Interesting Facts to Run On

Besides being an excellent method of increasing aerobic/cardiorespiratory fitness, as well as muscular endurance, here are some other amusing facts about running.

• The average runner's feet strike the ground between 1,500 and 1,700 times per mile.
  
  
• When running, loads equaling 1.5 to 5 times body weight are absorbed by our bodies.
  
  
• Running does burn more calories per unit of distance (mile, yards, etc.) than does walking the same distance because of the physics involved in breaking the bonds of gravity. With walking, one foot is always on the ground, but when running both feet are temporarily in mid-air.
  
  
• World's fastest mile time for a man is 3 minutes, 43 seconds, and for a woman is 4 minutes, 12 seconds.
  
  
• Runners burn about 5-10 calories per minute.
  
  
• Running is an excellent form of cardiorespiratory exercise benefiting both the heart and lungs.
  
  
• Running is also great for our minds. The stress-relieving effects of running are well documented - thus the "runner's high" often experienced after a good run.
  
  
• Running shoes should only be worn for about 500 miles. They lose most of their shock-absorbing capabilities at miles exceeding 500 or so. If not replaced, injuries such as plantar fasciitis, ITB syndrome, shin splints and chondromalacia (runner's knee) may soon develop.
  
  
• Women tend to burn less carbohydrate and more free-fatty-acids for fuel than men, which equals more efficiency.
  
  
• On average, women also tend to make better high-mileage runners than men because of utilizing more FFA's for fuel and having a higher long-term pain tolerance.
  
  
• The world's fastest marathon (26.2 miles) was run by Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia at the Berlin Marathon in Germany on Sept. 30, 2007. His world record time was 2 hours, 4 minutes, 26 seconds.
  
  
• Dean Karnazes ran 350 miles in 80 hours and 44 minutes without stopping (2005), ran fifty consecutive marathons in fifty U.S. states in fifty consecutive days (2006), and went 128.75 miles in 24 hours on treadmill in NY (2007). I'm guessing he would have kicked my high score in Pole Position back in the day, too ...