- The average men’s finishing time in U.S. marathons is 4:26.
- The average women’s finishing time in U.S. marathons is 4:52.
- 57% of runners purchase at least two pairs of running shoes each year.
- Four-time Boston Marathon winner Bill Rodgers’ favorite pizza topping is mayonnaise. Yep, mayo. (((EWWW and I love pizza))))
- In 1990, only 25% of road race finishers in the US were women. Now the ladies make up more than half of road race finishers in the US.
- Speaking of ladies and gents: many studies show that couples who run together also do…um… other things together more frequently as well. We’ll leave it up to you to guess the activity.
- If that fun fact doesn’t light your fire, how about this one: your feet can produce a pint of sweat each day.
- Speaking of bodily fluids, when we run, our hearts create enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet.
- The first New York City Marathon was held in 1970, when 127 runners paid one dollar each to run a few loops through Central Park. Fewer than half of the entrants finished. ((wow only $1))
- You can store about 2,000 calories’ worth of glycogen in your body to fuel your running. But it’s important to replenish your stores, so chow down on the carbs post-run.
- Fauja Singh is the oldest person to ever complete a full marathon, finishing the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2011 at the age of 100. So no, you’re probably not ‘too old to run.’ ((WOW))
- On the other end of the spectrum, the world’s youngest marathoner is Budhia Singh, who has completed a staggering 48 marathons before turning 5. Bet he’s a hit on the playground.
- Will Ferrell ran the ’03 Boston Marathon in 3:56:12. We don’t know how to put this…he’s kind of a big deal.
- The world record for a mile by a race horse is 1:32.1. Hay! That’s fast.
- The cheetah is considered the fastest land animal. It can achieve speeds upwards of 70 miles per hour. The garden snail is considered the slowest land animal with a speed of only .03 miles per hour.
- Roger Bannister ran the first sub-4:00 mile, but an exact 4:00.00 was first achieved over 4 years later on September 3, 1958 by England’s Derek Ibbotson in a 4th place finish behind Herb Elliott at White City. That’s a whole lot of 4′s! (((I wonder if he played the lottery)))
- Over 1 billion pairs of running shoes are sold worldwide every year. ((((Does not surprise me considering how many shoes we can go through)))
- When running the 100 meters, Usain Bolt hits a maximum power output of 2619.5 watts, or about 3.5 horsepower. Just enough to blend yourself a nice, cold margarita.
- During a 90 minute soccer match, elite-level players will often run 7 miles or more, depending on position.
- Kara Goucher’s favorite indulgence according to Kara Goucher is “blond brownies as big as my face.” Okay, Kara Goucher.
- Steve Prefontaine never won an Olympic medal.
- Also Pre-lated: Blue Ribbon Sports, known today as Nike, was founded on Prefontaine’s birthday, January 25th.
- Justin Timberlake would approve of this one: The world record for the fastest marathon while wearing a suit and tie goes to Adam Campbell who ran a 2:35 is 2012. No word on whether running apparel manufacturers have any plans to produce high performance running suits as of now.
- Think running in a suit is weird? A certain Vinny O’neill has earned himself a reputation for running marathons in a full on rhinoceros costume. His fastest while donning the horns: 4:17:27. (((Weird)))
- And for the single most coveted running-related world record: one Josh Harris’ 5:04 beer mile, completed with four bottles of Cooper’s, including one with a stubborn cap.
Jackie
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