Straight up, I gotta think the cyclist is going to win no matter what, so how much of a head start does a runner need to make a close race?
Here’s what I got. The really steep part of the climb is 1.1 mile and 730 feet elevation gain. There’s about a 1/2 mile build leading up the steep bit at about 4-5% (total 1.6 miles and 910 feet gain)
I’m thinking:
Runner starts at base of steep pitch.
Biker starts all the way at bottom.
Race to the top.
Is this a fair fight?
I haven’t run the climb, but riding hard I climb the 1.6 miles in 12:45 including the steep 1.1 in about 10:00. I’m no great climber so figure a good climber could take 2 minutes off that. So, is it reasonable for a fast runner to do 1.1 miles up 730 feet in 10-11 minutes?
This “race” will take part as part of an epic training camp week in June and I want to make it a fair fight. I’ve got a strained soleus so can’t test the run myself and, surprisingly, no one else is willing to sacrifice themselves for the cause…
Not really answering your question, but this is something that I pulled up about a year ago, comparing Mt. Washington Hill Climb times.
1 1/83 M3539 52:21 8.7 Tyler Hamilton M 35 1 Boulder CO
2 1/51 M5054 54:41 8.3 Ned Overend M 51 2 Durango CO
3 1/11 M2024 58:33 7.8 Ian Ayers M 24 8 Atlantic Highlands NJ
4 1/14 M2529 59:47 7.6 Joseph Moody M 26 59 Watertown MA
5 1/66 M3034 59:55 7.6 Ryan Robinson M 33 70 Anderson SC
6 2/66 M3034 1:00:34 7.5 Matty O’Keefe M 33 17
7 1/9 M0119 1:01:49 7.4 Paul Runyon M 16 7 Philadelphia PA
Run
1 1/110 M2034 Jonathan Wyatt 1:01:08 1:01:25 8:05 34 M Wellington N.Z.
on an avg 12% grade and the runner would have finished 7th…(and not that far out of 3rd)
8 minute miles up a 12% grade. Wow. That tells me something. So, a 2:30ish headstart for the runner on a 1.1 mile @15% grade climb might be just a tad too much then. Thanks!
No idea for 1 mile, but here are the fastest times up Mt. Evans Ascent in Co-*-*10,600 feet to 14,264 feet
Running-14.5 mile course in 1:37:01 Matt Carpenter (2008)
*Bike-Tom Danielson in *1:41:20 (2004)
So a pretty solid defeat of the cyclist in that event.
I think that given runner/biker of similar skill (at their particular event) and body type, the runner has a good shot at beating the cyclist.
Always hard to judge hypos. though.
ooops, juts did a fact check and noticed that the bike race starts lower down the mountain at 7,540 feet and is much longer. So ignore the above post!!!
Bike wins
a near superhuman talent with actual superhuman amounts of hemoglobin in him
=)
8 minute miles up a 12% grade. Wow. That tells me something. So, a 2:30ish headstart for the runner on a 1.1 mile @15% grade climb might be just a tad too much then. Thanks!
ooops, juts did a fact check and noticed that the bike race starts lower down the mountain at 7,540 feet and is much longer. So ignore the above post!!!
Bike wins \
I did this race many, many years ago, and as I remember it, the start was about 6500ft or so. Don’t remember the town, but it started there, not out in the boonies somewhere. Where did you get your info?? I’m wondering if it is shorter than the one I did, it was 28 miles I believe back then, and the hardest road race I’ve ever done…
Too funny about, but Wyatt is also the greatest uphill runner of all time! 6 or 7 time mnt. running world champ http://jonospulse.com/
No offense, but it’s probably because there is nowhere near as much money in ‘uphill running’ as there is in running. I don’t think he’d come close to top runners (Gebre, Bekele, Tergat and co).
You are right about Wyatt, he has found his niche; but he has beaten some solid runners at true mountain races who thought they could show up and win some mullah. However they probably did no specific prep for them and the strength and skill/set it different than road running. Judging by his x-country abilities and decent sized quads I would imagine that Bekele is a BEAST trail runner.
Regardless, Wyatt can only race the peeps. that toe the line and so far, he is the best person to do that on a consistent basis and has made a comfortable life for himself doing it. I’m jealous
Hey Monty, I did the run race last year, Mt. Evans Ascent (distant 2nd to Carpenter) and agree that that is a tough slog. I saw the bike results at the the place where all knowledge on the intraweb tubes flows to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mt._Evans_Hill_Climb “The race starts at 7,540 feet in front of the Clear Creek Middle School
and proceeds to Echo Lake where the race turns and climbs to the summit
(14,264 feet).”
I do a good bit of my running on a multi-use trail network with several decent sized steep hills
(maybe 1/4mi?) that are steep enough that most MTB bikers are in the granny gear and the stronger
riders can get up in the middle ring…maybe 10-12%. When I run up them hard, I always make up
ground on the bikers out there.
Of course, I am ‘racing’ them and they are mostly just riding…but I still think I have the advantage
on foot. For a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile I think the pain of running is just less than it is for riding, so for short
distances (under 1/2 mile) I think the runner has the advantage. 1 mile is about the point it get interesting
…I’d bet on the bikers over a longer distances.
Please post later on when you actually run the race.
I’ll post on how it goes - won’t be until early July.
Here (http://www.savagemantri.org/2008_video.html - click on Part 1) you can see Flanagan and Bjorn go over the Westernport Wall at SavageMan (starting at about 30 seconds) and there’s a guy running along, apparently trying to beat them to the top. Obviously he fails in this as at the bottom he’s ahead of Flanagan, but only gets to the top as Bjorn goes by. That stretch is a bit less than 1/4 mile at avg 18% and the cyclists clearly were going faster than a runner (and they had 7 more miles of climbing to go while the runner was just stopping at the top of the Wall).
The “race” will actually be a Match Play competition and will occur in the middle a long ride of camp. Everyone is paired up for head-to-head battles, and all will climb the hill once to the top by bike where running shoes await. Runner leaves bike at top and runs down, cyclist rides down. Race up. Swap biker/runner. Race up again. Complete ride and commence sh*t-talking.
