Running Fun Facts That Will Make You Go “Wow”
By admin
Since my friend Sarah is coming all the way from DC for the race, it means Dan and I don’t have to rush to make the 2 hour drive to Myrtle Beach. So, unlike normal road trips I am not running around like a chicken with my head cut off.
There is plenty of time to get my shopping done, house cleaned and bags packed! Oh I love stress free travels.
With running on my brain, I thought it would be fun to share some interesting running fun facts that I’ve picked up a long the roads. Hopefully, I can add a wrinkle or two to brains today!
I love learning fun facts that really have no influence on my life. Are you a trivia person? If nothing else it’s fun to look over at my husband and say:
“Hey, did you know…”
Random Fun Run Facts
- 104.3 calories are burned every mile when running at a 10 minute/mile pace.
- When we run, the human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet. Gross… but can’t help but think it’s interesting!
- The fastest mile was run by Moroccan, Hitcham El Guerrouj in 3:43:13 in 1999. Interestingly enough, the second fastest record holder is the 2nd place winner of the same race.
- Athletes dressed in red are more likely to win events than athletes wearing another color. Guess I’ll be sporting red on Sunday!
- An average man has enough energy in his fat stores to run non-stop for 3 days at 15 miles per hour. Though I don’t suggest trying this out.
Women In Running Facts:
The fastest mile for a woman: set by Russia’s Svetlana Masterkova, 4:12.56 in Zurich on Aug. 14, 1996 and hasn’t been seriously challenged since.
- The first women’s Olympic marathon run wasn’t until 1984! Look how far we’ve come. Back then it was thought to be too stressful on a women’s body. We’ve shown them. Now women are running 100 mile race!
- Before the 80’s the farthest distance in the Olympics was the 1,500 m race. In fact, women had been excluded from track and field all together until the 1928 games. In that games, the farthest distance was the 800m race. Because of poor training several woman collapsed from exhaustion which led Olympic committee to believe running was too “hard” on a woman. It didn’t reappear until 1960.
- Women were excluded from the Boston Marathon until 1972. But that didn’t stop them. In 1966, Roberta Gibbs, hid behind a bush and jumped out to complete the run and finished “unofficially” in 3:21:25! She was the first woman to complete the course.
- in 2011, 43% of all Boston runners were women. In just 40 years, we make up almost half of the running field! Wow.
So there you have it! If you have any “wow” facts please share them!
Make sure to keep up with me over the weekend on Facebook and twitter! I’ll be posting updates, pictures and all sorts of fun stuff! I’ll try my best to post between now and Sunday night!
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