ELI5, Why can seemingly every animal run faster and for longer than humans?
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We humans don’t run to hunt for food that much anymore.
In pre-history, stamina was often more important- long distance running to hunt mammoth herds for instance.
What?!?!
Humans can outrun just about every other animal on earth.
>Most mammals can sprint faster than people – with four legs giving them a major advantage.
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>But over longer distances humans can outrun almost any creature – a phenomenon that has puzzled biologists for years.
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>One study found on a hot day a human could even outrun a horse over a 26.2 marathon.
[Source](https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/lifestyle/health/humans-are-the-best-long-distance-runners-in-the-animal-kingdom-heres-why-101700/)
Isn’t this like the complete opposite of the way it is? Humans can run longer than any animal on the planet, although not faster. We’re called pursuit predators iirc.
They can’t they can only out run couch potatoes, a two legged running style is more efficient than four and many groups of native hunters can out last grazing animals in a long run also known as the endurance hunt https://youtu.be/jjvPvnQ-DUw What humans can’t do is out sprint animals, their four legs has the advantage on humans.
Firstly, many animals, such as cheetahs and lions, are built for running. They have strong, flexible spines that allow them to maintain balance and stability while running, and their long, muscular legs give them a lot of stride length. Humans, on the other hand, have shorter legs and a more rigid spine, which makes running less efficient.
Secondly, many animals have more efficient respiratory systems than humans. They can take in more oxygen per breath, which means their muscles have more energy to keep running for longer periods of time.
Finally, many animals are simply better adapted to running long distances than humans. Some animals can store more energy in their muscles and liver, which means they can sustain their energy output for longer. Additionally, some animals have cooling mechanisms, like panting and sweating, that help dissipate heat and prevent overheating during prolonged exercise. Humans, while we do have some cooling mechanisms like sweating, are not as well-adapted to long-term endurance running as many animals are.
Tldr: Humans had great stamina when we used to hunt. As we slowly developed ways to stray away from running after food, our bodies adapted. Meanwhile, animals are just as strong as their ancestors since not much has changed for them.
Faster yes, but not for longer. Some animals are able to sprint for longer then humans but not run. Humans are essentially the best marathon runners and are even better at longer distances again. This is because humans use a lot less energy when running compared to other animals. Having two legs instead of four is likely helping us conserve a lot of energy. But this efficient way of running does cost in top speed. And when trying to sprint our cells are just not able to produce that much energy and quickly run out.
We think that this helped early humans hunt by stalking the pray to exhaustion. You might not be able to sneak up on a flock of deer, or catch them when they start sprinting away from you. But the deer have to stop to catch their breath after a bit while you can just keep running after them. Your intelligence means you notice where they are going and can track them even when they are out of sight. When you get to them they are still catching their breath and have to sprint away with lactic acid in their vanes. The second and third time you run into them they will sprint slower and for shorter distances. Eventually they are too tired to run and have to fight you. So you get close enough to pierce them with a spear.
Humans are super optimized persistence runners. We can’t outsprint most animals our size, but we can outrun anything alive in a marathon.
Faster but not longer.
Very few animals can match humans in long distance. Horses and wolfs are two of the few animals that can match us over great distances.
And i think even the horse loses if we extend the journey for days.
If you’re looking at averages, then you’re right.
Most land animal species that can run, when averaged out their speed or distance, will outrun a human beings on average. That is because there are a lot of humans who don’t run.
Almost all land animals that are born with the ability to run, will exercise that ability daily.
Now, when talking about the longest distance running animal species on an individual level, the top human runner will outrun any other animal species on the planet. Our physiology allows that, but only a small number of people will exercise that ability.
So to answer your question. Because the majority of human beings don’t run, on average, human beings are slower and have less stamina than most other land animals who run daily.
But when looking at the individual species, select few human beings will outrun any animal species in distance.
Numerous other animals can run faster than humans. But I don’t know if any animals that can outrun a human over distances.
We have the ability to sweat which can keep us cool for MANY miles, as long as you’re in decent shape.
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