How fast could a dog run a marathon

A lot of uneducated people in this thread. A Rhodesian Ridgeback could handle this feat. Ridgebacks were bred in Africa to run 30 miles at a time, withstand extreme heat, and go 24 hours without a drink of water... while hunting lions. Anyone who has ever seen a true example of this breed (and not one that has been ruined by American inbreeding) knows this would be easy for them. In fact, I believe a popular running magazine just recently voted them the number one running companion.

Recognizer of Brilliance wrote:

SMJO wrote:

They don't quite have human sprinter speed? Are you still making that claim? A Siberian Husky could beat Bolt over ay distance.

This ^ is true.

Anyone who isn't aware that any real dog (things that get carried around in women's purses don't count) would wipe the floor with ANY human sprinter obviously has never owned a real dog.

Is this because they have four legs and generate more propulsion via faster turnover? As in pushing off with one leg at a time while the other three are in various stages of swinging forward? I've never taken note of a dog's running gait.

Another question is are male dogs faster than bitches?

I had a 1/2 Rhodesian Ridgeback 1/2 Black Labrador and ran with him 3 or 4 times a week. He had a thick fur coat and would overheat very easily.

One time I let him take off, with me holding the leash beside him. We did something like 6 minutes the first mile, 7 minutes the 2nd, 8 to 9 minutes the 3rd, and 11+ the 4th with him lagging behind me at that point and then we walked home.

Usually the most he would run with me was 4 miles, and then I would head out on my own.

Dog's VO2max can be as high as 240.

"They don't quite have human sprinter speed"

^#(&^%$&^%#*^%()*^((%$@%$!@#^%$#(*&&*)#(#^#$@)^&*#$%^&*(&^(%$@%%$$*&&@ IDIOT.

Again? This is ridiculous. I own one of the breeds that has been mentioned and I know they can easily run under two hours. Want proof? Here is a link to an open sled dog race where, each day, they run over twenty five miles for 3 days. The winning team is around 1:30 each day.

http://www.asdra.org/furrondy.html

Here is another link where the teams ran the mid-distance event (19.8 miles) in around 65 minutes each day for two days.

http://sleddog.org/onac-day-2-results-2

I've seen results where the 27.6 mile was covered in around 1:25 by a team of eurohounds which are mixes, typically of huskys and german shorthaired pointers. That is what the darker lead dog is in the link above. They are fast beyond human comprehension.

Out.

A dog couldn't possibly understand the concept of racing to a sufficient extent to actually run the whole race as fast as it could without deviating from the course. The dog would require assistance to stay on the course and keep running, which would lead to disqualification. So a dog really couldn't run a marathon at all. I guess the answer to the OP's question is infinity.

Well, these dogs managed to stay on course, with a little help from their human, and completed 26.9 miles in 97 minutes after doing 19.8 miles in around 64 minutes on each of the previous two days.

http://www.sleddogcentral.com/results14/alaska/onac.htm

Stupid Question wrote:

Well, these dogs managed to stay on course, with a little help from their human, and completed 26.9 miles in 97 minutes after doing 19.8 miles in around 64 minutes on each of the previous two days.

http://www.sleddogcentral.com/results14/alaska/onac.htm

Wouldn't that human help be illegal in a marathon, though?

I guess it depends on what the definition of marathon is. Did the OP mean to define marathon as 26.2 miles, as many people do when they say things like, "He runs over a full marathon every day in training!". Or, did he intend to define it as a specific Marathon? In the former case, staying on a specified course wouldn't matter, only covering the distance would. The issue would then be one of motivation, which I would solve with a truck, a kennel, and a female dog in heat.

Over.

Oh, and I forgot to add one thing to the links above:

THEY DID IT PULLING A HUMAN IN A SLED YOU FREAKING MORONS!!

What if a dog on an Iditarod sled team has to poop mid-run? Does the team stop, or is the dog directly behind pure out of luck?

I think wrote:

What if a dog on an Iditarod sled team has to poop mid-run? Does the team stop, or is the dog directly behind pure out of luck?

One year a driver had to delay because two of his dogs mated on the trail.

That required a half hour break until the tie was broken.

Ridgeback Education wrote:

A lot of uneducated people in this thread. A Rhodesian Ridgeback could handle this feat. Ridgebacks were bred in Africa to run 30 miles at a time, withstand extreme heat, and go 24 hours without a drink of water... while hunting lions. Anyone who has ever seen a true example of this breed (and not one that has been ruined by American inbreeding) knows this would be easy for them. In fact, I believe a popular running magazine just recently voted them the number one running companion.

^^^ this reply is spot on !

A Ridgeback with moderate training, would easily beat 2 hours for a marathon. The characteristics of the breed as mentioned above, are entirely accurate. I'm on my 2nd Ridgeback and they are great running companions - any distance or speed.

About 15 years ago, I had a Great Dane bitch; she came on virtually all my training runs - she covered 50-60 miles a week. About 50% of the runs were off-road and there were always hills. Most weekends, I'd do a 12-15 mile run; quite a few times, she did a 22 miler (mostly off-road), with over 1500ft of climb - we'd be out for about 4 hours. Although a large dog, she was also tall - a 6.30 mile was basically a fast walk; only rarely, did she need to go into a canter. She became very fit indeed, with highly-muscled hind quarters. She died at the age of 13 - an immense age for a Dane. Unusually, in later life, she didn't suffer from a weak back end. In larger dogs, a common problem as they get older, is that their back legs go and they simply cannot support themselves. Our Dane never had this problem, presumably because of her training.

I run about 20-30 miles a week with my Ridgeback - not as much as with my Dane, but only because I've now got a family to contend with. In my opinion, a good running dog, is naturally athletic and has a short coat. I recommend a taller dog - for virtually all my runs, my Ridgeback only needs to do a fast walk.

It's interesting to see that, if a elite athlete and a horse run a marathon, most likely the elite marathoner beat the horse (world's fastest horse on a marathon is 1:59:??), and he was doped (presuming that the regular elite marathoner is not).

I doubt that a dog could run a marathon faster than a horse, or am I wrong?

oddgs wrote:

I doubt that a dog could run a marathon faster than a horse, or am I wrong?

If you have read this thread or done any research at all into this you know you are wrong.

Not a Fatty wrote:

oddgs wrote:

I doubt that a dog could run a marathon faster than a horse, or am I wrong?

If you have read this thread or done any research at all into this you know you are wrong.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_versus_Horse_Marathon

I've run that race its basically a fell race with horses in

On the flat it would be no contest trained thoroughbred horse could easily beat any human as could a moderately trained dog

The racehorse Gimcrack ran a one hour distance trial and covered 22 miles.

A racehorse is basically twice as fast as a human over a Marathon.

I doubt a human could beat a carthorse.

What kind of genetic heart muscle they have and how we can study it? It would be be interesting to see how we can translate this study to human beings. Maybe this will lead us to know if man can break 2hrs in a marathon or wishful thinking?