23 Marathon's this year. (Read 864 times)

A runner from Ohio has already completed 23 marathon's this year. Chuck Engle, not only has completed these marathon's, he's won 12 of the 23, his worst finish is 3rd and his worst time is about 2:45. If you go to marathonguide.com you can see all of his races, with his places and times. I find this amazing. Does anyone know what the record is for marathons run in 1 year?

Jerry Dunn did 200 in the year 2000. He has a website www.marathonman.org

How do you do 50 marathons in 50 days, unless they are not organized marathons. Since most fall on weekends, this would be tough. There are lots of people who run 50+ marathons/ultras per year, many doing 1-2 per weekend. Last year a few did all 50 states+DC in 52 weeks, and one guy did 7 continents in 7 months. (These folks have a lot of money or sponsorship). However, with the exception of the rare few like Chick Engle, most folks run these marathons relatively slowly compared to what they could run if they trained and tapered for a single event. Pretty amazing, though. Check out www.marathonmaniacs.com. I currently qualify for Bronze, the lowest level, due to having done 2 in 6 days once, and 3 in 3 months once. I am 10 days away from another 3 in 3 months again...but I'm just crazy.

Ok, so does anyone know the record for most marathons run in organized races in a year?

This also reminds me of a special I saw on TV (Discovery channel maybe?) where they were trying to test the hypothesis that pre-historical humans (in this case, in sub-saharan Africa) might have chased down mid-sized prey (in this case, a small antelope I think). Normally this animal is far faster than a human (in a sprint) but they suspected that a human might prevail in the long/endurance run. They were wrong.. the ultramarathoner they had chasing this poor animal (for at least a day, if I recall) always got close but never close enough.

I wonder, though...if that were the only source of protein rich food, could a Human have had that added incentive to keep up? Or maybe go after sick/wounded antelope...? In their hypothesis were weapons of any sort used? I know the Kung "bushmen" hunt giraffe entirely on foot, but they also use spears and other weapons, then follow the wounded prey until it falters. That kind of stuff is fascinating to me. I was one class short of a minor in cultural Anthro...then I switched over to Sociology. k

I wonder, though...if that were the only source of protein rich food, could a Human have had that added incentive to keep up? Or maybe go after sick/wounded antelope...? In their hypothesis were weapons of any sort used? I know the Kung "bushmen" hunt giraffe entirely on foot, but they also use spears and other weapons, then follow the wounded prey until it falters.

Good questions. I don't have much background in Anthro (and I don't remember the TV program that well) so the details are a big fuzzy. I'm pretty sure in this program they weren't using any tools or weapons, but they did provide external nutrional and hydration support to their runner, which is sort of cheating (though absolutely necessary I would think!). I suspect that you are correct.. that if this were to be applied in the real world that one would choose to go after wounded/young prey and would probably want to use some sort of weapon too. All in all, it's sort of a silly experiment, but I like the idea of endurance running having a "survival" component! ehhe.

All in all, it's sort of a silly experiment, but I like the idea of endurance running having a "survival" component! ehhe.

I don't know...I think it's kind of a neat experiment. Stuff like that is fun and fascinating at the same time. It's one way we can try to get at how we came to be the way we are today. k

Good questions. I don't have much background in Anthro (and I don't remember the TV program that well) so the details are a big fuzzy. I'm pretty sure in this program they weren't using any tools or weapons, but they did provide external nutrional and hydration support to their runner, which is sort of cheating (though absolutely necessary I would think!). I suspect that you are correct.. that if this were to be applied in the real world that one would choose to go after wounded/young prey and would probably want to use some sort of weapon too. All in all, it's sort of a silly experiment, but I like the idea of endurance running having a "survival" component! ehhe.

Runner's World published an article about the Tarahumara a couple of years ago. They are a tribe of native Mexicans that are renown for their distance running. Some speculated that they are the decendants of people that chased antelopes. Scott Carrier wrote a book about his experience of running after antelopes (http://archive.salon.com/people/conv/2001/05/21/scott_carrier/index.html). The theory behind hunting antelopes by running them down is based on their physiology. Some researcher made the claim recently (early this year?) that humans are made for long distance running. He noted that 4 legged animals are designed for sprinting and are not good at walking because their diaphragms are connected to their hind legs. That is, their inhales and exhales when running are linked directly to whether they're pushing off in the leap or pulling their hind legs forward. An antelope can only sprint short distances before needing to stop and rest. If you can reduce its rest time by constantly running after it, eventually it'll succumb to heat exhaustion and can go no more. At that point, you can simply walk up to the animal, so the theory goes. One thing that Carrier learned was even if you can single out an animal to go after, eventually it'll blend right into a group of antelopes and "disappear." The trick is to be able to recognize that animal even when it is in a herd. Tarahumara had the expertise, but lost it. Some of the elders remembered their grandfathers telling them that they hunted antelopes by running after them. Although it sounded like a neat trick to hunt an animal by running it to death, I'm not sure how efficient it is. Think of all the calories you'll have to expend during the chase, and then having to haul the carcass back to the village!