Is there a rule against attaching a helium balloon to yourself while running a road race?

1 Helium balloon can lift 14 grams, it would take 5,183 balloons to completely lift a 160 pound person. To relieve a mere 10% of their weight it would take 518 balloons, or 1 balloon the size of 518 balloons. One balloon the size of 518 balloons, that only provided a 16 pound weight reduction, would create more drag than the 10% savings in weight would benefit. Even if the tail wind was more than the running speed, it would have to be significantly more than the running speed for the balloon to overtake the runner and because of that drag, it won't work. I don't think you realize how large of a balloon it would take just to relieve 10% body weight. For reference, here is what 500 filled helium balloons looks like. Go run with it attached to you and see what happens.

Our educational system has failed us!

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No, nut you cud try to put some carbons springs in your shoes, I guess that should improve your times regardless of the course nature.

I have a serious job and have been in a bunch of serious meetings this morning.

When I log on here for during my lunch break - this is exactly the nonsense I'm coming to see.

Balloons could work. A kitesurfers kite would likely end in severe injury.

Something to negate gravitational pull would be the way to go. Zero G marathon

Zero G is not good.

*OK, significantly reduced, so a 150lb man weighs 15lb earth gravity pounds

Indeed. You could end up with osteoporosis.

I'm being completely and totally genuine when I say that THIS is the type of content I come to the message boards for.

I think you are confusing ground speed with air speed. An object floating in air moving at the same speed as the air will experience no force on it. If it is travelling faster than the air speed it will experience a drag force. If it is travelling slower than the air speed it will experience a thrust force. If these forces are in equilibrium the object's air speed will be zero but its ground speed will be whatever the free field air flow is.

In our mythical runners case the benefit of the balloon would be more in the effect of a sail rather than weight reduction. The balloon will want to stabilize at a speed where the thrust from the tail wind equals the drag from the balloon's profile plus the drag from the runner it is towing along. This will be slightly less than the free field air flow but will be a positive ground speed. So, in theory, the runner will benefit.

HOWEVER, as you correctly pointed out, any balloon to be effective would have a large volume and also operate in a strong wind. The forces generated will not be under the control of the runner so if the tail wind is not quite aligned with the road the runner will have to counteract the force trying to pull him off the road which will probably take far more energy than he is saving with his balloon/sail.

This is one of the best threads we've had on here in a long time.

Why stop with helium? Using heavier gases would allow the ballons to take more of the runners weight. With the right gas, a skinny runner might even be able to enter the clydesdale category, thus double dipping on medals.

why stop with just the balloon?

a small drone-based outboard motor attached to the balloon could keep it propelling foward at quite a pace

Your educational system has failed you. If you were riding air currents in a hot air balloon flying from one point to another, you won't feel any wind in the gondola because you are traveling with that airmass. Your airspeed is zero, thus aerodynamic drag is zero. You will have a groundspeed though, which will be equal to the wind speed. Let's say the hot air balloon is moving 15mph. If you tie one end of a rope to the gondola and throw the other end of the rope down to a runner and the runner grabs onto the rope, it will drag the runner around at 4 minutes per mile.

Good one! Thanks.

Sorry to disappoint you all, but this experiment has already been tried. It's episode 6 of Failure Is An Option on Outside TV. I haven't actually watched the episode yet, but I suspect it didn't work.

Here's the link, though you need a subscription to watch it, I think:

watch.outsideonline.com

I Unlocked the Secrets of Performance Enhancing Helium

What if all those blood dopers and pill poppers have it wrong? What if the secret to running faster, jumping higher, and generally winning in the outdoors is a naturally occurring gas that’s cheaply a

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As part of this thought experiment, though, remember what running looks like on the moon, where acceleration due to gravity is about 16% of what it is on earth. It's just slow bouncing.

Without sufficient ground reaction force you can't really run, so reducing your weight isn't guaranteed to be a benefit. Depends on your weight and your fitness and how much lift you're getting from the balloon or whatever.

How about a dog on a leash? Help or hinder? My dog is a lot faster than I am, and pretty strong, but I generally find I run slower with him because I'm actively having to pull back on the leash to keep him within my range.

a helium balloon could lift you off the ground only if the density of the you-and-helium-ballon object became lighter than air.

As long as you and the balloon are heavier than air, there is no net force lifting you from the ground. You weigh just as much as you always did.

You can understand this by imagining you got very fat, which would make you less dense but still heavier. Even if you got fat with helium, you would still be heavier until your density was lower than the air.

You can confirm this in an experiment with a helium balloon, a weight and a scale.

I don't think you would weigh the same.....

The obvious problem is that if:

A) You weigh approximately 10 lbs

B) You are attached to something that acts like a sail ..

C) The wind doesn't blow in a constant "ideal" direction and speed. (I e. the wind behaves like wind!!)

Ha!

Ha!

This is a good way to get an honorable mention in a Darwin award list.

Fischer (xc ski manufacturer) has helium in their top of the line speedmax skis. Apparently it makes them pretty light.