My Forum

Talking of wobble boards, I finally put paid to a recurrent ankle injury which had been with me for about 5 years by following my physio's advice  and standing on one foot each morning while shaving.  Easier for a man than a woman I'm told although women are reputed to have a better sense of balance.

re Running on sand.  The coach Percy Cerutty was very keen on running in natural settings and had Herb Elliot and others running barefoot up snaddunes as part of their training.  Apparently he disapproved of interval training which I found used to work well for me, although come to think of it I did a lot more fartlek  than intervals as they can be done anywhere and are more fun.

 Just over a week to my first night.

BO

Hi All

 After my last fitness drive I've fallen into a bit of a slump.  One mile on the treddy last week and not much since.  I walked 7 miles today which left me a bit tatered but it didn't really do much fo the cardio system.  maybe it woked on the endurance and brain cells as I was rehearsing my lines.

TE Regarding supportive or non-supportive shoes i have some subversive views.  I believe that modern running shoes have so much cushioning and other devices to protect the runner that the natural curbs on over use of muscles, tendons and bones are overridden. As a result many runners are encouraged to over exercise before they have developed the strength and resilience to cope with the load.

 I must admit that I have never bothered to do any formal investigation which would back up my theories but then neither have many of the pundits whose opinions are promulgated in running mags.

I gues my principles are as follows

 If you completely unfit do lots of walking.

 then do more walking and a little running

If you are overweight do lots of walking until you lose some weight, then start running short distances even if you think you can do more.

Run short distances quite briskly but still do more walking and eventually  move on to brisk running alternating  with long slow comfortable running.

 I believe that lots of runners damage them selves by lots of long slow plodding runs which reinforce bad running style/technique and are able to do this to themselves solely due to the "protection" obtained from overcushioned shoes.

 Finally I believe that if one can't run 100 yards comfortably on grass in bare feet then its not wise to run a mile on roads in running shoes.

Over and out

God knows what brought on that little rant.  I must be getting old and cranky. Maybe its time to retire for another couple of years.

BO

Columba

Sorry I missed the answer to your question.  According to Answers.com 

 "A Hare can reach a top speed of 72km/h (45mph)  "

 Best 

 BO

Dear All

I apologise for my omissions. Wikipedia says

"The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third-largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3 tonnes), behind the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros" title="White rhinoceros">white rhinoceros</a> (1½ to 3½ tonnes) and the three species of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant" title="Elephant">elephant</a> (3 to 9 tonnes). Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances."

This seems to contradict my earlier findings which showed humans as running at 27.9 mph (especially when pursued by a Hippo.  However an alternative source claims

"They move at speeds up to 8 km/h (5 mph) in water. Estimates of their running speed vary from 30 km/h (18 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph), or even 50 km/h (30 mph). The hippo can maintain these higher speeds for only a few hundred meters."

As for Chimps answers.com says merely

"On land they are much slower than a healthy human.And they have very low stamina when it comes to running."

However a-z-animals.com claims

"Top Speed:40km/h (25mph)"

My top speed at present is about .5 mph due to heavy cold.

Must go and buy some fish (it's Thursday

Welcome back Jim C

BO

JJ Stange you should mention failure to turn up.  I have something of a reputation for that among my thespian associates. However I'm not consistent. Sometimes I don't turn up, sometimes I turn up at the wrong place and sometimes I turn up at the wrong time or even date.  This is a minor problem compared with the difficulty of learning the lines.

 My trining slump continues with the advent of cold wet weather and the beginnings of a cold which I hope to throw off by ingesting some vitamin C and several glasses of my favourite flavonoids.

I had a blood test today for the usual suspects but persuaded my doc to let me have a liver check as well to see if i still have one.

 Redhead  I think Tranmere would have to get promoted to meet Liverpool in a local derby as last time I checked they seemed to be in Div 1 (ie Div 3 in old money)

Which makes me think maybe its time us runners boosted our image in the world by adopting a more flattering system for race finishers.  The first runner could be given the race Supremo award, next the race Champion, third runner would be first, fourth second and so on.

Maybe I'm being a little unimaginative here and awards would be linked to the speed at which various beasts can run.

 On this basis the first in any race or category would be the Cheetah and the 30th would be the squirrel.  I guess the 3rd runner would have to choose between the Lion Wildebeest or thomson's gazelle awards

Cheetah 70
Pronghorn Antelope 61
Wildebeest 50
Lion 50
Thomson's Gazelle 50
Quarter Horse 47.5
Elk 45
Cape Hunting Dog 45
Coyote 43
Gray Fox 42
Hyena 40
Zebra 40
Mongolian Wild Donkey 40
Greyhound 39.35
Whippet 35.5
Rabbit (domestic) 35
Mule Deer 35
Jackal 35
Reindeer 32
Giraffe 32
White-Tailed Deer 30
Warthog 30
Grizzly Bear 30
Cat (domestic) 30
Human 27.89
Elephant 25
Black Mamba Snake 20
Six-Lined Racerunner 18
Wild Turkey 15
Squirrel 12

Pig (domestic) 11
Chicken 9
Spider (Tegenaria atrica) 1.17
Giant Tortoise 0.17
Three-Toed Sloth 0.15
Garden Snail 0.03

MPH (miles per hour) is the unit of measurement for the speeds of animals

Leopards are also very quick. They have been clocked at 90 kmph but can only keep it up for 50-60m  

 Slumps exhausted and returns to learning lines.

 BO