Racing the Antelope: What Animals Can Teach Us About Running and Life [Hardcover]

Bernd Heinrich (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2001

Racing the Antelope

"The human experience is populated by dreams and aspirations. For me, the animal totem of these dreams is the antelope, swift, strong, and elusive. we chase after 'antelope,' and sometimes we catch them. Often we don't. But why do we bother? I think it is because without dream 'antelopes' to chase we become what a lapdog is to a wolf. And we are inherently more like wolves than lapdogs, because the communal chase is part of our biological makeup."

In 1981, Bernd Heinrich, a lifelong runner, decided to test his limits at age forty-one and race in the North American 100-Kilometer Championship race in Chicago. To improve his own preparations as a runner, he wondered what he could learn from other animals--what makes us different and how we are the same--and what new perspective these lessons could shed on human evolution. A biologist and award-winning nature writer, he considered the flight endurance of insects and birds, the antelope's running prowess and limitations, the ultraendurance of the camel, and the remarkable sprinting and jumping skills of frogs. Exploring how biological adaptations have granted these creatures "superhuman" abilities, he looked at how human physiology can or cannot replicate these adaptations. Drawing on his observations and knowledge of animal physiology and behavior, Heinrich ran the race, and the results surprised everyone--himself most of all.

In Racing the Antelope, Heinrich applies his characteristic blend of scientific inquiry and philosophical musing to a deft exploration of the human desire--even need--to run. His rich prose reveals what endurance athletes can learn about the body and the spirit from other athletes in the animal kingdom. He then takes you into the heart of his own grueling 100-kilometer ultramarathon, where he puts into practice all that he has discovered about the physical, spiritual--and primal--drive to win.

At once lyrical and scientific, Racing the Antelope melds a unique blend of biology, anthropology, psychology, and philosophy with Heinrich's passion for running to discover how and why we run.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Movement is the essence of life," writes biologist Heinrich (Bumblebee Economics; Mind of the Raven), a professor at the University of Vermont and winner of Germany's Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award. Indeed, Heinrich has spent much of his life running. As a young child, he and his family fled from advancing Soviet troops into the deep forest in Germany, where they eked out a living by collecting biological specimens for museums. Moving to Maine at age 10, Heinrich became a star cross-country runner for his high school and for the state university he later attended. He went on to become a marathoner and, at age 41, broke the North American record for Chicago's 100k (62.2 mile) race by 13 minutes (he eventually went on to 100-mile and 24-hour races as well). In this thoroughly engrossing account, Heinrich details his motivation and strategy for the Chicago race, based on what he has learned about animals that move far and fast and the peoples who have hunted them on foot. He explains the functions of bipedalism, muscle fiber types, cellular activity and heat regulation, adding, "It was not just our sweat glands that made us premier endurance predators. It was also our minds." Imagination, he insists, is the "pull that allows us to reach into the future" and the factor that differentiates human from animal racers. "Those hunters who had the longest vision," he writes, "persisted longest on the trail" and became our ancestors. As inspiring as it is fascinating, this book should have wide appeal both within and beyond the athletic world. Agent, Sandy Dijkstra.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Scientific American

Zoologist Heinrich is also what many people would regard as a superhuman runner. In 1981, at the age of 41, he set a record of 6:38:21 for the North American 100-kilometer race. Here, among other things, he tells the story of that grueling race and his preparations for it. The other things include the physiology of running and analyses of what makes certain animals noteworthy for speed or endurance--among them pronghorn antelopes, migrating birds and camels, "which show us how to handle an oversupply of heat with an undersupply of water." Now, along with his work as professor of zoology at the University of Vermont, he has begun "a new training regimen, to try for some age-group (over sixty) records."

Editors of Scientific American

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Ecco; 1 edition (April 24, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060199210
• ISBN-13: 978-0060199210
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #681,323 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bernd Heinrich is a biologist and author of numerous books on the natural world. He lives in Richmond, VT, and in a cabin in the forests of western Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'd Rather Eat Worms than Deplete, December 1, 2001

By 

Eleni Otto "Rio Raven" (Corrales, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Racing the Antelope: What Animals Can Teach Us About Running and Life (Hardcover)

Anyone (like myself) who likes to run longer distances (and likes ~bugs~ to boot) will just plain enjoy reading about Heinrich's passion for the simple, elegant and primordial sport of running. Heinrich has woven his autobiography with scientific inquiry...his vocation (biology) is what gives this book about his avocation (running) an interesting bent. Heinrich talks about antelope, birds, toads, dogs and cats etc. and investigates what those animals can teach us about running, and what humans do or do not have in common with these animals regarding stamina, endurance, and even focus. I think that this book gives the reader / runner something to think about and be inspired by in an abstract way rather than serving as a ~step-by-step process~ on how to be a better runner. This is not some boastful read for the old-fart jock club (which by age I would qualify for), but an inspirational life story ~and~ scientific investigation regarding the human spirit, our primal / animal need to run (well, some of us anyway) and the drive to pursue our dreams (that goes for all of us!).

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Re: A Cautionary Tale, May 22, 2001

By 

steve (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Racing the Antelope: What Animals Can Teach Us About Running and Life (Hardcover)

I'd like to write a review of the previous review from Chicago. All it tells me is the the couch potato wasn't smart enough to buy the right book and then sought to blame the author(Heinrich) for his disappointment. Not much help.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Running Is Life!, July 28, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Racing the Antelope: What Animals Can Teach Us About Running and Life (Hardcover)

A truly wonderful book. Heinrich's exploration of endurance and running in the animal kingdom, coupled with his own efforts to prepare for and win an ultra distance (100-kilometer) race, is extraordinarily revealing. As a life long (66 year old) runner, I recommend this book without reservation.