Brad Kearns Wants You to Stop Running and Start Walking

By Robert White, Editor-In-Chief

Brad Kearns spent nearly a decade as a professional triathlete, pushing the limits of physical endurance and reaching as high as #3 in the world rankings. But today, the man once defined by his speed is advocating something radically slower: walking. Yes, walking.

In his new book, Born to Walk: My Evolutionary Path to Health, Energy, and Slower Aging, co-authored with longtime collaborator and primal health pioneer Mark Sisson, Kearns presents a compelling case for stepping off the treadmill of chronic cardio and into a lifestyle rooted in gentle, sustained movement.

“For the vast majority of people, endurance running is not healthy,” Kearns told Savoir Faire. “It’s too hard on the body. The stress, the hormonal imbalance, the fatigue—it can end up doing more harm than good.”

That message might surprise readers familiar with Kearns’ elite athletic background. But it’s that same background—marked by extreme training, professional wins, and eventual burnout—that inspired the shift in perspective. After retiring from competition, Kearns spent years exploring primal health, ancestral living, and metabolic science. What he discovered upended much of what we assume about fitness.

“Walking is the most natural, primal movement we have,” he said. “It’s not just exercise—it’s how the human body is meant to function. And the benefits are staggering: fat burning, better brain function, lower cortisol, even slower aging.”

In Born to Walk, Kearns and Sisson dismantle long-held myths—like the 10,000 steps rule, which they reveal began as a 1960s Japanese pedometer marketing gimmick. The truth? “You don’t need 10,000 steps a day to get health benefits,” Kearns noted. “Even a few thousand done consistently, especially in sunlight and with good posture, can have huge payoffs.”

The book arrives as more people—especially high-performing athletes—are rethinking their relationship with exercise. Burnout, hormonal crashes, chronic injuries, and fatigue are pushing even the fittest to search for a more sustainable path. Kearns’ prescription is simple: Walk more, run less, move often.

“Most people don’t realize that running, especially at high intensities, can actually prompt the body to store fat,” Kearns explained. “The stress signals are so intense, your metabolism slows, your appetite skyrockets, and you end up tired, inflamed, and reaching for sugar.”

Instead, Kearns suggests walking as a cornerstone of daily life, particularly in minimalist or barefoot-inspired footwear like the Peluva line he and Sisson recently co-launched. “Shoes matter,” he said. “We’ve trained our feet into dysfunction. Going back to natural movement starts from the ground up.”

This isn’t just a casual wellness trend. Kearns points to evolutionary biology and exercise science to back it up. “Our ancestors didn’t run marathons,” he said. “They walked—constantly. Movement was part of every hour of the day. That’s what we’ve lost in modern life. Now we sit at desks and expect a 60-minute HIIT class to undo it all. It doesn’t work that way.”

As with his earlier bestselling book Two Meals a Day, which questioned the norms of frequent eating and advocated for metabolic flexibility, Kearns is once again challenging conventional wisdom—with enthusiasm and evidence to match. “This isn’t about being lazy,” he said. “It’s about being smart. Walking is the gateway to better health, better energy, better aging.”

And for Kearns, it’s personal. “I’ve run my body into the ground before,” he admitted. “Now I walk every day. I lift. I sprint once in a while. But walking is my baseline. It’s made me fitter, leaner, and sharper than I was in my racing days. And I’m enjoying life a lot more.”

In a world obsessed with fast results and harder workouts, Brad Kearns’ message is refreshingly simple—and possibly revolutionary: Slow down, step outside, and just walk.

For more, visit borntowalkbook.com and follow Brad on Instagram @bradkearns1.