That's an interesting article. I'd like to see a study comparing the abilities of athletes from different continents. I'm sure there's one out there somewhere. Ever been tempted to try the Marathon des Sables?
Sarah

there could be something in this - you seem to share some similarities to a giraffe - theyre tall, pretty fast (35mph) and excel in the hot weather - a question for you (to confirm my theory):
when youre ultra-distancing do you snack a lot? - giraffes do, (between 16-20 hours per day), but only need a max of 30 mins sleep!!

That's an interesting theory, Learnedgent 😀 But can giraffes maintain the pace, or is it only for short bursts? 🤔 I was imagining M1960 to be more like a carriage dog - lean and built for continuous, steady trotting (or whatever dogs do that resembles a trot).

hmmm like a spotty dalmation perhaps?

Exactly 😊

Hi Sarah - this article may be of interest:
https://www.businessinsider.com/worlds-fastest-runners-by-country-2014-7?r=US&IR=T

As for the Marathon des Sables, no - I didn't take part in multi-day races (I'm not completely mad 😮), although I have run marathons on consecutive days. The furthest I ran was in a 24-hour track race, although it once took me 35 hours exactly (to the nearest minute) to finish a challenge event where I was walking. Being tall and clumsy, I was better at running on road and track than trail.

😂 I've been likened to a giraffe before (although I wasn't very fast – hence my preference for long distances), but never dalmatian 😮 – no spots as far as I'm aware, but it's difficult to find a mirror long enough to be sure. I found eating before and during races a problem due to acid reflux, so I avoided eating for at least four hours before the start of a race, but made a pig (not a giraffe) of myself the day before. I also tried the Saltin diet ( http://www.400days.net/2009/03/countdown-to-rotterdam-7-saltin-diet/ ) before marathons a couple of times, which I found effective but rather traumatic.

In the 1980s, I think sports nutrition wasn't as well understood and sports drinks weren't as good – in the longest races, I relied mainly on de-fizzed cola with extra sugar, fruit squash and a few jaffa cakes; it's important to find something palatable, and I never fancied Bonios. However, I do, particularly now, tend to graze throughout the day rather than eat proper meals, although that's not entirely unrelated to the fact that I live alone in my sty and can't be bothered to cook (not that anything I cooked would be likely to be edible anyway).

As for sleep, I think I could still miss a complete night and not feel too bad the next day, but I generally prefer to have around eight hours, preferably lying down.

Thanks, M1960. The article was good, and backed up what we mostly already know, didn't it. I wonder if there is a biological study, looking at how bodies which have adapted to live in different climates (say, for example, Arctic vs African) are affected by those adaptations in terms of muscle development, blood sats etc, when faced with extreme physical challenges. If it hasn't already been done, there's a PhD in there for somebody.

Re: the Saltin diet...I can understand loading up your protein, but the carb loading would defeat me. Alas, I'm not a runner, so what do I know 🤷🏼‍♀️ Don't blame you for avoiding the Marathon des Sables - grim! Looks like something dreamed up by the French Foreign Legion 🥵

that would be a good idea for a PhD as you say Sarah - probably lots of travelling involved too if you could get the funding - you'd have to make a few trips to Africa at least, to see how the Kenyans manage to be so good at long distance running, without the benefit of all the tech that we seem to need to improve our bodies!

There's more about carbohydrate loading here (not to be taken as me offering advice):
https://www.precisionhydration.com/performance-advice/nutrition/how-to-carb-load-before-a-race/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12048325/

and an article on Kenyan and Ethiopian distance runners here:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22634972/

Thank you for those, M1960. I understand carb loading a little better now (I think 🙄).
With regard to the Kenyan and Ethiopian athletes, it sounds like external factors have more of an effect than genetic makeup/adaptation. Wasn't what I was expecting.

interesting read - especially the 'strong psychological motivation to succeed athletically for the purpose of economic and social advancement' - they want it more, and are prepared to give more in terms of effort and training to get it it seems!

and actually if you think about it - professional footballers the world over pretty much fit the same criteria

You're very welcome, Sarah. 🙂

With regard to Kenyan runners, these articles may also be of interest:
https://learnmuscles.com/blog/2018/03/02/makes-kenyan-distance-runners-worlds-best/
https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/83798/Acta%20Physiologica%20-%202022%20-%20Kunimasa%20-%20Muscle%E2%80%90tendon%20architecture%20in%20Kenyans%20and%20Japanese%20Potential%20role%20of%20genetic.pdf?sequence=1

Thank you 👍 Lots of credit to the Achilles tendon then. I wonder what the reasoning was with comparing the Kenyans with Japanese athletes?. I mean, why the Japanese specifically?

I suspect this is due to similarity in average height of the two nationalities
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average_human_height_by_country ).

Wow! That surprised me 😮 Always imagined the Kenyans to be above-average height & the Japanese to be below.