# What's the greatest distance someone has run over an hour, a day, a week or a month? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 17, 2019, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257 "2019-03-17T13:28:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257/21 "2019-03-18T18:33:32Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > I think this requires assuming that their speed is constant. Which is probably close to correct, but maybe not quite? > > Mathematically (by the pigeonhole principle), there only must be a 30-day stretch where they do 1533.5 miles. Obviously, that’s undercounting in terms of what real human performance would be, which is probably very close to the “constant speed” calculation. But wouldn’t that mean that they did 1533.5 miles in the other 12 days? So the stretch of 30 days including those 12 days would be more than 1533.5 miles. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257/22 "2019-03-18T21:03:19Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > But wouldn’t that mean that they did 1533.5 miles in the other 12 days? So the stretch of 30 days including those 12 days would be more than 1533.5 miles. The simplest counter example (which is obviously silly) is that someone walks 1533.5 miles on day 1, and the other 1533.5 miles on day 42. There’s no 30-day segment in which they walked more miles. Again, that’s an obviously silly example. But: if the person walks an unequal number of miles per day, and the middle of the range of 30 days is where they walk the fewest, then you can plausibly end up with no 30-day stretch in which they walk 2190 miles. Like, imagine that they are really excited at the beginning and end, and they walk an extra 10 miles on the first and last day compared to the other days. So they have 40 days walking X miles, and 2 days walking X+10 miles, so X ~= 72.5. In the first 30 days (and in the last 30 days), that means they walk 2185 miles (slightly short of 2190). In any middle slice of 30 days, they walk 2175 miles. Realistically, they’re probably not going to stray _that much_ from a steady pace, so 2190 is a decent estimate, but is _not_ lower bound. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2019, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257/23 "2019-03-18T21:44:38Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > I’m of two minds when it comes to whether races with pace runners (to break wind for you) should really “count” or not. Other runners in the same marathon – probably. A motorcycle, or a relay of sprinters? Maybe not. Or a car with a huge sign, ostensibly to display the time so the runners could calculate their splits? In trail ultras, the aid pacers provide is mainly psychological - helping motivate their racer through the low spots, adding a fresher set of eyes for trail hazards, distracting the racer when she’s deep in the pain cave. Windbreaks are not usually an issue for ultramarathons. (Personally, on a long run, I’m quite capable of breaking wind without any outside assistance. :D) > [@Ludovic](#): > > At ultra-ultra-long distances, you get the best distance by walking and then just never stopping. For instance the record that I linked to, I’m not sure if they jogged at all, but they could have done the 70 miles a day by walking at a 3.5 mph pace for 20 hours a day, or slightly faster with more sleep (but still not much more than 4 mph). > > In 50-100 mile races, I have seen people run using a pace somewhat in between a regular jog and a stereotypical effeminate mince - i.e. a lot of extended, relatively slow arm swinging, and the legs have a long arc but do not lift off the ground very much. I’m not sure if _all_ the competitive racers use this pace, or I only noticed it because it stuck out. (I am not a competitive ultra runner, but one of the races I was in had a 25 mile out-and-back trail which you did multiple laps of depending on the distance you were trying to run, so I got the opportunity to see the front runners multiple times, not just when they passed me some time after the 2 mile mark.) Trail runners also use a technique called “power hiking” - they put their hands on their thighs and use arm strength to help climb big hills. Nevertheless, they do sometimes straight out run at decent speeds - Jim Walmsley averaged 8:41 pace over 100 miles in setting the course record in the 2018 Western States Endurance Run. That’s probably a dawdle for him, but that’s faster than a gentle jog. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257/24 "2019-03-19T08:05:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > In 50-100 mile races, I have seen people run using a pace somewhat in between a regular jog and a stereotypical effeminate mince - i.e. a lot of extended, relatively slow arm swinging, and the legs have a long arc but do not lift off the ground very much. I’m not sure if _all_ the competitive racers use this pace, or I only noticed it because it stuck out. I don’t know about racing, but that pace is characteristic of people who do a lot of walking (on the flat) with the intention of getting somewhere. You see it in kids in the Amish communities. I don’t know if they pick it up because it’s more efficient, or by trying to keep pace with dad… ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2019, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257/25 "2019-03-19T08:10:58Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > In 50-100 mile races, I have seen people run using a pace somewhat in between a regular jog and a stereotypical effeminate mince - i.e. a lot of extended, relatively slow arm swinging, and the legs have a long arc but do not lift off the ground very much. I’m not sure if _all_ the competitive racers use this pace, or I only noticed it because it stuck out. I don’t know about racing, but that pace is characteristic of people who do a lot of walking (on the flat) with the intention of getting somewhere. You see it in kids in the Amish communities. I don’t know if they pick it up because it’s more efficient, or by trying to keep pace with dad… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-greatest-distance-someone-has-run-over-an-hour-a-day-a-week-or-a-month/831257.md?page=1)