Hey Frodo, once you start playing, I don't think your concerns about the lack of racial (mechanical) detail will be that invasive. In fact, it just these 'blanks' that are great seeds for the questioning session and setting establishment that is chargen.
Its no different than the lack of detail about a cleric's deity or a bard's means of music, a fighter's signature weapon or the ranger's companion animal. The lists of tags give hints that open up all sorts of wonderfully enlightening questions. Think of races as hefty 'tags' for the playbooks, what they imply is up to you and the other players and revealed through provocative questioning and choice driven play.