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.
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)
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.
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…
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…