lassekk wrote:
satanellus wrote:
Laz's backyard format, which has been duplicated in events all over the world is specifically a 4.1667 mile loop. It's based on runners completing 100 miles in 24 hours.
Hence Harvey's winning performance was a tidy 450 miles or 108 laps completed in 108 hours (4.5 days).
Similar time-based distance challenges have been around since Scotsman Captain Barclay won a considerable wager to walk a mile each hour for 1000 hours, way back in 1809.
Last person I recall to take on the Barclay Challenge increased the record to 3.3km/hour.
If you've got a spare 6 weeks and aren't adverse to a little sleep deprivation, there's a holiday for you.
It is such a wierd speed to ask people to run at. It is slightly faster than brisk walking or really insanely slow running. So it seems to be more about sleep deprivation than fitness in the end. Would be more fun if it had a bit higher speed req. tbh.
No one is asked to run at any pace. All runners are free to run a little faster and rest more. Or walk more and have less rest.
That's part of the challenge, to budget your energy expenditure and manage rest, feeding, clothing, foot care and everything else necessary in multi day ultra, but have it all specifically done so in hourly increments.
Consistency and organisation are critical in this event. You don't have the flexibility you would in a normal multi day ultra. Both runner and their crew have to be on top of the game every hour.
It's a simple concept, but it's fiendishly demanding.
It also really tests runners psychologically. When you're struggling in a long ultra, there's always the respite of the finish to drive you forward. It may be 30 or 50 miles away or a set number of hours away, but there is the lure of a tangible fixed goal.
Backyard races challenge the exhausted runner every hour. There's the constant awareness that the finish is right there with you, you physically feel it's comfort every hour, albeit briefly and seductively. And every hour you must turn your back on it, until it's no longer possible.