Run to Win

For all of you treadmill runners that just can’t stand the monotony and stuffiness of running inside, there is now a new solution for you! No longer do you have to brave the lack of elements in order to avoid pounding the asphalt. Instead, you can get right outside with your treadmill and hit the roads!

I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry that somebody would even think about creating something like this. I don’t know if it is real or if it’s just a prototype hoax, but it is good for a laugh, either way.

I do have one thought, though. How well would that thing handle in the snow or on ice?

A treadmill is a big purchase, but especially in these times of rising gas costs it can be a cost effective one when compared to paying an annual gym membership, driving to and from the gym, and the loss of the time required for going somewhere other than your home to workout when the weather is not conducive to running outside. If you have young children to watch, then you don’t need to find some sort of daycare for them if you want to work out.

What are the most important considerations when purchasing a treadmill? To find out, I had a chat with John Cammidge, who sells treadmills at the Fitness Superstore, a UK based company.

The most important features that you should look for when purchasing a treadmill that you plan to run on are different than if you were just getting one to walk on. Here are some of the most important:
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Dean Karnazes has done a lot of incredible feats over the past few years, but setting the world record for treadmill running over a 24 hour period was not one of them. He managed to run over 130 miles, an equivalent of 5 marathons, but the record stands at 153.76 miles.

This record attempt was made in an effort to raise money for “Athletes for a Cure” and to promote Accelerade. “Athletes for a Cure” is dedicated to finding a cure for prostrate cancer. People were able to watch Dean run on the treadmill, which was on a platform attached to the Reuters building in Times Square, from 3 different webcams.

While running for 130 miles is impressive in and of itself, I can not imagine running it on a treadmill. I could not understand it when the Great Lakes HSA 24-Hour Treadmill Challenge was going on, and it makes even less sense when you are the only person doing the running rather than participating in a relay.

(Official Site: Accelerade 24-Hour Endurance Run)

This week last year I had just moved into my new house and did not have any internet access. There was a new article every day, because I had written them a week or two ahead of time. I put up a new series and continued my weekend series on the new rules. The new series was about the 5 most common treadmill mistakes, namely:

1. Taking it too easy
2. Stepping off of a moving treadmill
3. Using the handrails
4. Unnatural stride length
5. Not realizing how much easier it is

My examination of Alwyn Cosgrove’s New Rules of Lifting continued with rule #8 (workouts produce adaptations) and rule #9 (there is no magic system).

After writing a few articles about the Great Lakes HSA 24 Hour Treadmill Challenge and the resulting world record treadmill run, one of the runners stopped by and left a few comments and emails. Jim Snyder (pictured at right) had the following to say about the event, for those who want some insider details:
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The other day I wrote about an attempt at the treadmill world record for running 24 consecutive hours by a team of 12 people. Jim gave me a heads up that they had in fact broken the record before I remembered to check for myself. Not only did they break it, though; they smashed the record by over 14 miles!

They caught up to the previous world record pace in about 3 hours, and there was no looking back from there. Here is the hourly breakdown as provided on the Great Lakes HSA 24 Hour Treadmill Challenge website:
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The Great Lakes HSA 24 Hour Treadmill Challenge will begin tomorrow evening at 5pm in Rocky River, Ohio. Twelve runners will attempt to run a new world record distance by 5pm Saturday evening. Each runner will run for at least 2 hours, but some members of the team will be running at the same time. I’m not quite sure how that is supposed to work out. They are also trying to beat a record as defined by the Guinness Book, but that particular record is not included in their online database so I could not look up the exact rules. Unfortunately, the rules are not included on the event’s website, either. Based upon their press release, my assumption is that each runner will run for two hours and that the other scheduled run times are just to keep that person company.

Each person will need to average around 22 miles within that two hour time span in order to break the record. They may decide to continue running to try and get the 48 hour record if they are feeling up to it. The current 24 hour record is 247 miles, set in the UK last year. The new attempt is aiming for over 250 miles. They are still looking for volunteer witnesses to stand in and watch the runners for an hour at a time. They need at least 48 witnesses over the 24 hour span, and twice that if they keep going for the 48 hour span.

Personally, I would never take part in an attempt like this. I would much rather take part in a relay that is outside rather than try to keep myself from going batty on a treadmill. I can usually manage a mile to warm up before lifting weights, or a few miles if I absolutely can not get outside. One of the alumni from my college running team used to do his fifteen or twenty mile long runs on the treadmills, and I could not understand it then any better than I can understand it now.

(Thanks to Scott at Straight to the Bar for the heads up!)

Wes, over at a Code Geek’s Tail, asks what’s the difference between a treadmill and pavement? He has been running on a treadmill for about 5 years, but has not spent much time running outside. He is thinking of moving his running outdoors and wants to know what the differences are so that he can account for them. Here are a few differences that should be accounted for off of the top of my head:
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