I came upon Bernd Heinrich’s “Why We Run” while picking out books from Christmas presents. I’d already chosen two of his other books for my folks, and couldn’t resist gifting myself.

Heinrich writes about the physiology of running in humans and animals, and suggests that humans may learn a few tricks from camels, antelope and even beetles. He also talks about training for a 100K (62.2 miles) race in Chicago in 1981. At the age of 41, he set a course record at 6:38:21.

His central thesis: baby, we were born to run. Our bodies are made for it, and the more we do it, the better we get.

Being 42 myself, I found his account equal parts inspiring and discouraging. The guy never stretches, scoffs at weight training and doesn’t bother to carry water on 20-mile training runs. He ran 100K at a pace I could hold for about 5k. On top of all that, he writes well. I’m jealous.