There is a theory that distance running is intimately related to humans evolution and their brain development. The human foot is beautifully engineered to be used for long distance running, to help absorb the impact and transfer the force into our Achilles and larger glute muscles. The fact that we have feet designed to run for a long time, have the nifty ability to sweat (unlike our prey at the time who needs to stop and pant to cool off), and are social creatures leads some to believe that we were persistent hunters, akin to a pack of wild dogs; ideally chasing down our prey as a group during the hottest part of the day when the animal would have most difficulty cooling off. Some believe the introduction of animal protein into our diet also helped trigger brain growth. So some combination of sociability, persistent running, and animal protein helped accelerate human brain growth back in the day.
Recommend reading Born to Run or watching the Ted talk by the author for those interested.[1]
Recommend reading Born to Run or watching the Ted talk by the author for those interested.[1]
[1]https://www.ted.com/talks/christopher_mcdougall_are_we_born_...