The Real Science of Sport Podcast

More than most other species, humans are perfectly adapted to endurance running. We may not be the fastest or strongest, but our ability to endure meant our early ancestors could survive and thrive, and modern-day humans can rightfully claim we are all meant to run. Prof. Ross Tucker and sports journalist Mike Finch, who has been the editor of Runner's World SA for 26 years, discuss the amazing adaptations that humans have developed for running, why running may be the most natural sport for you to do, how to train from couch to 5km safely and effectively, the role of shoe tech and why the world seems to be on a running high right now.

Show notes

The original Lieberman paper, Running and the Evolution of Homo
That paper was challenged, not for what, but why. Here's one example
The BBC video of a bushman hunting down a kudu
In time, evidence emerged to support Lieberman's argument, showing persistence hunting in over 200 geographical locations
How many injuries? A systematic review and meta-analysis on injury rates in runners
A systematic review on risk factors for injury during running
One of the more robust research studies looking at pronation and injury risk
Subsequent analysis of that paper offered more support for motion control shoes in specific populations
The plot thickens: Another well-conducted study finds that pronation does not increase injury risk in novice runners

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Show notes

Our recap of the final night of the Ultimate Championship in Budapest:

(00:01:53) Jasmine Jones upsets the women's 400m hurdles field in 52.45, while the two who dominated the season may have slightly mistimed their peaks
(00:05:57) Alison dos Santos wins the 400m hurdles in 45.98, the third fastest ever run, and we look at what Rai Benjamin's year on the flat may buy him next year.
(00:13:10) A solo win for Likina Amebaw in the women's 5000m. She breaks away with a surge faster than world record pace after 2000m, but the broadcast fails to tell the story of her dominant performance
(00:25:43) Daniel Sedjati pounces to win a somewhat surprising 800m in 1:41.91. We talk about Marco Arop, who did what was best for him, but also the other main contenders, while Wanyonyi found the 2026 season a week too long
(00:32:13) The USA win the mixed 4x400m. We pick apart some of the fastest and slowest segments
(00:36:17) Josh Kerr wins the 1500m in 3:29.35 without leaving fourth gear (after being seeded 13th in a 12 man field)!
(00:40:41) Kenny Bednarek's 19.52s is the fifth fastest 200m in history, as he delivers what his 100m said he could
(00:43:45) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden runs 21.47s to win the women's 200m. It's the third fastest women's 200m ever, and we ask which old sprint record goes first?
(00:53:06) Josh Kerr would rather wear his sponsor's kit than his country's. We disagree, and discuss where the Ultimate Championships belong on the global calendar
(00:59:26) Our verdict on the first Ultimate Championship, and when it should be held

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Show notes

Our day two recap, and a preview of the final night of the Ultimate Championships:

(00:01:02) Night two was a clear step up on day one, with six finals and qualifying races that actually mattered and produced intrigue.
(00:01:34) Marileidy Paulinho wins the 400m in 49.07 to end an unbeaten season, and we wonder why Lieke Klaver keeps going out so hard.
(00:06:53) Collen Kebinatshipi wins the men's 400m in 43.39s, with a new race plan, which he explains himself. A record number of sub-44s in a season, and a 42 second man in the making.
(00:15:50) Klaudia Kazimierska outkicks Georgia Hunter Bell in a tactical 1500m, to establish herself as versatile in addition to the world leader.
(00:16:15) World Athletics' AI predictions become a running joke, and we offer to fix them (again!).
(00:27:42) Audrey Werro leads the 800m from the gun and wins as we predicted, albeit more slowly. Hodgkinson and Bol round out the concrete-ists. We discuss Werro's dominant race, the progressive wind-up, and Hodkingson's stuttering season.
(00:34:31) Melissa Jefferson-Wooden's start beats Julien Alfred in the 100m, and Kenny Bednarek surprises Oblique Seville in the men's race.
(00:38:37) We preview the final night, with both 400m hurdles finals, a wide open women's 5000m, Josh Kerr's 1500m to win however he pleases, and both 200m finals.
(00:54:55) And finally, which event pays the most per second of work?

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Show notes

Our day one recap, and a look ahead to a much bigger day two:

(00:00:52) First impressions of the Ultimate Championship. The black infield, the pink sand, a schedule that felt rushed, and camera work that never quite showed us the athleticism. And don't get us started on the predictions
(00:07:26) The money, at $150,000 to a winner and $40,000 for third, which beats winning a Diamond League final.
(00:15:39) Our featured event, the men's 5000m. Jakob Ingebrigtsen breaks 13 minutes off a season wrecked by surgery, and we ask why his rivals let the middle kilometers drift.
(00:34:43) Masai Russell caps a season of meeting records at every Diamond League she ran, plus the world record.
(00:37:43) Ja'Kobe Tharp, this year's world record breaker, beats Cordell Tinch in the 110m hurdles. Do both hurdles records go again next year?
(00:40:25) Day two brings six finals, starting with the 400s, where Marileidy Paulino and Collen Kebinatshipi look untouchable.
(00:44:14) The women's 1500m, where tactical intrigue creates an open race
(00:47:30) The women's 800m, our race of the weekend. Audrey Werro is unbeaten all year, and Femke Bol and Keely Hodgkinson are both coming for her.
(00:56:00) The 100m finals, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden against Julien Alfred, and a men's field covered by six hundredths.
(01:01:49) Prestige, or just the cash? Our verdict after one night
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Doping in South African schoolboy rugby, the end of the track season, and racing in 44 degree heat at the Vuelta. In the news this week:

(00:02:07) The track and field season is winding down, and the Diamond League final felt a little flat. The Ultimate Championships are next, and in a season where they follow the Diamond League, we wonder what purpose the Diamond League final actually serves?
(00:10:05) Is the 800m a sprint or an endurance event? Some discussion popped up on Instagram, so we revist the 800m event, get into energy system contribution, why the 1983 world record has survived, and explore why every improvement has come in the first lap, all as part of making the case for the 800m as a sprint-endurance hybrid
(00:22:49) Jakob Ingebrigtsen calls the Brussels field cowards and losers after Cole Hocker's training partner is put in as a pacemaker. Should a final have pacemakers at all?
(00:31:08) Rumesh Pathirage wins the javelin, and we wonder why the event has the widest geographic spread in athletics
(00:36:12) Doping in South African schoolboy rugby, and the perverse incentives that make it so hard to fix. A survey found one in ten schoolboys admitting steroid use, and two thirds said it was to look good rather than to perform. Almost half don't see it as cheating. We discuss the incentives that create toxic culture in many youth sports, with a specific focus on a recent piece on SA schoolboy rugby
(00:54:12) Triathlete Joe Skipper gets 18 months for three whereabouts failures. We say that being disorganised is no defence
(00:57:41) 44 degrees at the Vuelta, Matthew Brennan calling out the UCI, and whether shortening a stage or moving the race in the calendar helps
(01:05:52) Carlos Alcaraz says he'll take longer breaks, tennis has a load management problem, and the one-handed backhand dies after a 149 year run
(01:19:08) And finally, why can elite powerlifters squat more than they deadlift? Gareth wants your answer on Discourse

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