The Great Debate

["Corry, Lynda H." <lcorry@velaw.com>]

	I like to run as well as ride, and way back before this LD vs.
Endurance debate even started I made a few observations, through my own
experiences and by watching others, and came up with the following
general analogy (by the way, preparation effort = time, mileage, and
consistency):

Almost any human in good health and in reasonably good shape, with a
minimum of preparation effort and no mechanical problems, can jog a 5K
in 30-35 minutes and finish in good shape.

Almost any horse in good health and in reasonably good shape, with a
minimum of preparation effort and with no mechanical problems, can
finish a 25-miler at a slow/moderate trot in good shape within six
hours.

Almost any human in good health and in good shape, with no mechanical
problems, and with the preparation effort doubled, can jog a 10K in
60-70 minutes and finish in good shape.

Almost any horse in good health and in good shape, with no mechanical
problems, and with the preparation effort doubled, can finish a 50-miler
at a slow/moderate trot in good shape within 12 hours.

A human in good health and in good shape, with no mechanical problems
but with a consistent preparation effort doubled yet again, can probably
finish a marathon within six hours (26.2 miles).

A horse in good health and in good shape, with no mechanical problems
but with a consistent preparation effort doubled yet again, can probably
finish a 100-miler at a slow/moderate trot in good shape within 24
hours.

	Now, if anyone is insulted by anything I've just written, don't
be, for no insult is intended.  As one who has participated in each of
the above-named events at one time or another, this is just my own
humble opinion.  You're welcome to state yours.

	Assuming a 40-week competion schedule out of a year, the 5K
runner could easily do one 5K run each week, or a grand total of 128
miles.  Many people run the 5K distance three or more times a week
throughout the year.  On the other hand, the average(?) marathoner could
probably safely do only one marathon every six weeks out of a 40 week
period (more could be inviting mechanical injury because as any runner
knows, it's those long distances and the longer training miles that
eventually wear down the body).  This would amount to around six
marathons in 40 weeks (which is still a lot even by some distance
runner's standards), for a grand total of 157.2 miles.  

	As you can see, in this 40 week period the marathoner has run
only 29.2 miles further than the 5K runner, yet whose miles have been
more challenging?  If I saw an endurance rider with a jacket that
proclaimed, "1,000 career miles," would it matter to me if the rider was
solely a 25-miler or solely a 100-miler?  Would this "cheapen" the
efforts of the 100-miler?  Are "hard" career miles any different than
the same amount of "easy" career miles?  Should riders who put in less
of a preparation effort earn the same awards as riders who put in more
of a preparation effort?  Does preparation effort matter?  Does
competion really matter? Do what others think about our personal
achievements matter? Are we going out there concerned only with doing
our personal best?  Or someone else's personal best?  Who draws the
line?  What the heck is the line?  

	In an elightened alien society, everyone would probably strive
to be the best they could be for pure personal happiness and
satisfaction, and not worry about how the Jonses down the road found
theirs.  Amy Alien probably wouldn't care if Andy Alien earned career
mileage just for those short, around the planet sprints, while she was
in the same career mileage program for her flights out to Neptune and
back.  However, human beings being what they are (all different), some
of us thrive on competition and some don't, but almost all of us
jealously guard what we perceive as our own personal rights and our own
accomplishments, and those personal rights and accomplishments tend to
differ from person to person.  It's probably like arguing religion or
politics. There are so many questions concerning this issue that I've
even succeeded in confusing myself (where was I?)...    One thing's for
sure, "you can't keep all the people happy all the time."  Just wanted
to provide you all with a little more fodder for the fire so I could sit
back and watch the fun (television programs have gotten so boring,
lately).  May the best man/woman win!

Lynda Corry & Baskhari
lcorry@velaw.com