How Running Makes Us Human

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In this episode we interview Vybarr Cregan-Reid, author of the fascinating new book ‘Footnotes: How Running Makes Us Human’.

In this conversation you will learn how humans are uniquely built for running, the wonders of the foot, how exercise makes us smarter, where running and English Literature intersect, the concept of green exercise, and the notorious history of the treadmill!

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Interview with Vybarr Cregan-Reid

Vybarr Cregan-Reid is a senior lecturer in English Literature at the University of Kent. He blogs at psychojography.com and has written on running for the Guardian, Telegraph, and Literary Review.

The book draws from scientific studies, English literature, history, and his own running . . . and it can be a deep read. At first I was worried that this interview would be kinda dry but I soon found out that Vybarr is a delightfully fun person to speak with! He laughs easy, radiates warmth, and is just as comfortable recalling essays by Oscar Wilde as he is scenes from The Muppet’s Christmas Carol.

Also Mentioned in This Episode

The MTA Virtual Half Marathon – join us and runners all over the world this November for our first ever virtual event! More details here.

The Munich Marathon – will you be at the Munich Marathon this year? I (Trevor) will be there this year. Email us through the contact page.

All of our Race Recaps. If you want to find all of our Race Recap blog posts and episodes you can find them here. Note, some of these shows are not longer available in the free feed.

I recently ran the Sunshine Coast marathon. And Angie & Trevor ran it with me as I listened to Race Recaps for almost the whole time. I wasn’t feeling great so I took it easy and just enjoyed the amazing atmosphere…and had a blast. Thank you so much for the Podcast…it got me through some tough moments today. -Rebecca

Thrive Market – Get $20 off your first 3 purchases (that’s $60 of FREE organic groceries + free shipping) when you used the link thrivemarket.com/mta. They are doing a drawing for a free $50 starter kit with lots of goodies. All you got to do is enter your email address when you visit the site.

Podcast Movement and Spartan Sprint
Keep up with our adventures and see photos on Instagram @marathonacademy.

Climbing Quandary Peak elevation 14,265 after the Breckenridge Spartan Sprint

2 Responses to How Running Makes Us Human

  1. Rebekah October 4, 2017 at 6:18 am #

    Yay Vybarr! This guy was a beloved professor of mine at the University of Kent. 🙂 I was dreading my 20-miler training run a bit, but when I refreshed the MTA podcast feed and saw this podcast, I couldn’t wait to get out there. Thank you to MTA & Vybarr for the thoughtful interview!

    • Trevor Spencer October 20, 2017 at 9:25 am #

      That is so cool! Vybarr mentioned to us that he first heard about our podcast from a student of his.

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