To succeed as a hunter, Louis had to reinvent himself as a runner. He’d been an excellent middle-distance athlete in high school, winning the 1,500-meter championship and finishing a close second in the 800, but to hang with the Bushmen, he had to forget everything he’d been taught by modern coaches and study the ancients. As a track athlete, he’d drop his head and hammer, but as an apprentice Bushman, he had to be eyes high and tinglingly alert every step of the way. He couldn’t zone out and ignore pain; instead, his mind was constantly tap-dancing between the immediate—scratches in the dust,
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