I think the real question is, if you and your dog ran a marathon on a track, and the dog stopped to drop a deuce, and you were able to lap the dog, could the dog come back and, unlap your lead and ultimately beat you?
I think the real question is, if you and your dog ran a marathon on a track, and the dog stopped to drop a deuce, and you were able to lap the dog, could the dog come back and, unlap your lead and ultimately beat you?
Whippets can get up to 40mph.
So maybe one could get a whippet (not necessarily pure bred) to complete a marathon, breaking it up into 3 or 4 shorter runs, with intermittent rests and pitt stops, while still breaking 2 hours.
This thread is ridiculous. I have two whippets, and whippets are sprinters- not endurance animals. Even my whippets would knock out my marathon training runs with me, no sweat. 12-15 miles at a 9 minute pace without thinking twice. Of course if you add in extreme conditions like super high heat and humidity it changes things. But if a sprinter like a whippet can go 15 miles no problem, then the Weimereiners, Vizslas, hounds, etc. of the world could do it easily.
I've done the Man v Horse race quite a few times; a couple of points, the horses lose quite a lot of time on steep descents - time that runners (and dogs) would not lose.
On THAT specific course, I've no doubt that a fit and agile dog could beat a horse (and rider). It shouldn't be forgotten, that a horse has the obvious disadvantage of having to carry a rider on it's back.
Kettlaness wrote:
I've done the Man v Horse race quite a few times; a couple of points, the horses lose quite a lot of time on steep descents - time that runners (and dogs) would not lose.
On THAT specific course, I've no doubt that a fit and agile dog could beat a horse (and rider). It shouldn't be forgotten, that a horse has the obvious disadvantage of having to carry a rider on it's back.
Have you never seen "The Man From Snowy River"? An actual mountain horse and a real rider will destroy any part of the course.
I think this settles it. This is probably the best video evidence of what a dog can do in ideal conditions. Very cold, not pulling anything, and paced by a snow mobile. The dog even looks relaxed the whole way. Sub 2 no problem.