Some humans can definitely ‘run like the wind,’ leaving others behind while they zoom across the finish line. It seems these fast folks are born to run as they take vast stride after stride. Could your genetics play a role in how fast you can run? Researchers have been looking at a particular gene they’re calling the ‘super speed gene,’ it turns out it could be associated with the ability to run fast.
Factors like nutrition, how much you slept, and muscle strength and size are all involved when it comes to your running speed, and this research highlights that your genetics is another factor to consider. Let’s look at the speed gene and the research.
The role of genetics
Scientists have been investigating a speed gene for over two decades, and research is mounting, revealing how your genetic makeup strongly affects your athletic performance. Researchers have found over 200 different genetic variations that could affect sports performance, and 20 of those could make someone more likely to be an elite athlete.
Of course, becoming an elite athlete takes much more than genetics, and we have to credit their hard work and dedication to a consistent training schedule and optimal nutrition. Even so, according to growing studies, your genetics definitely influence your athletic performance. Certain genes could give you an edge and a ‘leg up’, so to speak.
The speed gene
Scientists uncovered a speed gene, or ACTN3, that encodes for the protein alpha-actinin-3, which is a protein that’s only expressed in fast-twitch muscle fibers. Muscles are comprised of hundreds or thousands of muscle fibers bunched together and coated in connective tissue. Type II, otherwise known as fast-twitch muscle fibers, are found in higher amounts in elite power athletes like sprinters and weightlifters. Mutations in the ACTN3 gene have been strongly associated with the ability to run faster.
Interesting research
Sports scientist Henry Chung and his team from the United Kingdom looked at thousands of genes in the DNA of 45 British young adults. The participants ran for 30 minutes three times a week for a total of eight weeks. They found that 19 specific genes kept coming up that were related to some sort of fitness variable. Some people improved cardiorespiratory fitness or VO2 max by 20%, some improved by 5%, and others didn’t improve at all.
The researchers performed a genotype analysis of all runners and determined that the people who improved cardiorespiratory fitness or VO2 max by 20% had all of these 19 positive genes, whereas people who didn’t improve as much only had one or two of these genes. Fewer than 31% of people involved in the small study had this genetic makeup.
The warrior gene
One of these genes was the ‘warrior gene’ or monoamine oxidase A gene MAOA, which is associated with risk-taking behavior and aggression. This gene could allow people to switch on more of a survival instinct and think, ‘I need to run’, causing them to run faster than others. With these genes, optimal sleep and nutrition, and hard work, it makes sense why some people seem superhuman in their athletic abilities.
