Just wondering if anyone has ever done it. You see the Native Americans hunting deer by chasing them through the woods in movies but I wonder if it's possible for me to do it. It sounds like a rush!
Your thoughts?
Just wondering if anyone has ever done it. You see the Native Americans hunting deer by chasing them through the woods in movies but I wonder if it's possible for me to do it. It sounds like a rush!
Your thoughts?
I've always wanted to do it after reading: http://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Run-Natural-History/dp/0060958707
Sometimes I wonder about the stupidity in the world.
But, to answer your question: Yes, you could outrun a deer--but only if the deer only had one leg.
Actually it is possible to run down deer (even deer with all four legs) on foot. However, you need a coordinated group of people to do it (all of whom need to be relatively fit). The Iroquois (along with many other tribes) were famous for running down deer in upstate New York. Deer are not very good over long distances and fatigue fairly easily. If they manage to run themselves into a clearing, it's game over.
I think it was Tom Derderian who wrote an article many years ago about trying to do it. A group of good runners went out to some island that had smallish deer on it. The article was quite funny and they never came close to a deer.
Not to be a jerk about this, but just to prove that there's rarely a new idea on Letsrun (and yet I keep returning!), see this lengthy discussion:
http://www.letsrun.com/forum/flat_read.php?board=1&id=575983&thread=575959
Dauby wrote:
Sometimes I wonder about the stupidity in the world.
But, to answer your question: Yes, you could outrun a deer--but only if the deer only had one leg.
I'm not sure why you think that this is such a stupid idea. It's possible even without a coordinated group given the right conditions. After a light snow in the winter, if you find some fresh deer tracks and run along them, there is a very good chance that you will eventually catch the deer that made the tracks. A deer will destroy you over a quarter mile, but over 10 or 15 miles, the deer doesn't have a chance. Deer just aren't designed for distance running.
It's kind of like running with my dog. No way in hell could I keep up with him for any short distance--he could probably run a half mile in close to a minute flat--but sometimes I'll take him with me for a short segment of a distance run and he's cooked by the time he gets 20 minutes into an easy run at 7 minute pace.