How far should one be able to run from danger?

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Boberama

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Say you're not carrying (because it's illegal here) and you're attacked by a wild animal (in which case you're probably screwed anyway) or, more pertinently, you're attacked and chased by a group of thugs or someone with a knife, etc.
Say this happens in a rural area.

How far should you be able to run? I don't fancy my chances in a fistfight with a group of adversaries possibly armed.

I can run about a mile before I get tired and slow down to a crawl. I don't know how far the average person can run, maybe less, maybe more. I want to know how much distance I should train for.
 
Wild animal: If it's the kind that can hurt you, you're not going to outrun it.

Person: Totally situational based on the attacker, but sounds like it doesn't matter since you're not armed... what choice do you have?

BTW rural area I'd run for the first indoor place I could and grab help or a makeshift weapon rather than hoof it a mile and hope to tire them out.
 
I mean RURAL. You'd have to hoof it a mile to get indoors anyways. And I don't want to face two or three guys with sticks and stones.

How far can you run? Give me an idea of what's normal.
 
How far can you run? Give me an idea of what's normal.
Click to expand...

How fit are you?

That's all you are asking. Some people collapse apoplectically after 400 yards. Others 4 miles later. Do a personal fitness test and decide that if running is key to you (and it should be to everyone), how fit do you want to be?

After that, "normal" is really going to depend upon age and speed. Young people do more, older people less. You need to ask a more fined question.
 
Let's say, how far could your average 20-year-old run before tiring out?

Average fitness.

Say, 10 mph.
 
I wouldn't have the slightest idea. I'm never unarmed...

I WILL promise you this though...You run from a preditor (cougar, bear, etc) you will be "food" in about 10 yards...
 
How far can I run? A few years ago I did Ironman which is 2 1/2 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and then a 26.2 mile run. So.... how far can I run? Quite a ways :)

How far can I run from a bear, cougar, or wolf? About 3-10' before they've caught me and eaten me... better to face them with aggression and hope to scare them off, or in grizzly attack to play dead and hope they leave.

If chased by men, well...all depends upon how fast they are :)
 
I am too old,..too slow,..and too banged up and fat to run anymore,...and too bull headed to back down or apologize,..unless I am clearly in the wrong,...in which case,..I might. I am also normally armed with something,..if no more than my wits and a cane. Even if outnumbered,..I may well be defeated in a fist fight,..but they are gonna know that this fat, slow, banged up and bull headed old man,...was there. "If we're gonna dance,...go ahead and start the music. If it lasts more than 5 minutes,...you win."
 
Let's say, how far could your average 20-year-old run before tiring out?
Click to expand...

I would estimate that the average kid could hold a sprint for MAYBE 100 meters before they got winded and had to slow down, and that a typical per mile rate of 8 minutes (+ or - 30 seconds) could be maintained for at least 2 miles.
 
At 10mph, the average non runner over 30 can hope for maybe 400 yards.

I used to run and had to quit. Years later I tried for a 7 minute mile and made it less than 800 yards.

If you are not accustomed to running, you won't make it far. BUT: BGs aren't likely to be in good shape either:cool:
 
there are so many variables to look at. are they/you in any athletic shape at all? do they/you smoke? previous injuries? health? altitude?

in a dead run i'd probably make it less than 300 yards, i haven't ran in years (i walk but that is far from a substitute ), i have a knee that is prone to dislocating, i smoke and am about 25-30 lbs over weight.

as far as a four-legged predator i can't think of a way possible you will out run them, my neighbor used to have a dog with 3 legs that could out run me easily.

as far a human threat, running is a good option but i think i would save my last bit of strength for a last stand if i could tell they were gaining on me and showed no signs of stopping. i think the one mile you can do now is a great start, i'd contnue to work on that and just try to make that mile as fast as possible so that you can put as much distance between you and them as possible.
 
I am always armed. I CAN'T run because of an injury sustained in a car accident years ago. I can hobble a little faster than I can walk for about 100 feet and then my right hip flexor locks up.

G27 for me.
 
To me this sounds like "I can run a mile, how far can you run?"

This is a forum dedicated to firearms. Not fitness or evasion techniques. Go back to the gym if you want to fish for compliments. Or move over to the activism forum and rally your statesmen to change your unconstitutional laws (assuming your in the US).
 
Gritacular

This is a forum dedicated to firearms. Not fitness or evasion techniques. Go back to the gym if you want to fish for compliments. Or move over to the activism forum and rally your statesmen to change your unconstitutional laws (assuming your in the US).
Click to expand...

i thought this was a forum for strategies and tactics, being able to evade a threat is a tactic. one of the most often discussed tactics actually.
 
to answer your originally posted question:

you should be able to run far enough so that your pursuers give up...more than anything else, it depends on how badly they want you

it has been my experience that a common mugger won't run after you more than about half a block, folks who just want to beat you just for laughs might go a couple of hundred yards (likely only half of that)

the BF of the girl you met last night would likely just get in his car to give chase :D...so it would be time to "Run Forrest Run"
 
Most people put too much emphasis on long slow distance jogging. Unless you're a marathon runner, that doesn't really have anything to do with being in shape. If you're training for self defense purposes, I think you're better off focusing mostly on maximal strength, power, and sprinting high speeds over short distances. All else being equal, who would you rather not run into in a dark alley: a 6' 145 lb marathon runner who can jog very long distances but can't lift his bodyweight off the floor, or a 6' 240 lb weightlifter who can lift 2.5x his bodyweight over his head, vertical leap 31", and sprint 40 yards in around 4 seconds?

Obviously in this scenario your first mistake was being unarmed. I doubt you can run 1200+ feet per second. If they have guns or are just faster runners, you're in trouble.
 
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USPj

Yes, I thought this was a forum for strategies and tactics too, but I though it was a strategies and tactics sub-forum on a firearms forum.

To me it sounds like this guy is proud of the fact that he can run a mile and wanted to share that with us. I am saying that is not a good tactic or a good stragey to deal with an armed attacker, and it seems silly to ask on a firearms forum "How far should one be able to run from danger?"

You can run but you can't hide...

Spending the time to train is of course a good thing, but planning to outrun an armed attacker is plain ol' silly.

So to answer the OPs question: You will have to be the most endurant and fastest runner on earth, and you also must be able to outrun any and all ranged weapons.
 
Let me apologize for being harsh but I wanted to make a point.

Growing up my friends were generally atheltic. I was among the slowest runners. My fastest chilhood friend (no longer) now robs people outside ATMs with a knife. Good luck trying to outrun him.
 
Was it Patton that said retreat hell, attack, I'd only run as far as the nearest rock,stick or sand. Then the guy with the knife would have stick, rock or sand face and a crazy cripple on him like stick on &h!t. I might be crippled but I'm not afraid of preditors of any species. Crazy, maybe, afraid not today.
 
Honestly, the only certain answer is that you need to be able to run further (and of course faster since running an ultra marathon is no good if the guy beats you in the 40) than what every is chasing you. That obviously will vary greatly from person to person.

As to a wild animal, you aren't outrunning it unless you only need to go a very short distance and it is a ways off. If you want a lesson in how fast an animal can be on you get a medium sized dog. Have it sit and go fifty yards ahead of it. Taking off sprinting and call the dog. Its shocking how quickly it will catch you.
 
boberama said:
Let's say, how far could your average 20-year-old run before tiring out?
Average fitness.
Say, 10 mph.
Click to expand...

Average, you say? Look around you. "Average" is setting the bar pretty low. The "average" 20 year old is already 25 pounds overweight, and probably can't make it to 10mph for more than 4 seconds.

That said, any animal capable of being a threat, is also going to be faster than a human. As for a human threat, watch a few episodes of COPS. Generally, the cops appear to be in poor shape, and the BG's even poorer. If you follow a modest fitness regimen on a regular basis, you can most likely escape most BGs on foot.

Running's not in my plan. I farm. I work physically, all day, every day. I get exercise, but not aerobic exercise. I can still sprint with great speed, but it is not likely I can maintain beyond about 200 yards, and even at that, I'm severely winded. If circumstances determine my survival depends on running, then those are the circumstances of my death.

Unarmed, at 0 yards, odds I can duke my way out of it, are fair to good. If I try to run, and do not escape, at 200 yards, I'm too winded to take a swing. I realize the thread subject is running from a threat when unarmed, but a key point I feel has been missed, is that barehanded and unarmed are not one and the same.
 
another thought:

I read somewhere once that prey animals are more likely to survive if they stand their ground against the predator (such as in an instance of a pack of wolves against a single adult buffalo).

I read somewhere else once that during traditional battles (before the heavy implementation of firearms) most of the casualties were not from the actual battle but where killed when they retreated.

Again, good luck with the whole running thing, maybe you can be the next Usain Bolt or Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot.:)
 
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Your question kind of points out why it's a bad idea to put yourself in a position where you have to run. There is no way of knowing that you can outrun what is chasing you at all, long or short.

In the army, the running test is two miles. But there are some missions and circumstances where you must be able to do much better than that. The REAL WORLD test should be, wearing full battle gear, can you pick up your buddy and move HIM 100 yards quickly? If we are talking about GOOD ENOUGH, this would be a start.

I would say that anyone who considers using deadly force should be in reasonably good shape and try to think about all things you might be required to do in an emergency.
 
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