bandra costs 30 crores after all!  

That was on April 1st 2012.  Cut to September 1st - almost 6 months later.  Doug Bracewell castled Tendulkar, almost 22 years after his uncle John Bracewell did.  Well, 22 years, is one hell of time for longevity.   The little man has climbed many a summit between the two Bracewells.   Some of which, no other human will ever dream of achieving.   But what triggered a renewed discussion on the dismissal?   The eternal question - when should the little master go?

Tendulkar castled by Doug Bracewell

Two masters of test cricket, Gavaskar and Manjrekar expressed concern about the way the little master was dismissed.  Bowled through the gates.  Full length delivery - a stroke against which requires the maximum hand-eye coordination for a batsman.  As the ball dips into one's blind spot, right below, the hands have to get the bat in the right position to block or whack the ball away.   And the little master missed - like the last test.   His furniture was rearranged.   

Rustic?  5 months out of cricket, yes.   Out of form?  May be.  Others also go through it.  Technical deficiency?  After 22 years of cricket, if this is still a concern, then worries me.   The most plausible reason is - age and obstinacy.   The little man says that he knows when he will retire, and other people say - only the man can decide when he will.   Why?  The protection - the adoration of the public, and the fear of the selectors.  No one dare call the shots on this.   And the man will continue to play, as long as he says he wants to.

And what is the cost?  The number four slot in tests will be occupied for another two years at least.  Some talent youngster would have to wait forever - and few careers might be wrecked.  Opportunities lost!   The very reason some youngster might be inspired by the little master will fall victim to the extended longevity of the genius.   

Finally, there is shelf life.  Everybody knows that the little master is a mortal, and at someday he has to hang his boots up.   It better be done when people ask 'why?', rather than 'when?'.  Perhaps the powers-that-are know the answer, as the economic times article explains.   Just pray that he does not become a 'LOL' - a Little Old Liability!!!

- Ashok Speaks!