How well are we equipped to run? - 1. Upper legs. April 06 2016, 0 Comments

I'm not talking about shoes or clothing now, but about how we are built and how this helps us to run.

Theory has it that we run because that was how we caught our food. Interestingly, most of our potential food, down to animals as small as rabbits, can run much faster than we can. So our strategy could not be about speed. Rather, it is about stamina. We are reputed to be able to run most other animals to a standstill because of a unique combination of anatomical features. And here, while the evidence is still circumstantial, it is considerable.

Firstly, let's look at how our upper legs are built. If you watch our recent ancestors chimpanzees walk, they are obviously uncomfortable in standing motion on the ground. Their legs come straight down from the hip, which confers a wider range of movement for climbing, but means that they have to rock from side to side to put their centre of gravity over the leg during walking. We, on the other hand, have thigh bones that slope inward so that our legs are already under us and as we walk or run we can transfer weight from one leg to another much more smoothly. Our legs are much longer comparative to our bodies, increasing for us the importance of locomotion over distances.

At the top of our legs are the gluteus maximus muscles, our buttocks, the biggest muscles in the body. Compared to a chimp, they are enormous. They provide the power for both forward movement and agility across the ground and the importance of this for us is very apparent from the size of the muscle. If you have ever played a hard game of squash after a long break, the extreme mobility needed during the game often leads to 'squash buttock', an aching pot that can make a punishment out of sitting down for the next couple of days.

So the upper leg structure suggests that we might be designed to run. We shall continue this anatomical exploration in the next blog or two. In the mean time, feel free to browse our range for shoes that work with our wonderfully designed running bodies.

What is the difference between walking and running? July 07 2015, 0 Comments

Weight transfer in walking does not exceed total body weight as the transition from one foot to the other involves a stage with both feet on the ground. With running, we are airborne for most of the time, so weight transfer includes the impact of landing which is typically two-and-a-half times body weight. The feet and legs have developed to absorb this impact, and cleverly to store energy from the landing for use in the next take-off.