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"Some nay-sayers wonder whether a 10-hour marathon really counts, arguing that it is little more than a lengthy sponsored walk." He redefined what it means to

by trapper 17y ago

"Some nay-sayers wonder whether a 10-hour marathon really counts, arguing that it is little more than a lengthy sponsored walk." He redefined what it means to run a marathon, that's all. Trying to do this but running maximally would be another feat indeed. But wow - very impressive none the less.

axod 17y ago
By the end he did almost under 5 hours which is pretty cool. I think the 'nay sayers' should try and do what he did :)
- icey 17y ago
  Yeah, I don't really get all the hate. Maybe it should be reframed to "Eddie Izzard runs over 1000 miles in 50 days for charity"
  - bhousel 17y ago
    Maybe it should be reframed to "Eddie Izzard walks over 1000 miles in 50 days for charity".
- electromagnetic 17y ago
  Agreed, I think the nay sayers would be shit scared cowards if they had to attempt this and all of them never will. I never will, I have the balls to admit I'm totally incapable of achieving this, but as a half-decent human being I could never criticise someone for such an amazing feat and I believe anyone who does is a complete and utter hack who doesn't deserve the title of human. It's pure envy and all these nay sayers have let it consume them, it's utterly pathetic of them and shows sub-human decency. In Europe there's a 100-club for marathoners, for those who complete 100 marathons within their lifetime. In less than 2 months Izzard is almost half-way there. He did in a few weeks what most marathoners dream of for half their lifetime. That's simply amazing and the fact that he increased his speed considerably despite injuries and damage makes it even more amazing.
adamhowell 17y ago
I'm not sure he "redefined" it, by the end he was running 5 hour marathons, which is a very respectable time.
- trapper 17y ago
  If he wasn't "running" to his best, that would be my definition. Pacing yourself because you know you have another one is running a different race entirely, so the two are totally not comparable. It would certainly be interesting to see how fast he could run one in a few months time once his soreness dies down.
gaius 17y ago
He redefined what it means to run a marathon, that's all. Ermm, no he didn't. Or if he did I can "redefine" running a Marathon to walking to Starbucks in which case I did 2 Marathons today. I bet there are many people who do a 10-hour Marathon in a day's shopping... Good for him raising money for charity, but there are people in the world like Dean Karnazes who really do run 50 marathons in 50 days - and Karno has raised huge amounts for charity himself. (3:40 Marathon runner)
- deleted 17y ago
  [deleted]
bhousel 17y ago
"He redefined what it means to run a marathon, that's all." No, not even close. What he did is impressive, but stupid. He is doing a lot of damage to his body. If he were trained properly, he wouldn't be having all the physical problems like the missing toenails and the blisters. Also, anything much longer than a 6 hour marathon is basically a walk (for a middle aged man in decent health). Maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine because I'm a runner, but it just feels like bad "running journalism". I'm much more impressed by someone who sticks to a proper training plan and finishes a single marathon in a respectable time for his/her age.
- ErrantX 17y ago
  > He is doing a lot of damage to his body. If you read the material kicking about from real doctors about this you'll see it's not the case. It's fairly short term damage: in the long term he's going to see lots of benefits :) (edit: im not sure you could even call it damage, thety are just "flesh wounds". I bet some of us here have worse RSI from sat typing all day!) The human body is incredibly resilient and it is often truely difficult to really seriously damage it in the long term.
  - bhousel 17y ago
    There is a big difference between the proper cycle of "damage" and repair caused by proper training, and what this guy is doing. He is overtraining. From the article it sounds like he may have stress fractures already. Hell, I'll just forward this article to my athletic trainer and sports med friends and see what they say, and post their comments in a followup post.
    - ErrantX 17y ago
      Well yes there is a better way. I was more commenting on the idea he was causing really bad damage. He certainly pushed the limit of physical endurance but it doesnt sound like he really broke it. People racing to the South Pole regularly screw their feet up (with blisters, tears, ripped nails and all sorts) within a few days (or even hours). The foot is quite easily damaged and just as easily repaired :) As to ligament damage I dont really know because Im not a serious "trainer" but I do cycle regularly and ligament damage I have done in the past has healed in a week or so. On the other hand after a month or so of not cycling (say on holiday) I find a week of intensive work is great for retoning your body. This sounds like the same - just a little more extreme.

by trapper 17y ago

axod 17y ago

By the end he did almost under 5 hours which is pretty cool. I think the 'nay sayers' should try and do what he did :)

icey 17y ago
Yeah, I don't really get all the hate. Maybe it should be reframed to "Eddie Izzard runs over 1000 miles in 50 days for charity"
- bhousel 17y ago
  Maybe it should be reframed to "Eddie Izzard walks over 1000 miles in 50 days for charity".
electromagnetic 17y ago
Agreed, I think the nay sayers would be shit scared cowards if they had to attempt this and all of them never will. I never will, I have the balls to admit I'm totally incapable of achieving this, but as a half-decent human being I could never criticise someone for such an amazing feat and I believe anyone who does is a complete and utter hack who doesn't deserve the title of human. It's pure envy and all these nay sayers have let it consume them, it's utterly pathetic of them and shows sub-human decency. In Europe there's a 100-club for marathoners, for those who complete 100 marathons within their lifetime. In less than 2 months Izzard is almost half-way there. He did in a few weeks what most marathoners dream of for half their lifetime. That's simply amazing and the fact that he increased his speed considerably despite injuries and damage makes it even more amazing.

adamhowell 17y ago

I'm not sure he "redefined" it, by the end he was running 5 hour marathons, which is a very respectable time.

trapper 17y ago
If he wasn't "running" to his best, that would be my definition. Pacing yourself because you know you have another one is running a different race entirely, so the two are totally not comparable. It would certainly be interesting to see how fast he could run one in a few months time once his soreness dies down.

gaius 17y ago

He redefined what it means to run a marathon, that's all. Ermm, no he didn't. Or if he did I can "redefine" running a Marathon to walking to Starbucks in which case I did 2 Marathons today. I bet there are many people who do a 10-hour Marathon in a day's shopping... Good for him raising money for charity, but there are people in the world like Dean Karnazes who really do run 50 marathons in 50 days - and Karno has raised huge amounts for charity himself. (3:40 Marathon runner)

deleted 17y ago
[deleted]

bhousel 17y ago

"He redefined what it means to run a marathon, that's all." No, not even close. What he did is impressive, but stupid. He is doing a lot of damage to his body. If he were trained properly, he wouldn't be having all the physical problems like the missing toenails and the blisters. Also, anything much longer than a 6 hour marathon is basically a walk (for a middle aged man in decent health). Maybe it's just a pet peeve of mine because I'm a runner, but it just feels like bad "running journalism". I'm much more impressed by someone who sticks to a proper training plan and finishes a single marathon in a respectable time for his/her age.

ErrantX 17y ago
> He is doing a lot of damage to his body. If you read the material kicking about from real doctors about this you'll see it's not the case. It's fairly short term damage: in the long term he's going to see lots of benefits :) (edit: im not sure you could even call it damage, thety are just "flesh wounds". I bet some of us here have worse RSI from sat typing all day!) The human body is incredibly resilient and it is often truely difficult to really seriously damage it in the long term.
- bhousel 17y ago
  There is a big difference between the proper cycle of "damage" and repair caused by proper training, and what this guy is doing. He is overtraining. From the article it sounds like he may have stress fractures already. Hell, I'll just forward this article to my athletic trainer and sports med friends and see what they say, and post their comments in a followup post.
  - ErrantX 17y ago
    Well yes there is a better way. I was more commenting on the idea he was causing really bad damage. He certainly pushed the limit of physical endurance but it doesnt sound like he really broke it. People racing to the South Pole regularly screw their feet up (with blisters, tears, ripped nails and all sorts) within a few days (or even hours). The foot is quite easily damaged and just as easily repaired :) As to ligament damage I dont really know because Im not a serious "trainer" but I do cycle regularly and ligament damage I have done in the past has healed in a week or so. On the other hand after a month or so of not cycling (say on holiday) I find a week of intensive work is great for retoning your body. This sounds like the same - just a little more extreme.