The ability to run is, in a large part, what makes us human. [View all]

Disclaimer, I'm an "avid" runner, to the tune of 5+ miles a day, every day.

To make a very long story short…humans are the only primates who can run for more than a few hundred yards. There's a very solid theory that we evolved this way because our preferred method of hunting was to injure our prey and then pursue it over days, "persistence hunting". And there's actually a lot of good evidence for it; the very short list includes our almost total lack of body hair, profligate sweat glands, foot bones (they basically mimic the carbon plates in modern running shoes), and the wider and flatter foot itself to absorb impact. Wiki summary here (it does cite good sources): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endurance_running_hypothesis

Basically, running is what makes us human.

And that explains why a good hard run is a religious experience for me.