Apparently, at least 1 million people run a marathon every year. That seems to be a lot of people. I remember thinking and having conversations with others about the body types of runners. During marathons, 50 Ks, 50 milers and Western States runs, at times, I would marvel at the different body sizes of certain male and female runners’ .in other words, one’s body type didn’t seem to differentiate nor correlate with how well someone ran. Does that mean that maybe one doesn’t have to be a special human being to run marathon distances?
Years ago I remember watching Oprah during the time when she decided to run the Chicago Marathon. If you remember, she finished. Although she lost weight at the time, she wasn’t a super or exceptional athlete. I am not suggesting that super athletes don’t run marathons or ultra race distances. What I’m suggesting is that you do not have to be a” terrific “athlete to run a marathon.
Also, in thinking about my Tevis and Western States 100 experience, a few observations follow. First, both 100 mile events are to be completed in one day over practically the same trail. Much of the difficult portions of the trail are the same for both the runner and horse. For the equine, in the Tevis, there are a number of veterinary checks with mandatory holds. For instance, Robinson Flat and Forest Hill have one hour holds for evaluation and to allow your horse to eat, drink, and rest without any exceptions in order to protect the well-being of equine.
When I ran the Western States 100, I did not have a mandatory hold of a time length. I did have to get weighed on the scale, a number of times to make sure my body was working properly. If I was gaining too much weight that was the sign that I was to be pulled from the race. On the other hand, my horse was being evaluated during my Tevis Cup race. Raider had to go through more of an elaborate process than I. He was evaluated on such things as pulse, respiration, metabolic and lameness. One might conclude or hypothesize that we humans are “tougher “than horses over a grueling 100 mile mountainous endurance event. Remember, about 50 percent of runners complete the Western States run each year and about 50% of the horses complete the Tevis cup each year as well. Further, over the last 10 years, the first place human’s time was faster than the first place equine.
From Secretariat: I am going to have to take issue with Frank hear. Yes the runners have been remarkable at western states. But lets look how they get there. The top runners are doing 100 to 120 miles a week. When I finished 4th at Tevis I was training my horse maybe 60 miles a week. The horse hold there conditioning with less training for a extended period. As for the times being faster that is true for overall time. But if you take out the two mandatory 1 hr stops the picture changes. And for the big one My horse weighed 850 lb. My weight was 172 pounds, plus 20 pounds of tack for a total of 192 pounds. That is 22% of my horses weight. Lets say the runner is 150. So lets put a 22 pound kid on his back constantly moving. Then we will see how tough he is, and what he’s time would be.
From Secretariat: I am going to have to take issue with Frank hear. Yes the runners have been remarkable at western states. But lets look how they get there. The top runners are doing 100 to 120 miles a week. When I finished 4th at Tevis I was training my horse maybe 60 miles a week. The horse hold there conditioning with less training for a extended period. As for the times being faster that is true for overall time. But if you take out the two mandatory 1 hr stops the picture changes. And for the big one My horse weighed 850 lb. My weight was 172 pounds, plus 20 pounds of tack for a total of 192 pounds. That is 22% of my horses weight. Lets say the runner is 150. So lets put a 22 pound kid on his back constantly moving. Then we will see how tough he is, and what he’s time would be.
We humans are phenomenal at endurance events. This does not mean that we have to be a super athlete to compete in endurance races. What it does mean, is that we are put together and have evolved to run and run long distances. If you are not taking advantage of your human evolution, I suggest you re-think about your life and what you can become. On a subsequent post, I will provide additional information, on why you have great potential to run long distances.
PS. Saturday evening I invited number of friends to celebrate my 73rd birthday at a local restaurant. That was fun as we all had a great time. Earlier in the day, Madhu, Farah, Secretariat, Chris and I ran a trail run. As it turned out, we ran different distances. Secretariat and I ran about 16 miles give or take.
Sunday, our running group consisted of Randall, Diane, Chris and I. This time we did a short trail run of about 6 miles at the Cronin Ranch. Remember to keep moving and run for your life.
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