# Can a dog run marathon in ~2-3 hrs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014 "2011-05-06T21:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/21 "2011-05-08T15:47:24Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Frankly I would be more worried about damaging the animal’s paws on a marathon than about the animal not keeping pace. Most marathons are run on asphalt and concrete, and those surfaces are hell on a dog’s pads when they are running. Introducing the Nike K9-Loper, the first running shoe designed for your best friend! ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/22 "2011-05-08T19:19:11Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > Introducing the Nike K9-Loper, the first running shoe designed for your best friend! Something like [this](http://www.dogrunningshoes.com/?page_id=3&category=13&product_id=5)? ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/23 "2011-05-10T01:52:09Z")
> [@Hbns](#): > > Something like [this](http://www.dogrunningshoes.com/?page_id=3&category=13&product_id=5)? $80 looked kind of expensive, until I remembered that’s for a set of four rather than a pair. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/24 "2011-05-10T20:05:58Z")
Interesting… They have a picture of a dog, and they have pictures of the shoes, but they don’t have any pictures of dogs wearing the shoes. And no thread about animals in marathons is complete without a link to [the definitive news story](http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/new-york-marathon-winner-tests-positive-for-perfor,2845/). ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2011, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/25 "2011-05-10T23:43:36Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Is that 11.5 hours of continuous running, or does the clock stop while the horses are being rested? > > Because I do not believe for one second that a horse can run non-stop for 11 hours. And if the horse is stopping for rests then of course it is going to win, it is much faster over short distances. Sorry to take so long. Looking at the FEI rules (the governing body that oversees many of these long-distance endurance events), it appears that time during stops is counted on the clock, but I’m not 100% sure I’m reading it right and I’m not 100% sure that particular event is run under FEI jurisdiction. In any case, even if you added several half-hour breaks, the fastest horse would still have finished before the person. Also, in endurance events, horses are not running. The average speed for the winner above was between 8 and 9 mph, which is a brisk trot. They may well take walk breaks (and in some races, they have to walk in places to get through rough terrain) and use an easy canter in other places, but they are not cantering or galloping the whole way, just as marathon runners are not in a dead run the whole way. Horses are built for being on the go constantly - wild herds may move many miles each day between locations for foraging, resting, and drinking, in addition to shorter bursts of higher speeds as needed. They are not as fast as quadrupeds who are built for short bursts of speed, but they are very efficient running machines, and trotting for long stretches is hardly a chore once they are in shape. I wouldn’t call it a cite, but this is an interesting article from [Popular Mechanics](http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/animal-kingdom-top-marathon-runners#fbIndex1). ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/26 "2011-05-11T02:50:21Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > They have no problem at all keeping up. Even dogs that have had no training at all will handle a 20km run without breaking a sweat. When _can_ a dog break into a sweat? 😉 I was running the Seawall around Stanley Park in Vancouver once, and a guy about 100 meters ahead of me had a very tiny dog (maybe 30 or so cm long), and the two of them kept ahead of me for about 40 minutes, running about my pace. I eventually caught up to them when they stopped for a break and I said to the guy I was impressed that a dog with such tiny legs could run that long without stopping. They guy said the dog had run several marathons with him and that once around Stanley Park was nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014/27 "2011-05-11T03:10:20Z")
**horsetech** , thanks for the feedback. Looks like we still don’t have the definitive answer. If you ever do stumble upon the definitive rules, please let us know. Either way, I still think it’s astounding that a 50kg animal with 3 foot legs is even in the same league as a horse when it comes to distance running. > [@D18](#): > > When _can_ a dog break into a sweat? 😉 Hmmm. Perhaps that wasn’t the best expression to use. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-dog-run-marathon-in-2-3-hrs/581014.md?page=1)