Tarahumara Indians of northern Mexico chase down deer until the animals are exhausted, then beat them to death with their hands. The Paiutes and Navajos were reported to do the same with pronghorn antelopes (who are per ported to be the best distance runners in the mammal world).
One of the reasons this is even possible is sweat.
Human beings, evolved from the savanna hunting primates, capitalize on our evolutionary strengths. One of those strengths is our sweat glands.
A distance runner generates a lot of heat, I have pointed out in an earlier entry. She or he must be able to dissipate that heat by sweating, which requires intricate processes of salt and water balance and decisions of routing blood either to the skin to get rid of heat or to the digestive system.
Humans, in contrast to other animals, have an great tolerance for running in the heat.
We have a ton of sweat glands and they are incredibly well-developed. Because of them, we are able to tolerate very high levels of heat from both external and internal sources, ourself and our environment. But this endurance costs us a lot of water. We need to drink a lot to be able to pull of this feat, and we need to replenish that water if we want to keep doing it.
The accumulation of body heat and that subsequent heat exhaustion is why a human is able to change down an brilliant runner like an antelope. Exploit the animal's weakness.
So when you see a water fountain on your run, you need to think about that earlier predator, and how he bequeathed to you your endurance. Stop for some water, or bring it with you. During the summer months, it will let you survive the heat and triumph over the distance, the same way it allowed our forefathers endure the savanna's heat and bring home a meal.
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