Could you beat a random american in a 1 mile race with your LIFE on the line?

As someone else said, $1m doesn't change my life, but dying would. On the off chance Grant gets chosen, I wonder if he'd throw a race for $500k. Bet he would. I wouldn't even tell letsrun I beat him.

Even if I got unlucky and drew someone faster, the thrill of literally being in a race for my life would be pretty sick, more exciting than any thrill my current corporate/hobby jogging life could stimulate in me. I'm mid-high 4, but even drawing someone who could run sub-6 would make the first couple laps feel pretty nuts knowing I still have to do some work, especially if the opponent is also faced with death and working like crazy.

If you can break 5 you should take this challenge. You are probably more likely to get cancer than to have to face someone that is capable of breaking 5 today (assuming you don’t get months to train for the race of your life).

If you’re super unlucky and have to face a pro you will have to fight for your life and prevent them from finishing.

I'd offer the guy $500,000 to let me win.

I´m too old now but when I was in my fifties I could still run about 4:50 in the mile and I would possibly have taken the bet.

In my Scandinavian home region a 4:50 mile would possible have placed me in the best per mille. So rather good odds.

I'm 46 years old, male and 20 lbs overweight and just ran a 6:57 mile.

I wonder what that time would put me for same age/gender of Americans..Top 3%?

After lump sum and taxes, it will probably come out to only 350k.

Why not? lol

For all those who don't understand how to answer the spirit of a question, here is a question for you to ponder, with enough specifics added that you'll need to try really hard if you want to make your answer stupid:

A magical extra-terrestrial wizard appears to you. He tells you that for the next thirty Earth-days, you have the opportunity to take his challenge.

The challenge is that you and another human, chosen completely at random from all American citizens excluding yourself, will be safely and instantly transported to a 400m track. Approximately 60 minutes later, the two of you will race one Mile in accordance with USATF rules. It will be 50°F, cloudy, and dry. The track will be well-lit. You and your competitor will have access to whatever (USATF-approved) shoes, clothes, nutrition, and amenities you like. Your competitor has been told that they will be killed if they lose; the wizard has assured you, however, that they will not actually be killed--so you do not need to feel guilt about being the cause of someone's death. You are not allowed to make any deals with your competitor that might cause them to give less than their best effort. The wizard will also perform a 100%-accurate drug test; a positive test for an intentionally-consumed performance-enhancing drug is grounds for disqualification. Other intentional rule-breaking is also grounds for disqualification; unintentional rule-breaking (such as an accidental flinch for a false start, or an accidental mid-race collision) will cause the race to be restarted. A disqualification is equivalent to a loss.

If you lose the race, you will immediately be killed (shot in the head until dead), and those who knew you will learn that it was because you accepted a one-mile race against a random American, with a $1 million prize for winning and death for losing. They will not know about the magical extra-terrestrial wizard, but they will assume that the competition was fair.

If you win the race, you are awarded one million US Dollars, and you are safely transported back to your original location, at the time at which you accepted the challenge. No one but you will know that you were gone or that a race occurred.

You may accept the challenge as many times as you wish at any point within the 30-day window (unless you're dead). At the end of said window, the money will be awarded to you by means of a winning lottery ticket whose prize, after taxes are deducted, will be equal to your winnings. No one will know that you earned the money by winning (a) race(s).

One of the magical extra-terrestrial wizard's magical powers is the ability to convince anyone of anything. Because of this, you have zero doubt that everything he has told you is true.

Do you accept his challenge? If you win, do you accept it again? How many times?

I would

I had an experience that relates to this... I participated in a sports-related industry fundraiser in a large US city. I was not a miler in college, but ran the 5,000 and 10,000. People could bet on their colleagues for prizes (all money went to the cause, but prizes included things like pop-a-shot, TVs, etc.). My entire firm bet on me to win the mile run because I was 5 years removed from D1 competition and running fast marathon times.

I show up to the competition and there were two other former college runners. Both milers. I came in 3rd and felt like a chump.

So there was certainly a selection bias in my scenario, but sometimes it is good to remember that there are faster people out there (especially when your life is on the line).

The fact so many people on this board voted no is eye opening.

Nope.

I can run a mile in 5:20-25 currently. So yes odds are in my favor.

But with my luck ?! I would't get to race against Grant, but for sure I would get to race against a f*cking 17yo who for whatever reason can run low 5:00.

Lmao I was going to say, don't weigh your HS numbers based on Wyoming. <600k population for the whole state compared to Colorado's nearly 6 million.

Quick google showed about 23,000 HSers break 5 min a year from an old Outside mag article.

of course I would. I would simply offer 500k to the random girl/guy and pocket other half. It is a no brainer. win/win

It'd be just my luck to get the 1 in 330M, Nuguse. My 1500 equivalent is a 3:57 but there's no way I can run 3:43.

You can't offer to split prize money or pay off your opponent. This should be blindingly obvious in the spirit of the question. It's do or die baby.

How far in advance of the race do you have to make the decision? It's more likely to be rigged against you if the drawing is done the day of or before the race.

However, if the drawing is weeks or months in advance, and the person selected is physically inferior to you now, there is a risk with increasing time before the race that you might get injured, etc. Good luck if you have to come to the start line on crutches, in a wheelchair, etc.

came here to say this! if kerr can sit on jacob ftw, so can I. sit and kick let's gooo