Feel the burn
October 5, 2012 2:55 PM   Subscribe

The hardest 400m race in the world? Planica in Slovenia is known for its ski jump. In the summer, 164 runners from around Europe race up it.
posted by jontyjago (46 comments total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Needs more wipeouts.
posted by supercres at 3:07 PM on October 5, 2012


I properly properly want to do this.

Earlier this year I ran up the stairs of the Empire State building. It was difficult but loads of fun.

Yeah. Really want to do that race!
posted by 13twelve at 3:11 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


All of the ski-team members I knew in college had to do crazy shit like this, training in the off-season. Run up the ski jump. Run up a mountain. Then down. Then up again.
posted by rtha at 3:15 PM on October 5, 2012


Yeah ha ha there's no way I would make it more than 100 feet up that thing.
posted by eugenen at 3:16 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


There's a reason I have three pairs of skis and no running shoes. Gravity is my friend.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 3:20 PM on October 5, 2012 [5 favorites]


Yeesh, I tried to jog up a stopped escalator at Holborn station once and half way up my legs were so wobbly I tripped on a step and skinned my knee.
posted by lucidium at 3:26 PM on October 5, 2012


That guy who crested the top at about 1:55 - it was weird to see his bulging quads attached to that skinny upper body and arms.
posted by Greg_Ace at 3:29 PM on October 5, 2012


Speaking as a proud half-Slovenian I would like to say: look, idiots!
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 3:35 PM on October 5, 2012 [6 favorites]


I think I got shin splints just watching that.
posted by elizardbits at 3:35 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


supercres: Needs more wipeouts.

Got you covered!
posted by hangashore at 3:36 PM on October 5, 2012 [4 favorites]


Any idea on what the winning time was and what an average might be?
posted by Science! at 3:37 PM on October 5, 2012


Also I expected more barfing.
posted by elizardbits at 3:38 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


Winning times are in the notes on the YT page
posted by elizardbits at 3:39 PM on October 5, 2012


Winning times are in the notes on the YT page

That's 5:02:53 as in 5 minutes 2 seconds, btw -- not 5 hours, 2 min.
posted by LordSludge at 3:45 PM on October 5, 2012


And yeah this looks like fun!
posted by LordSludge at 3:47 PM on October 5, 2012


I can't help but imagine this as a cyclocross runup.
posted by axoplasm at 3:52 PM on October 5, 2012 [3 favorites]


I'm pretty sure that it would be easier if they went in the opposite direction.
posted by One Hand Slowclapping at 3:56 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm pretty sure that it would be easier terrifying if they went in the opposite direction.
posted by Hicksu at 3:59 PM on October 5, 2012 [3 favorites]


I kept waiting for:

A) The wipeout compilation

B) The wheel of cheese
posted by This_Will_Be_Good at 4:26 PM on October 5, 2012


Needs more wipeouts.

Got you covered.
posted by dhartung at 4:40 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.
posted by ocherdraco at 4:51 PM on October 5, 2012


What seems particularly difficult about this isn't just the physical exertion required but the mind-fuck of knowing that stopping most likely means rolling to your doom down an incredibly long and very, very steep hill.
posted by treepour at 5:00 PM on October 5, 2012


The idea of the race is great!

The video has way too many cuts.
posted by GregorWill at 5:03 PM on October 5, 2012


When did Iggy Pop take up extreme running?
posted by Forktine at 5:26 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


That's 5:02:53 as in 5 minutes 2 seconds, btw -- not 5 hours, 2 min.

Either way it would beat my time.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 5:29 PM on October 5, 2012 [5 favorites]


What seems particularly difficult about this isn't just the physical exertion required but the mind-fuck of knowing that stopping most likely means rolling to your doom down an incredibly long and very, very steep hill.

Getting down isn't really much easier than going up, 'cept gravity is on your side. If you're not planning on tumbling down, you'll still be using muscles and there's even more work for your joints. So if you exhaust yourself before reaching the top you're pretty much screwed. But I think it's a thing that pretty much anyone reasonably in shape can do, and folks who are in shape and also insane can do fast. Also, if you can't go straight up any more, just start doing switchbacks.
posted by carsonb at 5:46 PM on October 5, 2012


And they make you listen to that music? Uggghhh that is hard.
posted by drjimmy11 at 5:59 PM on October 5, 2012 [2 favorites]


You know what I'd drink after a race like that? A nice big cup of Red BuhLLEARRRGHH!

(c.f Family Guy pie eating video)
posted by zippy at 6:20 PM on October 5, 2012 [4 favorites]


Makes me glad I've chosen a life of alcohol and smokes....much easier on my body.
posted by Mojojojo at 6:42 PM on October 5, 2012 [2 favorites]


I got creeped out when they were doing the "pull yourself along with your hands" thing because it's way too much like the way I have to run in my nightmares.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 6:48 PM on October 5, 2012 [6 favorites]


One of the best Werner Herzog documentaries has to do with ski jumping but has very little to do with ski jumping: The Great Ecstasy of the Woodcarver Steiner.
posted by Corduroy at 6:57 PM on October 5, 2012 [3 favorites]


One of the best Werner Herzog documentaries has to do with ski jumping but has very little to do with ski jumping

I feel like all Werner Herzog documentaries can be described in the form "It has to do with X, but has very little to do with X."
posted by Rock Steady at 7:18 PM on October 5, 2012 [5 favorites]


Are they doing this again? This is a race tailor-made for me.
posted by Wolfdog at 7:22 PM on October 5, 2012


What seems particularly difficult about this isn't just the physical exertion required but the mind-fuck of knowing that stopping most likely means rolling to your doom down an incredibly long and very, very steep hill.

Previously.
posted by methinks at 7:27 PM on October 5, 2012


Don't want to go up it, don't want to go down it.
posted by mudpuppie at 7:30 PM on October 5, 2012


I got creeped out when they were doing the "pull yourself along with your hands" thing because it's way too much like the way I have to run in my nightmares.

Trying to run in socks on slippery linoleum, up a ski jump? Stuff of nightmares indeed.
posted by Forktine at 7:41 PM on October 5, 2012


The video gets points massively deduced for pointless use of slow motion. Is there a single not-temporally-distorted shot where you get to actually see how these guys move once they're further up?
posted by Anything at 8:13 PM on October 5, 2012


And then there's Mt Marathon, maybe the toughest 3.5 mile race in the world. More downhill (warning: despite the title of the video there is very loud music).

Men's record is 43:21, women's is 50:30. There's a youth division too and last year an 82 year old man finished in 1:56.
posted by fshgrl at 11:50 PM on October 5, 2012 [1 favorite]


I'm doing my first marathon on Sunday. This sort of thing looks like so much more fun. But I like climbs on bikes so I'd guess that's an influence on my thinking.
posted by rainperimeter at 12:04 AM on October 6, 2012


I'd try if they offered calculated results based on body weight. A heavier person does more work climbing a hill.
posted by seanmpuckett at 3:38 AM on October 6, 2012


> What seems particularly difficult about this isn't just the physical exertion required but the mind-fuck of knowing that stopping most likely means rolling to your doom down an incredibly long and very, very steep hill.

This is why you want to get ahead early: So your competitors can help cushion your fall.
posted by ardgedee at 5:33 AM on October 6, 2012 [2 favorites]


I'm so gonna figure out how to go do this. I do a lot of rock climbing and running... this could be the best thing ever.
posted by ph00dz at 9:18 AM on October 6, 2012


Speaking as a proud half-Slovenian I would like to say: look, idiots!

Me too, Tell Me No Lies. I think I prefer the aspect of my heritage that involves slivovka.
posted by catlet at 5:19 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


(c.f Family Guy pie eating video)

It was actually an ipecac-swigging contest, with pie as the prize for the last person to vomit. The New Yorker regrets the error.

posted by zippy at 7:18 PM on October 6, 2012 [1 favorite]


Yeah, the Red Bull thing works for motorsports, and skydiving, and rocket surfing or whatever they're trying to convince people is a sport these days. As a product tie-in to actual athletics it just looks stupid. These people are fit enough that they're unlikely to ever drink Red Bull. After a race? Really?
posted by CaseyB at 8:50 PM on October 7, 2012


The video gets points massively deduced for pointless use of slow motion.

I agree. I was expecting to be impressed at the speed that the leading group would complete the event but I have no perspective of the speed because the editors wanted to play with the speed dial on every edit. If the event is really interesting (and I think it is) then it can largely stand on its own.

Same thing goes for the terrible audio overlay. Project 10 seconds of hearing athletes breathe through this ordeal and you will know it is extreme.
posted by dgran at 1:46 PM on October 8, 2012


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