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50 marathons in 50 days v. Tour de France/Any endurance race

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50 marathons in 50 days v. Tour de France/Any endurance race

Old 08-23-06, 01:53 PM
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50 marathons in 50 days v. Tour de France/Any endurance race

I just read an article on CNN talking about if a person ran 50 marathons in 50 days it would lead to serious body break down. My question is what's the difference in him running 1300 miles in 2 months and riding 2300 miles in 3 weeks. Wouldn't they both have adversive effects on the body? Why does the doctor state the runner will have "irreverisble" damage?
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Old 08-23-06, 01:58 PM
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I don't know about you but I feel beat up after a slow 12 mile run.
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Old 08-23-06, 02:12 PM
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I've read Dean's (the runner doing 50 marathons in 50 days) book... somehow I doubt he's worried about "irreversible damage".
What doc? A "TV" sports specialist? I'd trust CNN as far as I could throw my TV... but I've been TV free for 5 years now.
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Old 08-23-06, 09:13 PM
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I am no expert but I believe the main difference is the amount of impact running incurs vs cycling. Your knees for example can probably handle a whole lot more spinning the pedals than the impact of running.

-D
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Old 08-24-06, 09:04 AM
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Originally Posted by derath
I am no expert but I believe the main difference is the amount of impact running incurs vs cycling. Your knees for example can probably handle a whole lot more spinning the pedals than the impact of running.

-D
I agree. Running is considered a weight bearing, high impact sport. For most people, running has a cumulative damage on the joints especially the knees. It seems that one's knees have only so many running strides in them.

Cycling is non weight bearing and low impact. Cycling allows people to go out and do far more hours than runners can because cyclists are not incurring the kinds of damage runners get. That is the reason you see events in cycling like the Paris-Brest-Paris, or the Race Across America, or the Tour de France which all call for far more hours of exercise than any running event. Heck, even bicycle tours for recreational cyclists often pile up impressive miles.

Over the years, I have met quite a few runners who have switched to cycling because of injuries that forced them out of running. I doubt very much that you get cyclists who switch to running because of repetitive injuries.

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Old 08-24-06, 09:28 AM
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Perhaps getting a little sidetracked... but I agree with ^
We all know running is much harder on your body! I could not imagine running 50 marathons in a row.. I don't know if anyone could do that, and if they did, I'd hate to see what damage they did to themselves.

I had been a runner for 16 years and ran through a few injuries, and continued to run even after noticing the effects of cumulative damage to my ankles and knees (popping, clicking joints... soreness). I finally gave up running for good. That was about 2 years ago. At first, going in to cycling with no running made me feel a bit lazy, like I wasn't getting a good workout in. I finally realized that I was getting in some GREAT workouts, but my body hadn't been beaten up in the process. It was just a different feeling post-workout. My joints thank me after every ride!

Why would anyone want to tear up their body with 50 marathons in 50 days??? Insane!
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Old 08-24-06, 10:34 AM
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Originally Posted by J-McKech
I just read an article on CNN talking about if a person ran 50 marathons in 50 days it would lead to serious body break down. My question is what's the difference in him running 1300 miles in 2 months and riding 2300 miles in 3 weeks. Wouldn't they both have adversive effects on the body? Why does the doctor state the runner will have "irreverisble" damage?

Have you ever run a marathon?

In 2005, the average time for hacks like me to finish a marathon was 4:41:32. If someone could run that exact same time for 50 days, they would have run 234 hours 36 minutes and 40 seconds. You don't think that running that amount of time won't cause some sort of biomechanical problem?
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Old 08-24-06, 10:58 AM
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Ever heard of the Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei?

"The Kaihōgyō (回峰行) are also known as the Marathon Monks of Mt. Hiei.

They seek to serve the enlightened Buddha through many duties but they are best known for their physical endurance in running. They are spiritual athletes from the Tendai Sect of Buddhism, based at Mount Hiei, which overlooks the ancient capital city of Kyoto.

The ultimate achievement is the completion of the 1,000-day challenge, which must surely be the most demanding physical and mental challenge in the world. Only 46 men have completed the 1,000-day challenge since 1885. It takes seven years to complete, as the monks must undergo other Buddhist training in meditation and calligraphy, and perform general duties within the temple.

The first 300 days are basic training, during which the monks run 40km per day for 100 consecutive days. In the fourth and fifth years they run 40km each day for 200 consecutive days. That's more or less a full marathon every day for more than six months.

The final two years of the 1000-day challenge are even more daunting. In the sixth year they run 60km each day for 100 consecutive days and in the seventh year they run 84km each day for 100 consecutive days. This is the equivalent of running two Olympic marathons back-to-back every day for 100 days."
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Old 08-24-06, 08:24 PM
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Hey -- it's the "wheels" -- get it?

Comparing running and cycling is like comparing body-hair and clothing. They both do the same thing, with vastly different technologies.
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