Running without purpose is boring.

"But Doc, I'm running to improve my cardiovascular fitness and improve my stamin - Doc?"

"I'm sorry, dropped off there. You may go now, fabricated treadmill drone."

"Thanks Doc."

"Get out."

There are plenty of sports that liven up running by having something to run towards (hoop, goal, finish line) but I can't think of any wherein the focus is running away from something.

It's a shame, because this is frequently the more important life skill. Think about it: what do you run to catch? Bus, Tube, ice cream van. Bah! Trivialities!

Now consider what you run away from: bears, the Law, lava, killer bees, responsibilities. I think I've made my point.

So, the Frenetic Pursuit workout. 'Tis very simple, all you need is an urban environment, preferably crowded, and a partner.

The chaser gives the chasee 5 seconds headstart (more than it seems) and then follows in a madcap full-bore pursuit under, over and through everything the street has to offer.

The workout ends when the chasee is caught or when the pre-designated time limit elapses.

The FP workout has the following advantages over traditional offerings in the field:

-No pansying around with low intensity exercise. This is a sprint that could last 30 minutes, and will yield results to match.

-No two work-outs are the same. One day the chaser might claim victory after a failed car bonnet slide manoeuvre allows them to make the catch, the next time a cartwheel over a park bench might put the chasee in the clear.

-Promotes quick reflexes and agility in addition to the benefits of CV exercise.

-Keeps the mind working ("Slide around the old lady, grab the railing, swing, roll, jump over the pram!") as opposed to quietly dissolving in front of MTV Base or some such drivel whilst on the treadmill.

- Looks damn cool. You're the stars of your very own action movie. Add frantic screams of "Stop him - he has the jewelled monkey!" and so forth to taste (nb. crying "rape/terrorist" is cheating).
-- DocBrown, Aug 13 2004

Stunt Gym http://www.halfbake...om/idea/Stunt_20Gym
Very similar idea [hippo, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

"Le Parkour"/Free Running http://www.parkour....k/parkour_what.html
Presumably a bit like this, but with a band of swarthy ninjas hot on your heels... [lostdog, Oct 05 2004, last modified Oct 17 2004]

The old lady may object but, well, she'll be dead soon anyway.

Anything to relieve the enduring tedium of convential exercise.
-- harderthanjesus, Aug 13 2004


You'd need to choose a suitable partner of course. And to liven things up, alternate days.
-- 5th Earth, Aug 14 2004


baked.. am I mistaken or is this just tag?
-- Around TUIT, Aug 14 2004


This service could be rented out by gyms and such. Basically hire out a person to chase you, (or be chased for that matter). Or group workouts could be attained. Rank everyone by their speed, (fastest first, slowest last) and they have to catch the person in front of them, without being tagged by the person behind them.+
-- swimr, Aug 14 2004


Very good!
-- DesertFox, Aug 14 2004


I do quite a lot of running myself (unlike bwv61 I don't have a personal assistant to take care of these kind of tiresome chores for me), and I really like this idea. And not just because I like scaring old ladies.

Inspired by this idea (but not worth a separate posting), I'd like a pair of LCD-screen sunglasses to wear when running. I run the same route every time: so, every couple of seconds or so, the unrealistically tiny GPS device in the specs would take a note of my exact position. And log it, for future reference.

Then, next time I'm tanking it along my repetitive course, I'd like to see (through the wonders of tiny LCD technology) a virtual representation of myself, running along beside me. Or (hopefully) behind me, if I'm running faster than I did the last time. Of course, the specs would need tiny gyroscopes in them to sense the position and orientation of my head (so that they could render the virtual runner properly on the wee LCD screens) - it'd be nice to literally chase my personal best.
-- lostdog, Aug 14 2004


Thanks for all the annos guys, very impressed with [bwv61]'s field trial!
-- DocBrown, Aug 16 2004


Or....just join your local rugby squad.
-- sninctown, Feb 12 2006



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