I have always been interested in the human history of distance running. I found an older article about the significance of distance running in evolution. According to the article:
Endurance running, unique to humans among primates and uncommon in all mammals other than dogs, horses and hyenas, apparently evolved at least two million years ago and probably let human ancestors hunt and scavenge over great distances. That was probably decisive in the pursuit of high-protein food for development of large brains.
So, in a sense, distance running made humans what they are today.
