Customer Reviews

Why We Run: A Natural History

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Heinrich fans, take note: "Why We Run" is Heinrich's "Racing the Antelope," retitled and repackaged. Don't make my mistake and order this book thinking it is a new work. It isn't.

As to the book, I thoroughly enoyed "Racing the Antelope." Part autobiography (Heinrich is a very interesting person) part biology (presented in a very accessible way), part scientist at work, this book gets to the core of, well, why we (at least some of us) run.

Heinrich is a biologist and world class ultramarathon runner. This book is a combination of random biological vignettes, autobiography, and inspirational story of Heinrich's training for and racing a major 100 kilometer race in which he basically broke the world record for that distance. Of course, there are only a few hyper-dedicated individuals that compete at that distance, but nevertheless Heinrich's accomplishments are astounding.

WHY WE RUN has all sorts of biological discussions that remind me of the worst of Stephen J. Gould's pieces. Unfortunately the biological passages for the most are incoherent although tantalizing. For example, and there are many like this: "Eating is controlled by psychological drives, which in turn are influenced by blood chemistry. Just thinking about a hamburger can change your blood chemistry." But wait a minute, the blood chemistry was supposed to influence the thinking (i.e. psychological drives?). Much of the writing and thinking is mushy like this.

The strong points of the book are that despite the self-indulgent and poorly connected and developed thinking, Heinrich is a passionate and engaging person and this comes across in his writing. He has also led an interesting and bizarre life.

To me the book is most valuable as an inspirational story. His inspirational attitude is deeper than the "if you just believe and try hard enough you can do it" variety. Heinrich has a kind of hard-knuckled, gritty attitude toward life (and at the same time a love of nature and animals--although he is also an avid and skilled hunter). He manages to communicate a holistic view of human nature and biology that I found encouraging and inspiring, and at the same time realistic.

As a 20 mile a week runner nearing 60, I found the book helpful to my puny efforts. Heinrich, however, is so far beyond anything that any ordinary runner could ever even dream about in his wildest dreams, that it is hard to connect with him. Frankly his running seems super-human, and not just a little crazy, but downright insane. Unlike some other writers, Heinrich never makes the reader feel inferior and I appreciate that. He is modest and humble. Fine traits, I'd say in a world class athlete.

BTW: The author explains in the preface why the book has been retitled. Several other non-related books had been published at the same time with "antelope" in the title.

"Why We Run A Natural History" By: Bernd Heinrich (Author)

This is not a new book it is simply a new titled version of Bernd Heinrich's book "Racing The Antelope" so if you have already bought the older version or read it don't rush out to buy this new titled edition.
The beginning of this book is Bernd's autobiography about his childhood in Germany, and in the Maine woods. In this section he writes about his undefeated cross-country career and his college running career at UMO (University of Maine at Orono). Despite his very unique and almost bizarre childhood, he seems very human and easy to relate to from in two major ways in my life. The first is as a Mainer who has always enjoyed the outdoors, and the second is as a high school cross-country runner. This is mostly because as Bernd alluded to, running itself is very natural especially in the Maine woods.
The middle chapters at first appeared to have just been thrown in, but once you have finished the book his reasons for putting in several chapters about animal biology as well as physiology and psychology become readily apparent. This intriguing and random section goes into scientific detail about several animals such as wolves, dogs, cats (canines, felines), camels and antelopes as well as many more, in relation to running and what we can learn from them.
The final section of his book is filled with details of his preparation and racing in a 100 k (62.2 miles) ultra marathon, which he won and set a world record in. In this section you understand why he had the section on animal biology when he tries to improve his performance by using many different running techniques and fuels, such as Ocean Spray Cranberry juice, which he used and was sponsored by in the Chicago ultra marathon. It is surprising that as a runner you can still relate to him when it comes to the pain he must overcome to succeed. When you look at the distances he trains at and races at you realize just how far away his is with his crazy endurance. To run like he does you have to be in unbelievable shape and be a little crazy.
This was a great blend of Bernd's autobiography, biology and his practice and racing in the Chicago ultra marathon. At times it grew a little dull for me but I still highly recommend it for any runner, at any level as well as anyone interested biology. If you're curious about why we run read this book.

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

Reading the other reviews, I must be the only reader who did not appreciate this book. While the book may be very interesting, it's not what Amazon advertised it to be nor is it what I expected from the title. Maybe I just haven't gotten far enough along in the book. But I didn't expect an autobiography, especially one about an author whose young life sounded very difficult. What I expected was a book more along anthropological or historical explanations for the reasons humans run. I expected a continuation of the explanations that were described in Born to Run. In fact, Born to Run was the reason I purchased this book. Maybe I'll give it another try in the future but for now I'm going to continue my search for a book I can't put down.

I am an ultrarunner, and read this book expecting a book on ultrarunning.

I have recommended this book to runner and non-runner friends alike. When they ask what it's about, I describe it as 1/3 personal memoir, 1/3 biology book, and 1/3 training log. The author's accomplishment he writes about is extraordinary, and his portrayal of "the race" at the end will be re-read by me many times.

Some of the "biology book" sections are a little drawn out and tough to slog through, but it all comes together by the end of the book. I acknowledge some of the criticisms posted here, but I guess I wasn't as sensitive to them.

I enjoyed the book and will read it again.

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.

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.

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.

. . . 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.