The Nature of Things: Perfect Runner

When the African ancestors of homo sapiens came down from the trees and started to walk on two legs, they had no chance of outrunning the animals. However, persistence was their advantage. In the cradle of mankind the evolutionary process began which created the perfect endurance runner; man. Even today, Siberian reindeer herders rely on their legs while rounding up the herds, without the help of horses. The filmmaker Niobe Thompson investigated whether we still have the ability to travel vast distances on foot. He joined an ultramarathon in the Canadian Rockies. The human body has evolved into the ultimate running machine. Modern shoes however, suppress the ability. The Ethiopian athletes are the proof . Having been raised in poverty, running barefoot without expensive sport shoes, they have great success. The film takes you to various remote locations in search of the fastest and most persistent runners, and to research laboratories where, with the use of slow motion, the running functions of the human body can be seen. (Academia Film Olomouc)