Daniel Lieberman is a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, and an expert on the biomechanics of endurance running. At the start and end of the Race Across USA he performs tests on the competitors. He finds that Young has “the perfect running formâ€: good posture, a relaxed upper body, a seemingly effortless glide. Many amateur runners crash into the ground with their feet. When Lieberman asks Young to run on a pressure pad, there is very little impact.
“That’s important when you are having thousands of collisions, or millions in Rob’s case,†Lieberman says. “You cannot be a thumper and a great runner.â€
In London, Courtney Kipps had observed something else about Young’s footfall. When the typical recreational athlete runs on a treadmill their feet seldom land in the same place. With Young, the landing map looks like a single pair of soles – he strikes the same spot every time. This is a strong Âindication of running efficiency; Young uses no additional energy in trying to balance or push off.
But other results are “remarkable for how unremarkable they areâ€, Kipps says. Young’s VO2 Max – a measure of how much oxygen a person’s body can use during exercise – is average for a three-hour, 30-minute marathoner. (His personal best is two hours and 41 minutes, but most of his runs are slower.) His anaerobic threshold, the point at which lactic acid starts to accumulate in the muscles, is good, but not exceptional.
And so science alone cannot explain Young’s ability to run and run. His mindset may. Kipps notes that Young never shows long-term concerns; he is always enjoying the moment. “It’s like kids who don’t know danger or fear – they have no limits. That only comes later. Rob has a brain that does not all allow him to say: I cannot do that,†Kipps says.
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/sport/2016/03/man-who-could-not-stop-running----
There are also pictures of Rob in a lab:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/archives/news/138134/surviving-dads-abuse-spurred-me-on-to-run-417-marathons-in-14-months/