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What Will It Take To Run a 2-Hour Marathon?
HughPickens.com writes Alex Hutchinson writes at Runner's World that runners have cut the distance to the sub-two marathon in half since 1998, but it will get progressively harder to trim the remaining seconds. Still, the physiologists tell us that it's not impossible, meaning it is possible. Hutchinson says it will take several things: a cold day in March or November; a straight, flat course that is mind-numbingly boring; pacemakers who will shepherd leaders around the course cutting the wind and setting the pace; and a runner with a frame of about 5'6", weight of about 120 pounds, and towering self-confidence.The road is so flat and straight, you can see them coming from a mile away. Six runners flow in arrowhead formation around the Canadian city of Saskatoon. The early November air is still and dry, the sky overcast, and the temperature hovers a bit above freezing, just as predicted. All in their early 20s, they've been training together for this moment for years; only in the last month did their coach select which three will go for the record. The remaining three form the front of the arrowhead, blocking the wind and enduring the mental effort of controlling the pace. Should one of them cross the finish line in two hours—or faster—all six will share equally in the $50 million jackpot promised by the heirs to the Hoka One One fortune. The pot of money is up for grabs, for any runner, anywhere in the world. The chase is on. So, will they make it? And what year is this? I'm saying the year is...2075—and they make it.
I thought this was news for nerds.
My idea of exercise is reaching for the remote, and my idea of a marathon involves many movies.
Get this shit off my lawn.
"it's not impossible, meaning it is possible."
You don't say.
The route of the marathon in my city completely encircles the block I live on, so from 1am tomorrow morning until 6pm tomorrow night I won't be able to get off my block. It sucks. At about 5am tomorrow, I will start to hear people lining up in front of my house with little cowbells that they use to cheer on the runners and then at about 6:00 am, the bad blues band (because Chicago marathon, get it) will start to warm up. It's like someone threw a party at your house at six in the morning and not only do you hate parties at 6am but they never asked your permission.
I don't get grumpy very often, but the annual marathon makes me grumpy. The only fun part is watching the paramarathoners go by first, on their high-tech racing wheelchairs, going like crazy and then the first few runners glide by, looking like they could run forever and then five hours later, the fatsos huffing and puffing and looking like they'd kill for a cigarette and a slice of pie.
Oh hell, let them have their party.
You are welcome on my lawn.
Exactly 120 minutes. No more, no less.
That's harder than it sounds.
About 2 hours
No, you're not quite there yet. To be an appropriate Slashdot summary it should go:
In the past sixteen (base 10) years, Marathon runners (people who run 42.195 km (or 26 miles) for recreation, god rest their souls) have cut the word record from 2 hours six minutes and twenty three seconds to 2 hours three minutes and twenty three seconds, further improvment's will become progressively harder to achieve.*
*spelling and punctuation errors intentional
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
You're still a fucking grammar nazi though.
Nazi is a proper noun, and should be capitalized. When a preceding adjective is combined with a proper noun into a noun phrase, it should be capitalized as well. So it is not "grammar nazi" or even "grammar Nazi", but "Grammar Nazi".