4 ms·

I've always said they need to have a non-athlete run next to the athletes so we can tell just how fast these runners are.

deleted 2y ago
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kazinator 2y ago
Elite race walkers embarrass recreational runners with sub-40 10 km times. There you are, running your heart out, and some guy walks right past you.
- rowanG077 2y ago
  It's hardly "walking". It's basically just a silly way to run.
  - ketzo 2y ago
    “Race walking” is distinguished from “running” based on technique. In this case, “walking” is defined very strictly as “never having both feet off the ground.” Yes, obviously it’s just a silly way to run, if “run” is “move fast on foot”. It’s just that “race walking” is fewer words than “a silly way to run where you have to keep one foot on the ground always.”
    - inglor_cz 2y ago
      This isn't strictly enforced, though.
      - swores 2y ago
        It's not that it isn't enforced, it's that the rule is very specifically that it must appear that one foot is always touching the ground when watched in real time with human eyes, the rule isn't that one foot must technically always be touching the ground.
        buzzerbetrayed 2y ago
        That very well may be the rule, but you can't then argue that it isn't a "silly way to run". It clearly is if both feet can be in the air at the same time.
        swores 2y ago
        I completely agree, especially with the "silly" part!
      - kazinator 2y ago
        There is also a rule about a straight leading leg. That puts a limit on the leaping. A leg not being straight is pretty visible.
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
  - glitchc 2y ago
    We can't call it running if at least one foot has to be on the ground at a time. That requirement also drastically limits stride length, giving an inherent advantage to the runner.
    - IncreasePosts 2y ago
      If you watch professional speed walkers they frequently have both feet off the ground. Just like in the NBA many players travel all the time, but it just isn't called.
    - crustaceansoup 2y ago
      It's an open secret that "cheating" (i.e. not having both feet planted) is ubiquitous, to the point that since 1996 the official rule is now "not naked-eye visible loss of contact, or visibly bent knee". You can watch any slow-motion video of racewalkers and they seem to lose contact on every stride.
      - teruakohatu 2y ago
        And they seem to break that break even that very loose rule when they think they can get away with it. With cheap modern tech I am sure they could enforce the contact rules.
        philipwhiuk 2y ago
        Yeh there was a lot of consternation in the sport the other year because it's now very easy to enforce but all the current pros would be DQ'd
        klyrs 2y ago
        A bomb on a pair of deadman switches? You don't need modern tech...
- LanceH 2y ago
  They aren't embarrassing anyone. If that's walking fast, I'm walking slow.
- klyrs 2y ago
  Hilariously, I got passed by a runner on my bike just yesterday. We were both trudging up a mountain. I suggested she carry my bike; she demurred. Eventually when the terrain leveled out a little bit, I left her in the dust.
- mcbutterbunz 2y ago
  The 4-minute-mile is an average of 15mph. I haven't measured how fast I can sprint, but at my age (40s), I doubt its higher than 15mph for any timespan longer than a few seconds. So milers effectively sprint for 4 minutes straight. Its mind boggling what the human body can do.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
    I don't think you're familiar with the performance levels of masters (40+) atheletes. I'm 60 now, but in my 40s I was a moderately good marathon-to-ultramarathon runner, and with a little bit of speedwork training, I managed to run a 5:30 track mile. That's not even fast - I had friends of the same age who could run 4:30. It is truly remarkable what the human body can do - the world record for the marathon involves running 26.2 miles faster per mile than I could ever run 1 mile. But if you can't sprint faster than 4mph for a few seconds, that's fine but it's not indicative of "at your age". Unless you have some actual health issue that prevents it, I would very surprised if you were incapable of hitting 6mph for a mile with some training, and a lot of people would not find it tremendously hard to hit 6.5-7mph if they had the time and motivation to train.
  - kazinator 2y ago
    Not just that, but elite marathon performances (42.2 km) are under 5 minute miles. Say, 2:10 (130 minutes) over 26.2 miles is a 4:58 mile pace. The current world record seems to be 2:00:35, which is like a 4:36 mile pace. Sometimes footage of elite level long distance running events shows fans trying to follow the runners on bicycle. It looks quite astonishing and ridiculous at the same time.
dorkwood 2y ago
"Beat the Freeze", a half-time show the Atlanta Braves used to put on, is pretty close. It's where a member of the crowd takes on a former collegiate sprinter in a 160m race, and they're given a five second head start. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3UzW1aJXRUw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3UzW1aJXRUw
- oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
  That last one is very unlucky — it was never a full 5 second head start!
  - teruakohatu 2y ago
    I hadn't heard of this event before but watching the video it does seem like the last one might have beaten the freeze if they had got a full 5 seconds head start. Makes you wonder if the freeze head start is based on how fast you run / how fit they think you are. It seems like when the freeze is beaten, he is beaten by a hardcore amateur: https://www.mlb.com/video/braves-fan-beats-the-freeze https://www.mlb.com/video/braves-fan-beats-the-freeze
    - js2 2y ago
      It's clear from his form that he's an experienced runner. I googled a bit. He ran track in HS and at least the start of college. These were his HS senior times: > Was the Region 6-AA Champion for finishing first in the 5k in 2010… Finished third in the state in the 5k in a time of 17:46.66 during the 2010 season. https://ksuowls.com/sports/mens-track-and-field/roster/parker-whitlock/3820 https://ksuowls.com/sports/mens-track-and-field/roster/parke... https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/new-dad-atlanta-braves-super-fan-wins-race-against-the-freeze-at-braves-game https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/new-dad-atlanta-braves-supe...
    - fckgw 2y ago
      It's likely when the challenger happens to pass a certain part of the field, and most people cross that around 5 seconds in.
- 2y ago
dzonga 2y ago
here's [0] a NFL bound defensive lineman weight over 340 lbs running a 40 yard dash in 4.82 . i'm half his weight and change. yet he would be faster than me. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Ozz3rgKHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Ozz3rgKHU
- FredPret 2y ago
  Imaging colliding with this guy. Like shouldering a locomotive

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

kazinator 2y ago

Elite race walkers embarrass recreational runners with sub-40 10 km times. There you are, running your heart out, and some guy walks right past you.

rowanG077 2y ago
It's hardly "walking". It's basically just a silly way to run.
- ketzo 2y ago
  “Race walking” is distinguished from “running” based on technique. In this case, “walking” is defined very strictly as “never having both feet off the ground.” Yes, obviously it’s just a silly way to run, if “run” is “move fast on foot”. It’s just that “race walking” is fewer words than “a silly way to run where you have to keep one foot on the ground always.”
  - inglor_cz 2y ago
    This isn't strictly enforced, though.
    - swores 2y ago
      It's not that it isn't enforced, it's that the rule is very specifically that it must appear that one foot is always touching the ground when watched in real time with human eyes, the rule isn't that one foot must technically always be touching the ground.
      - buzzerbetrayed 2y ago
        That very well may be the rule, but you can't then argue that it isn't a "silly way to run". It clearly is if both feet can be in the air at the same time.
        swores 2y ago
        I completely agree, especially with the "silly" part!
    - kazinator 2y ago
      There is also a rule about a straight leading leg. That puts a limit on the leaping. A leg not being straight is pretty visible.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- glitchc 2y ago
  We can't call it running if at least one foot has to be on the ground at a time. That requirement also drastically limits stride length, giving an inherent advantage to the runner.
  - IncreasePosts 2y ago
    If you watch professional speed walkers they frequently have both feet off the ground. Just like in the NBA many players travel all the time, but it just isn't called.
  - crustaceansoup 2y ago
    It's an open secret that "cheating" (i.e. not having both feet planted) is ubiquitous, to the point that since 1996 the official rule is now "not naked-eye visible loss of contact, or visibly bent knee". You can watch any slow-motion video of racewalkers and they seem to lose contact on every stride.
    - teruakohatu 2y ago
      And they seem to break that break even that very loose rule when they think they can get away with it. With cheap modern tech I am sure they could enforce the contact rules.
      - philipwhiuk 2y ago
        Yeh there was a lot of consternation in the sport the other year because it's now very easy to enforce but all the current pros would be DQ'd
      - klyrs 2y ago
        A bomb on a pair of deadman switches? You don't need modern tech...
LanceH 2y ago
They aren't embarrassing anyone. If that's walking fast, I'm walking slow.
klyrs 2y ago
Hilariously, I got passed by a runner on my bike just yesterday. We were both trudging up a mountain. I suggested she carry my bike; she demurred. Eventually when the terrain leveled out a little bit, I left her in the dust.
mcbutterbunz 2y ago
The 4-minute-mile is an average of 15mph. I haven't measured how fast I can sprint, but at my age (40s), I doubt its higher than 15mph for any timespan longer than a few seconds. So milers effectively sprint for 4 minutes straight. Its mind boggling what the human body can do.
- PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
  I don't think you're familiar with the performance levels of masters (40+) atheletes. I'm 60 now, but in my 40s I was a moderately good marathon-to-ultramarathon runner, and with a little bit of speedwork training, I managed to run a 5:30 track mile. That's not even fast - I had friends of the same age who could run 4:30. It is truly remarkable what the human body can do - the world record for the marathon involves running 26.2 miles faster per mile than I could ever run 1 mile. But if you can't sprint faster than 4mph for a few seconds, that's fine but it's not indicative of "at your age". Unless you have some actual health issue that prevents it, I would very surprised if you were incapable of hitting 6mph for a mile with some training, and a lot of people would not find it tremendously hard to hit 6.5-7mph if they had the time and motivation to train.
- kazinator 2y ago
  Not just that, but elite marathon performances (42.2 km) are under 5 minute miles. Say, 2:10 (130 minutes) over 26.2 miles is a 4:58 mile pace. The current world record seems to be 2:00:35, which is like a 4:36 mile pace. Sometimes footage of elite level long distance running events shows fans trying to follow the runners on bicycle. It looks quite astonishing and ridiculous at the same time.

dorkwood 2y ago

"Beat the Freeze", a half-time show the Atlanta Braves used to put on, is pretty close. It's where a member of the crowd takes on a former collegiate sprinter in a 160m race, and they're given a five second head start. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3UzW1aJXRUw https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3UzW1aJXRUw

oneeyedpigeon 2y ago
That last one is very unlucky — it was never a full 5 second head start!
- teruakohatu 2y ago
  I hadn't heard of this event before but watching the video it does seem like the last one might have beaten the freeze if they had got a full 5 seconds head start. Makes you wonder if the freeze head start is based on how fast you run / how fit they think you are. It seems like when the freeze is beaten, he is beaten by a hardcore amateur: https://www.mlb.com/video/braves-fan-beats-the-freeze https://www.mlb.com/video/braves-fan-beats-the-freeze
  - js2 2y ago
    It's clear from his form that he's an experienced runner. I googled a bit. He ran track in HS and at least the start of college. These were his HS senior times: > Was the Region 6-AA Champion for finishing first in the 5k in 2010… Finished third in the state in the 5k in a time of 17:46.66 during the 2010 season. https://ksuowls.com/sports/mens-track-and-field/roster/parker-whitlock/3820 https://ksuowls.com/sports/mens-track-and-field/roster/parke... https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/new-dad-atlanta-braves-super-fan-wins-race-against-the-freeze-at-braves-game https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/new-dad-atlanta-braves-supe...
  - fckgw 2y ago
    It's likely when the challenger happens to pass a certain part of the field, and most people cross that around 5 seconds in.
2y ago

dzonga 2y ago

here's [0] a NFL bound defensive lineman weight over 340 lbs running a 40 yard dash in 4.82 . i'm half his weight and change. yet he would be faster than me. [0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Ozz3rgKHU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Ozz3rgKHU

FredPret 2y ago
Imaging colliding with this guy. Like shouldering a locomotive