What If You Run For 3 Days Without Stopping

what is the farthest you've never run maybe you've completed a half or a full marathon or maybe you're more the type that likes to burn off extra calories on Thanksgiving with a casual 3k race you know a turkey trot well we've got news for you that's nothing compared to an ultra marathon and they're not even close to the world record for distance so why are humans so good at running is there a limit or can we run to the point where our bodies simply shut down lace up brainiacs today we are finding out in the animal kingdom humans really don't measure up to other mammals in most areas we've got nothing on bears for strength we're definitely not the fastest ever try to catch a squirrel and our eyesight doesn't measure up when compared to a hawk but there is one thing that humans excel in far beyond any other mammal on the planet and that is sweating you heard that right sweat but here's the thing this seemingly useless and stinky trait is off the charts useful in one area keeping us cool over long periods of time in fact it's so effective that it gives humans the unique ability to run incredibly long distances non-stop scientists believe that two million years ago when Homo erectus first appeared on the planet this was how we caught our prey by running down our targets and it kind of makes sense right after all an antelope can certainly out sprint a short term but after about five to six miles that antelope is pooped and that's when humans would swoop in for the kill so flash forward to present times what is the longest a human can run before the body starts to shut down well prior to the 1980s medical science said that serious damage would occur after running 26.2 miles aka the marathon named for the legendary run of fiha deputies from Marathon to Athens in 490 BC to deliver the news that the Greek army had defeated the Persians the distance he ran was you guessed it 26.2 miles but at one time this was thought of as the farthest we could run before seriously injuring ourselves doctors during this time thought that if a woman ran more than this distance her uterus would be torn this has since been proven false and both men and women have ran quadruple the distance of a marathon and are alive and well to tell the tale these extreme distance races called ultramarathons are 100 or sometimes even 150 miles how is this possible you ask well turns out with proper training the human body can be pushed to incredible limits along with our sweat glands to keep us nice and cool when running humans break down glucose for energy which produces lack tastes which in turn is an additional source of fuel which the body can use for more energy with training you can make significant improvements to your ability to clear lactic acid from your system and thus you can run and run and run eventually when you exceed your lactate threshold your body will no longer be able to keep up converting the lactate as fast as it is being produced this causes muscle pain cramps and muscular fatigue it's your body's natural way of letting you know it's time to stop on top of that extreme distance running has a hugely adverse effect on the body ultra marathoners have to change their shoes every 50 miles during the race or they can seriously injure their joints due to the uneven soles of their worn down running shoes they are also known to lose all their toenails due to the constant impact and movement in their feet as well as hallucinate during the final stretches of their runs these races can take 30 or more hours and that lack of sleep has caused runners to see anything from buildings that appear out of nowhere to people running near them that aren't there so our limiting factor on how far we can run is sleep and building up lactic acid in the muscles if these weren't an issue humans could just run forever if only this weren't an issue if only there was a freak Yuen who didn't feel the pain of running and could go days without sleep oh wait there is and that's where Dean Karnazes comes in this man is a true freak of nature in all the right ways for running he holds the record for the longest a human has ever run in one go which is 350 miles Dean ran for 80 hours and 44 minutes from October 12 to October 15th across Northern California without stopping to eat or sleep scientists had to know what was going on here so they tested Dean while he ran and found that his body does experience muscle pain or cramping this is due to his good genes he received from his parents his muscles don't send his brain the signal that there's a buildup of acidity in his muscles the man can literally run until well he can't which seems to be determined by his need for sleep and food according to Dean his best advice for becoming a world-class ultra marathoner is choose your parents well after all a lot of it is hereditary and that's how he ran those 350 miles non-stop his body's natural ability not to cramp seems humans are really really good at one thing in the animal kingdom and it's running so even if you don't think of yourself as a runner why not strap on some trainers and get out there once in a while after all we've evolved to do it and as you've heard we can go a pretty darn long time before we have to stop [Music]

Channel: Brainiac

Views: 297,174

Rating: 4.8793969 out of 5

Keywords: Brainiac, run, running, shoes, marathon, dean karnazes, nike, adidas, new balance, sweat, race, longest run, how long can you run, animated story, animation, lose weight, weight loss, get in shape, stay in shape, no diet, what if, 24-hour run, ultramarathon, ultra marathon, Guinness World Record, ultrarunning, running for 24 hours, tips for running, metabolism, training for a marathon, fitness runner, experienced marathon runner, cardiovascular issues, pro-runner

Id: D4ZaFziJTns

Length: 5min 35sec (335 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 11 2020