

Why nearly every sport except long-distance running is fundamentally absurd.  - akandiah
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/06/long_distance_running_and_evolution_why_humans_can_outrun_horses_but_can_t_jump_higher_than_cats_.html

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dalke
Let's go with the author's supposition that the only human sport is the
physical one in which we compete with every other species on the planet. While
humans can be excellent long-distance runners, there are at least three
species which are faster than humans even over long distances.

[http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/anim...](http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/animal-
kingdom-top-marathon-runners) claims that camels are able to run a marathon in
1 hour 2 minutes, and <http://www.athletic-animals.com/> claims "On a mail run
in Western Australian goldfields camels regularly covered 144km in 10 hours."
I am having difficulty confirming that. The fastest camel in the "Great
Australian Camel Race" sustained 7kph over the 6 legs of the 3,236km race and
female camels "can run 8km (5 miles) the longest track distance, in 12 and a
half minutes - a speed of 40 km/h (25 mph)" so 14.4kph over 10 hours seems
feasible.

The Popular Mechanics link also says the Pronghorn Antelope "can sustain 30
mph for about an hour." I have been able to find (from the journal Nature)
"pronghorn antelope are distance runners rather than sprinters, and can run 11
km in 10 min" and from elsewhere "During the fall migration, the animals move
southward 30 miles a day for three or four straight days", but nothing about
longer distances or maximum distance per day.

The Popular Mechanics article ends saying an "Ostrich would finish a marathon
in about 45 minutes." The Wikipedia entry on Ostrich claims "can maintain a
steady speed of 50 km/h (31 mph), which makes the Ostrich the world's fastest
two-legged animal." <http://netvet.wustl.edu/species/birds/ostrich.txt>
confirms with "Ostriches can cover between 16-to-23 feet per stride and
maintain speeds between 30 and 50 miles per hour for 30 minutes."

~~~
jedbrown
The 100 mile (160.9 km) human record is 11:28 (on par with the camel 144km).
The six day human record is 1038km (average sped of 7.2km/h).

[http://www.iau-
ultramarathon.org/images/file/World_Best_Perf...](http://www.iau-
ultramarathon.org/images/file/World_Best_Performances_Ocober_2010.pdf)

Another data point is that sled dogs run the 1100+ mile Iditarod, pulling
sleds and sometimes breaking trail, in under 9 days (there is one 24-hour and
two 8-hour layovers that are mandatory and included in the time). That beats
every other ultradistance number you have stated.

~~~
dalke
The sled dog one was covered in the original article, so I didn't repeat it
here. ("Huskies can trot up to 100 kilometers in Arctic conditions when forced
to by people. But in warmer climes—no way.")

I have been unsuccessful in finding good endurance times for these animals.
<http://www.jordanjubilee.com/outdoors/camels.htm> claims "A very good camel
can cover 120 or 130kms in 12 hours. Some specially bred camels have been
known to continue at racing speed for up to 18 hours."

Getting similar times for ostrich and pronghorn antelope, which don't have
jockeys and even less reason to run for 12 hours straight, would be much
harder. While doable, there's little fame or money reward for doing so, which
means the observations are based on the average fastest speed for the species,
and not the fastest of the fastest like it is for humans.

Oh, and I wonder if a specially prepared road or track would give better times
for a camel; the human times you quoted are on roads or tracks, not cross-
country like the camel races.

~~~
jedbrown
Anyone who has put sled dogs in harness know that they are extremely eager and
don't need coaxing. They also go far further than 100km speeds well beyond
what people can do. The dogs lose their underfur in summer and can cover long
distances then too (you can see this if you do a river trip with the dogs
running on the riverbank). You'll also see wolves sometimes cover huge
distances very quickly, regardless of season. Lack of a summer race does not
indicate that those animals are not capable of it.

Fair point about the road/track being more efficient than overland. People
move much more slowly on the Iditarod trail whether on bike, skis, or running
(<http://www.alaskaultrasport.com/>).

------
valuegram
Absurd (adjective):

1) ridiculously unreasonable, unsound, or incongruous

2) having no rational or orderly relationship to human life

This title definitely doesn't conform to the second definition, since even
McDougall, the author of "Born to Run" believes that sport has been a
fundamental part of human life throughout history.

While I appreciate the content of the article, the logic: "since human's
aren't physically the best at x, competing in x is absurd" is nonsense.

Also, keep in mind that very few human sports are purely physical
accomplishments. Almost every competition involves a significant amount of
skill. Especially the popular sports (Soccer (Football), Basketball, Baseball,
etc.) - The best fastest athlete in the world is not the best soccer player.
Michael Jordan was not known for his physical superiority, but for his skills.
I would like to see a team of any of these physically superior animals beat a
human at any of these sports.

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ajscherer
People are interested in sports as a demonstration of skill, not of raw
physical prowess. That is why golf has it's own channel on TV and distance
running is more or less completely absent from TV.

There are some interesting facts in the article, but the only absurdity is the
idea that animals being able to run fast has anything to do with professional
sports.

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iiice
Author have obviously forgot cycling. Trained man on bicycle can outrun all
existing animals using muscular power only, even cheetahs. Not to mention
horses...

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pwg
Single page link for those who would prefer to read the article as one single
whole:
[http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/06/long...](http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/06/long_distance_running_and_evolution_why_humans_can_outrun_horses_but_can_t_jump_higher_than_cats_.single.html)

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jere
>Yet being the absurdly self-enthralled species we are, we crowd into arenas
and stadiums to marvel at our pathetic physical abilities as if they were
something special.

We do?

The larger point being made that we are "born to run" is a more interesting
one, though not at all new. If you haven't read it, you should check out the
book of the same name, which argues the same position (besides having an
excellent story): [http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-
Greatest...](http://www.amazon.com/Born-Run-Hidden-Superathletes-
Greatest/dp/0307266303)

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cafard
That's all very well, but how is your cat from the three point line, and can
it drive to the basket?

I will remark that over 25 years ago I went to the Old Dominion 100 Mile race
as "handler" for a friend, i.e. one who drives around with refreshments, dry
socks, etc. One may also enter horses in the race, both for 50 and for 100
miles. I was interested to see that there were intermediate checks for the
horses, where the heart rate was checked after some short period of rest (and
perhaps before, I forget). Humans got a looking over before the race, but were
on their own after that.

