Runners: ultra marathon trail vs London marathon This was brought up by this post about the London marathon:  https://voat.co/v/fatpeoplehate/3193754 For shits and giggles, I pulled up the race page with details on arguably one of the most difficult trail runs in the US, a 50 mile run up and over a mountain.   https://ultrasignup.com/register.aspx?did=58277 The record is just over 7:30 to run over that mountain. Compare this to the over 7:30 needed to waddle 26.2 with almost no elevation change, and just laugh. It is amazing what humans can do. If you want to marvel, the times for all races are listed on the site, and there is an age filter.  An elite human can go through 14,000+- feet of elevation change (4,262 meters) over the course of 50 miles (80.47 kilometers) in the same amount of time a fatty can waddle through maybe 500 feet of elevation change and 26.2 miles.  A fat going for a leisurely walk is not an accomplishment.