A very limited perspective of the “problems” with running. It only takes a little time being exposed to cultures that don’t normally use footwear to see that the problems you highlight are associated with footwear, not evolution. As for running in the heat, runners conditioned to it can cope quite well.

Human Evolution now publishes the proceedings of the symposium on human waterside evolution ‘Human Evolution: Past, Present & Future’ in London 8-10 May 2013:
SPECIAL EDITION PART 1 (end 2013)
Introduction – Peter Rhys-Evans
1. Human’s Association with Water Bodies: the ‘Exaggerated Diving Reflex’ and its Relationship with the Evolutionary Allometry of Human Pelvic and Brain Sizes – Stephen Oppenheimer
2. Human Ecological Breadth: Why Neither Savanna nor Aquatic Hypotheses can Hold Water – JH Langdon
3. Endurance Running versus Underwater Foraging: an Anatomical and Palaeoecological Perspective – Stephen Munro
4. Wading Hypotheses of the Origin of Human Bipedalism – Algis Kuliukas
5. The Aquatic Ape Evolves: Common Misconceptions and Unproven Assumptions about the So-Called Aquatic Ape Hypothesis – Marc Verhaegen
6. The Epigenetic Emergence of Culture at the Coastline: Interaction of Genes, Nutrition, Environment and Demography – CL Broadhurst & Michael Crawford
SPECIAL EDITION PART 2 (begin 2014) with 12 contributions

Also keep in mind though that dogs that do well in heat have been
artificially selected via breeding to express that capability. It was not
present in the ancestral wolf from which domestic dog breeds have come. In a
similar manner, humans evolved from our primate ancestors through natural
selection to be very good at operating in the heat. The critical point is
that we can do things in the heat that the vast majority of quadrupedal
mammals cannot.

I also remember reading about a woman who trained for marathons with a few Rhodesian Ridgebacks.  I believe she was doing upper-teens mileage with significant elevation gains.  She said her dogs showed no signs of fatigue and she was sure they could go much further than her.

These are anecdotal events, but then so is the opposing evidence you cited, namely your Lab’s inability to shed heat.

But thanks for your efforts, i’m finding the blog very useful.

The first article had a few rather eye-opening points, but yeah the fact the we are far on the right of the bell-curve as endurance athletes in the heat is not what conventional wisdom would predict. 

It’s an exciting narrative that’s unfolding.  Understanding our evolutionary heritage is such a key facet of understanding ourselves.  For me at least, that intellectual understanding always expands and clarifies my sense of where I stand in the world on an -ahem- existential level. 

Right.  In any case thermoregulation would seem to be very breed-specific.  Ridgebacks are African hunting dogs of course, and one of the articles you linked to specifically mentions those dogs as possessing exceptional ER capabilities.  So we have to be careful when we make blanket statements about ‘dogs’.  What would kill a Lab or a Husky might be a warm-up for a Basenji.

The point is heat. My lab could do the same thing on a cool Fall day
like the one you describe, but never in the heat of summer under
direct sun. The latter is the environment our ancestors took advantage
of to persistence hunt. Jack can run forever with me in winter, but
even taking him on a long walk on a humid, 90 degree day is dangerous.

Pete