Apr 28, 2022
Dr. Cara Wall-Scheffler, Professor of Biology, is co-author of a new research study, "Running in the wild: energetics explain ecological running speeds", that examined whether human running speed is influenced more by the task (such as running distance) or energy demands. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, involved a collaboration between Dr. Wall-Scheffler and researchers at Queen's University (Ontario, Canada), Stanford University and Lumo Bodytech Inc. The laboratory data reported in the study was collected by Dr. Wall-Scheffler and her students over the past several years. The study demonstrated that human running speed is optimized to minimize energy expenditure, with larger implications for understanding the impact of environment and lifestyle on human locomotion.