MPH. What can you do?

[cave man]

I'm interested in learning how fast some of you can go. What are some of your average/comfortable mph and how long can you maintain this speed. Do you spend most of your time running or hiking or is it a combination of both depending on the terrain and elevation?? :-?

Lots of questions i know, i'll take my answer of air. Thanks!

[Chaco Taco]

I'm interested in learning how fast some of you can go. What are some of your average/comfortable mph and how long can you maintain this speed. Do you spend most of your time running or hiking or is it a combination of both depending on the terrain and elevation?? :-?

Lots of questions i know, i'll take my answer of air. Thanks!
Hmm this is a loaded question. On our thru we generally stayed in the 2.5 mph range. Right now, Id say we are in the 2 mile range with all of the snow and snowmelt. In The Whites, Lincoln Woods Trail up to the climb up Galehead is straight and flat for about 7.5 miles. I can get up to where I can walk about 4- 4.5 mph along that stretch. Its all about terrain and weather that makes that .5 mph jump for me. We were going about 1.6mph up Chocorua yesterday with snow and about 2600 feet of climbing over about 3.8 miles. But coming down took us about 2 hours

[moytoy]

That depends on where I'm hiking. I can do the Amicalola Falls parking lot to Springer and back in 8 hours. That's a little over 2MPH. In the Ocala National forest I can walk about 3.2 mph.

[Malto]

Normally I average just at 3.0mph on short duration, multiday hikes unless it is really rough terrain. That is all day including a very few minimal breaks. On my thru hike, however, I rarely was able to average that. There was too many chores such as washing, eating, water, health maintenance to do to keep my normal pace all day.

[cave man]

It sounds like everyone is around the maximum speed of walking safely. I dont think you can actually walk any faster than 5 mph before you break out into some sort of skip or jog either on a dh or flat.

[Malto]

It sounds like everyone is around the maximum speed of walking safely. I dont think you can actually walk any faster than 5 mph before you break out into some sort of skip or jog either on a dh or flat.

There is no possible way to walk 5mph sustained. Go to treadmill and try it increasing the incline up to about ten degrees. Ain't happening. Also even most trail runners aren't sustaining 5mph over the long haul on AT style terrain. I would also say that you won't average over 3mph over time without jog some downhills. But, I often will trot downhills not to increase speed but to decrease wear and tear. Varying different paces will spread the work over a larger group of muscles.

[Kookork]

2 mph is what I normally walk on average in most of the days including my 5 minutes hourly break and 30 to 45 minutes lunch break and nap.Any faster I am pushing the envelope and I normally do not push the thing in a thru hike. In long term I prefer to walk 25 percent slower than my maximum pace and do it day in day out than walking faster but injure myself sooner than later.

The only times that I push the pedal is when I am escaping from the swarms of mosquitoes near a swamp or stagnant water source in summer. Literally I out run them when I walk 3 mph and they outrun me in 2mph.

[chiefiepoo]

Depends,as always. Knowing what kind of speed you can maintain over various types of terrain with and without a load ought to be a mental exercise you conduct for yourself. My experience informs me that I can do 1/10 miles in 2.5 to 3 minutes on level or moderate up /down with a 35 lb pack. At the other extreme, like up Blood Mn. or coming up out of NOC 1/10 miles is a slovenly 6 to 7 minutes. Seems like at the end of the day, literally, I average 1.5 mph from morning start to evening finish. That would include pee breaks, lunch, water, social moments, and time spent at vantage points. not fast but happy to be out there.

[Josh Calhoun]

I usually hike at around 3mph but also take a few breaks and a TON of pictures so it usually works out to about 2.3 mph

Rash. www.trailjournals.com/Rash

[Dogwood]

I'm interested in learning how fast some of you can go. What are some of your average/comfortable mph and how long can you maintain this speed. Do you spend most of your time running or hiking or is it a combination of both depending on the terrain and elevation?? :-?

Lots of questions i know, i'll take my answer of air. Thanks!

Definitely is a loaded question. From a long distance hiker stand pt., I'm constantly mindful of the amount of energy I have to expend(input, directly related to MPH) for a measured output(usually in terms of mileage). As such my pace varies from about 1.5 mph to 5.5 mph. Even when I do 5.5 mph it's alternating between extremely FAST hiking and a quick jog and it's not sustained for more than 4-5 miles but it depends on terrain, elev changes, my physical and mental conditioning at the time, how light my load is, weather, etc. I'm out there to long distance hike though NOT trail run so this high a mph is very much the exception. I consider myself an experienced long distance hiker and as such I've learned how to VERY ACCURATELY determine my pace in mph at any time and my avg pace over a set(known) distance. For example, because I know my MPH so well, I know within 10 - 15 mins. when I'm supposed to arrive at a mile post, benchmark, shelter, summit, river, escarpment, road, etc. I would say my avg long distance hiking pace once acclimated to the physical and mental rigors of consistent long hr hiking days is about 2 1/2 - 2 3/4 mph. As Chiefiepoo said "Knowing what kind of speed you can maintain over various types of terrain with and without a load ought to be a mental exercise you conduct for yourself." I rarely consistently push the pace in order to achieve my mileage though. And, doing mileage really IS NOT the reason I hike. I like to stop occasionally for views, to breathe in the air, watch the wildlife, listen to the water, hear the birds sing, feel the breezes and sunshine, or just to enjoy feeling alive. I just like being in the moment! And, I understand that means I DO NOT ALWAYS have to feel like I need to be anywhere else other than where I currently am or doing ANYTHING other then JUST BEING. What I am capable of doing since I''m so enured to it is hike day after day after day after day after wk after wk after wk month after month after month after month for up to six months at a time for 12-14 hrs per day. That's how I get my mileage in. CONSISTENCY in a daily long hrs. routine enjoying the ability to hike long distances over extended durations. Pade Pade. I'll tell you another thing - I DID NOT START OUT being able to hike 5.5 mph! I worked up to it over the yrs and several factors have contributed to this ability - BEYOND physical and mental conditioning! And, though I'd like to always be in prime shape to go fast and do long days when I begin a long distance hike I KNOW I'm NOT ALWAYS optimally prepared for this so even now I'm conscious of having to work my way into my hikes. This is my mindset. I have to be honest with myself! It has served me well because I've NEVER had to totally abandon a hike because I got injured. I've been sidelined a few times for short periods but I got my butt back out there and happily finished. I lost track of my trail mileage a couple of yrs ago at around 17K.

I've gone into detail, but KNOW THIS - I DO NOT ENJOY these types of questions because it leads to unfair comparisons grounded in boastfulness and puffing up of the ego. One of the primary motivations for my long distance hiking is to LET GO of the ego!

[garlic08]

...i'll take my answer of air. Thanks!

You'll get plenty of answers of air here! Oh, you mean OFF air.

Since this is in the running and speed hiking forum, I don't really belong here. The few attempts I've made at speed hiking were for emergencies, like beating a severe storm off a ridge in the Rockies, or getting off a long traverse to a spring or campsite before dark. In those situations, I've been able to easily make four miles in one hour without fatigue or injury, with a pack in the 10 to 20 pound range.

I make it a point of safety to always keep one foot on the ground at all times when I'm wearing a pack of that size, especially on descents.

Some days I've successfully made a long walk to town before dark, say 30 miles in 10 hours, and been able to hike normally the next day. That's my comfort range. I have hiked 100 miles in three days, but those are longer days, like in the 14 hour range.

The normal pace I use for estimating distances between breaks is 3 mph, which works out to one tenth every 2 minutes, which is handy if you're hiking with a data sheet or book. I normally keep that pace for two hours before I need a break, a meal, and sometimes a nap.

[Coffee]

My typical road running pace is around 7.5 mph, trail running with just a hydration bladder is around 5-5.5 mph, and hiking with a 25 pound pack has seemed to average around 2.5-3mph. On my last trip, I averaged about 2.25 mph over the course of seven hour days including probably an hour of short breaks and lunch. But the activities are so different and my goal for a hiking trip usually doesn't include getting from point a to point b as quickly as possible.

[redseal]

For me it really depends on the terrain and how often I get out to walk. Early in the season I will average about 2.5 mph over terrain comparable to the AT in the mid-Atlantic states. Towards the end of the season I will average about 4 mph over the same terrain. In Maine, the numbers change to about 2 to 3 mph. I can sustain these speeds from sunrise to sundown.

[msupple]

When I'm trying to calculate distance I can cover over a given time, I usually factor in 2 mph. That of course is on the AT with it's typical ups and downs. On the flats I'm usually comfortable with about 3 mph....uphills go slower and downhills go faster but I can always depend on 2mph overall. Cat in the Hat

[handlebar]

What's the rush? Yes, I suppose you have a certain number of days food supply to take you from one resupply to another, but beyond that, there are usually many hours of daylight to allow stopping. I suppose I can make 2-1/2 mph on flat or gently-graded, smooth trail. I know if I have the incentive of reaching a town, I can up that to 3 mph without pushing to the point of being accident prone. On 2 successive 21 mile days in the Quehanna Wild Area of N Central PA this past weekend I was travelling about 2.3 mph. Considering the steep climbs and descents and the rock strew trail in places, that is pretty good for me.

Like Dogwood says, "...I just like being in the moment! And, I understand that means I DO NOT ALWAYS have to feel like I need to be anywhere else other than where I currently am or doing ANYTHING other then JUST BEING." This brought to mind the sermon I heard at St. Helena Cathedral in Helena Mt as I was finishing up my final chunk of the CDT. The priest advised taking time for just BEING, rather than always DOING something. I find that taking that time helps me connect spiritually with the natural world.

[SCRUB HIKER]

3 is the standard for me. A little more if it's unusually gentle, a little less if it's unusually steep. In the Whites/Mahoosucs it was under 2.5 except for short uphill bursts--like Lake of the Clouds to Mt. Washington summit, which is listed as 1.5 miles, I got up in 30 minutes even. In normal terrain, over the course of a day with breaks included, the average is rarely over 2.25, usually tending toward 2.

Like Dogwood said, I got to know my pace on the AT so well that, assuming the mileage listed was correct and I wasn't mistranslating AWOL's elevation profiles into reality, I could usually calculate an ETA over any segment, even if it was like 10 miles long, and have it correct to within 10 minutes or so. Makes for a sort-of-but-not-really-that fun trail game.

[moytoy]

Any post I made in this thread can be ignored or deleted. I should read the forum titles more closely. :D Speed hiking.....not me!

[fredmugs]

How fast can I go? Not above 3.5 MPH on easy terrain. I push hard on climbs so maybe closer to 3 MPH.

How fast do I go? About 70% of whatever I think my best effort is. Slowing down has helped stop the blisters and I can actually put in more miles a day since I don't need to stop as often for breaks.

[cave man]

Thanks for all the responses. I agree, if I am on the AT I like to take my time for pictures, for the swimming hole, hell sometimes I stay where I had lunch and call it a day. BUT the rush that I am currently in is the Allegheny 100 mile challenge. 100 miles in 50 hours = me having to do some serious MPH's to finish in time. I wanted to see what some people who trail run would average on any given terrain, I know the difference between the up vs downs can vary but kinda wanted to hear some people say "with a small pack" I start of walking>jog>walk>run>jog.. just curious as to what trail runners would approach a challenge like this. HYOH!

[Malto]

Thanks for all the responses. I agree, if I am on the AT I like to take my time for pictures, for the swimming hole, hell sometimes I stay where I had lunch and call it a day. BUT the rush that I am currently in is the Allegheny 100 mile challenge. 100 miles in 50 hours = me having to do some serious MPH's to finish in time. I wanted to see what some people who trail run would average on any given terrain, I know the difference between the up vs downs can vary but kinda wanted to hear some people say "with a small pack" I start of walking>jog>walk>run>jog.. just curious as to what trail runners would approach a challenge like this. HYOH!

the key to high mileage is not speed but duration. 100 miles can easily be done if you can average 3mph. Everyone has a natural speed, go above or below and you will tire quicker. Just like marathon runners that go out the gate too fast only to pay after mile 20, you will pay dearly heading out too fast.

[Dogwood]

Thanks for all the responses. I agree, if I am on the AT I like to take my time for pictures, for the swimming hole, hell sometimes I stay where I had lunch and call it a day. BUT the rush that I am currently in is the Allegheny 100 mile challenge. 100 miles in 50 hours = me having to do some serious MPH's to finish in time. I wanted to see what some people who trail run would average on any given terrain, I know the difference between the up vs downs can vary but kinda wanted to hear some people say "with a small pack" I start of walking>jog>walk>run>jog.. just curious as to what trail runners would approach a challenge like this. HYOH!

I'm making a guesstimate that Marathoners avg about 10 min miles(Obviously, NOT the world class runners though!). But, since there are 8 min and 6 min milers I think it's relative to your pace and who you compare yourself with. That's on road pavement too typically without the steeper ascents and descents of trails. If you at all an experienced trail runner and walk or know the Allegheny 100 course pre-race day YOU ABSOLUTELY SHOULD KNOW you will have to adjust your pace OFTEN on a 50 hr run/walk! If the Allegheny 100 has a max finish time before they officially shut you down contact them OR JUST DO THE MATH to figure out your minimum avg pace required. Once you know that aim FOR AT LEAST obtaining that avg MPH pace during the day of the event.

IMHO, Cave Man you are BEST served by asking these types of questions at websites SPECIFICALLY aimed at trail running or running AND SPECIFICALLY from those who have completed the Allegheny 100. I'm sure there are trail runners who will SPECIFICALLY discuss issues related to the A 100.

[MuddyWaters]

I average 2 mph including breaks on the normal southern AT terrain in Ga, NC, TN.

Pretty much 1-2 mph uphill, and 2.5-3 mph downhill, and it just averages out to near 2

Its so darn accurate its scary sometimes. I can usually predict within 15 min of when I will arrive somewhere 5-10 miles away.