Humans May Be Biologically Able to Run 40 MPH, New Study Shows

By Jeremy Hsu Posted 01.22.2010 at 3:30 pm 7 Comments

Runner's Stride: Can future humans pick up the pace? Wikimedia

Human running speeds top out near 28 mph, if the record-breaking feats of Jamaican speed demon Usain Bolt prove anything. But scientists say that the biological limits of human running could theoretically reach 35 or even 40 mph -- assuming that human muscle fibers could contract faster and allow people to pick up their pace.

This provides a new twist on the old school of thought that speed limits depended on how much force a runner could exert against the ground. Past studies showed that sprinters can apply up to 1,000 pounds of force with a single limb during each sprinting step, and so researchers thought that humans simply could not push beyond that point.

The new study titled "The biological limits to running speed are imposed from the ground up" appears in the Journal of Applied Physiology. It involves testing runners on a treadmill at top speed while they run forward and backward and hop on one leg.

One-legged hopping produced ground forces greater than those applied during normal running by 30 percent or more, and active leg muscles also generated about 1.5 to 2 times greater force during one-legged hopping. That shows how humans don't exert the maximum possible force during the act of forward sprinting, the researchers say.

Going one step farther, the researchers also found that the "critical biological limit" depends upon how quickly runners can exert ground force while sprinting. Elite runners have foot-ground contact times of less than one-tenth of a second, and max out ground forces within one-twentieth of one second when their foot first hits the ground.

Bionic limbs and motorized exoskeletons could suggest a way forward for humans to overcome their biological limits. But ordinary runners can at least look to less expensive enhancements for a healthier gait, such as highly customizable shoes. Or they can consider a return to barefoot running.

Previous Article: Moscow's Stray Dogs Evolving Greater Intelligence, Including a Mastery of the Subway

Next Article: This Week in the Future, January 18-22, 2010

7 Comments

Link to this comment

Pooua

01/22/10 at 10:16 pm

When I was a boy, I heard about a tribe having some men who supposedly could run 50 mph. Whether the account was true or not, it encouraged me to see how fast I could run. My greatest un-assisted speed was 26 mph, measured by the speedometer of the moped ridden by my step-dad next to me. I once was able to run 31 mph by holding onto the back bumper of the family car, a very dangerous thing to do. That was decades ago, but on rare ocassion I am still able to sprint close to those speeds. I wonder what I could do, with the proper preparation and precautions, and what I would need to do to prove it?

Link to this comment

Dungeonbrownies

01/22/10 at 10:29 pm

chances are the muscles are likely able to be able to reach a level of moving quickly enough, but dont forget we're not exactly speedy creatures. Running animals often have short digestive tracts, but we've a crapload of excess weight in the sense our organs are bloated we carry undigested food too long and the human body's homeostatic state tends to favor us carrying lots of water. So yea if the appropriate selective pressures were there (say a zombie uprising) I wouldnt be surprised if humans were able to more comfortably become that quick within several hundred years (because some of us are almost half way there genetically and the rest is just conditioning/training to improve).. but for now i doubt it.

Link to this comment

Dane619

01/23/10 at 2:16 pm

zoom zoom

Link to this comment

tkddan

01/25/10 at 2:05 am

i cant lie that being able to run 40mph would be all kinds of awesome but i dont know if the testing proves very much. the hopping on one foot test...all that means is the human leg can survive the pressures. speed of movement is dramatically slower hopping on one leg than with 2, we have to compensate to move more weight with less muscle so more energy is needed for vertical movement to move horizontally. so there will be more force exerted on the ground per hop than running. thats just what i thought

Link to this comment

SSSF

01/25/10 at 9:44 pm

Athletes aren’t born great, their training makes them great. The athletes that continually tweak their training will “always” improve, yet there are Olympic athletes that train for 4yrs between Olympics and they don’t improve. They are good enough to be there, but they didn’t improve. The program I invented over 20yrs ago will make everyone improve every 2-weeks… everyone… guaranteed.
Isn’t it funny that the Jamaican Track team has my program as well as the Chinese Olympic weightlifting team? GOOGLE how many gold medals they won vs. the US. The US does not use my program. So, can people run faster than 28mph? Sure, it’s all about rpm’s and physics.
Visit my website for more info and my email. Cheers, Chris

www.SuperStrengthSuperFast.com

Link to this comment

beesnuts

01/26/10 at 4:29 pm

so if i strap balloons to my back to make me lighter then i can go faster due to less force on the ground, granted the ballons will create force from the wind hiting them

Link to this comment

comfortable1

09/24/10 at 2:09 am

This is almost bizzare when you consider 40 MPH is the maximum speed of my scooter. This is fast, the school zoning for cars traveling speed is less than this. Wow!

www.comfortablefoot.com>WalkingShoes