Running

[trysail]

Yesterday, in Berlin, a 30-year old Kenyan by the name of Dennis Kimetto set a new world record for the marathon, completing the 26 mile, 385 yard distance in 2 hours, 2 minutes and 57 seconds.

To give you an idea of how absolutely un-fucking-believable that is, it means that the sonofabitch averaged roughly 13 miles per hour for two hours and for 26 consecutive miles. Most people can't even ride a bicycle that fast.




http://media.npr.org/assets/img/2014/09/28/kimetto_wide-19b2d1a366cb42653884a97b638110eae31029e6-s40-c85.jpg

"Kimetto said he had been growing maize and tending a few cows until he began running about four years ago."

How One Kenyan Tribe Produces The World's Best Runners
http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/...kenyan-tribe-produces-the-worlds-best-runners

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[BotanyBoy]

in-fucking-credible

 

[dolf]

I saw that in the paper this morning. from farming to breaking world records, in four years. the world loves these sorts of stories.

 

[toubab]

"Kimetto said he had been growing maize and tending a few cows until he began running about four years ago."

Yes, but he's been training really, really hard over the last four years. It's not like he's genetically predisposed to run like the wind. Perish the thought.

 

[Hard_Rom]

I got a buddy from Tanzania. From the age of 10 he had to walk 10 miles a day carrying ever increasing buckets of water. From 14 on he cut wood. At 18 came to Canada. Now 24. Took him up north for a fishing trip. Holy crap could this 5' 7" 120lb guy chop wood. Or split wood anyway. A fucking machine. His buddy at 6'1" and 210 could not keep up. The Tanzanian guy sits at a desk. His Canadian buddy works in the construction trades. He loved doing it too. Probably not back in Tanzania but after a couple years off and in need of exercise!

Point being train from childhood in poor conditions. Humans do adapt locally to conditions within a few generations. Yet these are not marked genetic changes just local differences.

We have smaller jaws from eating cooked food not because genetics says so. If humans went back to eating raw food jaw sizes would increase quickly. Feed your kids raw food and see.

In the best of athletes differences are 2% between winner and back of the pack. NASCAR and F1 have same percentage. 2% less weight in ankles sounds feasible to me.

 

[trysail]

in-fucking-credible

It really is.

It's the equivalent of running 4 minute, 40 second miles for 26 miles in a row.

It's only when you see one of those world-class marathoners in the flesh that you realize they're sprinting (for 26.2 miles).


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