The Distance and Time of the 3 Hunters?

[afro-elf]

Wow! I have not posted here since the Second age.
Anyway my question is how much distance and in how much time was the distance covered by Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli from Anduin to Rohan?

I am curious as to how they compare to real world endurance athletes.

Thanks,

Afro-elf

[Alcuin]

In Two Towers, “Riders of Rohan”, Éomer says to Aragorn,

Strider is too poor a name, son of Arathorn… Wingfoot I name you. … Forty leagues and five you have measured ere the fourth day is ended!

In “Númenórean Linear Measures”, the appendix to “Disaster of Gladden Fields” in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien writes that a

“League” … in Númenórean reckoning … was very nearly three of our miles.

In footnote 9 of “Disaster of Gladden Fields”, he said that

…the Dúnedain … were accustomed to move fully-armed at eight leagues a day “with ease” … In haste they could move much faster, at twelve leagues a day (or in great need more)…

A little math will show that Aragorn was moving “in haste” for a Númenórean, and twelve leagues a day was not outside what might be expected of the old Dúnedain in such circumstances. At three miles per league, the three hunters were moving about thirty-six miles a day. The Three Hunters met Éomer four days after Boromir died on February 26, Shire Reckoning; it would have been February 30. (Remember that all of Tolkien’s months have 30 days). Translating this into the Gregorian calendar for 1942 makes this February 19, and the days are just about 10 hours long. The aforementioned footnote 9 says “the Dúnedain were accustomed to move … eight leagues a day ‘with ease’”, but that was with rests and halts, making their days 10½ hours; so the Three Hunters were moving as fast or faster than normal for ancient Dúnedain troops “in haste”, over 4 miles an hour, given halts and rests. You may estimate your own times spent in halts and rests during the daylight.

Moreover, they slowed as they went, fighting some spell of Saruman’s that beat down upon them to slow their pursuit. I take it that they were moving faster at the beginning than at the end. Gimli, I think, suffered most from fatigue, and Legolas least. They halted mainly to avoid missing the trail or any signs left behind, like the Lórien leaf-brooch that Pippin dropped along the way; secondarily, Aragorn and Gimli required rest to maintain the pace.

How that compares with modern or ancient athletes, I do not know. But I think a minimum 4 miles an hour is what you are comparing, and maybe more, depending upon how long you think they rested during the day.

By comparison with history, in a forced march under the consul Gaius Claudius Nero, Roman soldiers made 40 miles per day for several days. (Gaius Claudius Nero is not the Emperor Nero, but the Roman general who fought along with the Scipio brothers against Hasdrubal, younger brother of Hannibal, in the Second Punic War, 218 to 201 BC.) 15 or 20 miles a day was probably more typical of the movement of a Roman legion. The famous Roman postal service, or cursus publicus, used fresh horses every few miles and averaged “between forty-one and sixty-seven miles per day.”


(PS: I’m not really here, and I’m not really posting.)

-|-

(Added later)

I cited the wrong date: Not 30 February Shire Reckoning, but 29 February; therefore, not 19 February Gregorian but 18 February. Still about 10 hours of daylight.

[GrayMouser]

Chaka Zulu supposedly had his men do forced marches of between forty and fifty miles a day for several days- of course they were carrying a lot less weight than a legionnaire.

[Valandil]

Remember too that Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were making their pursuit over rugged terrain - not on roads. And - while they covered ~45 leagues (135 miles) by Eomer's estimate - ere the fourth day was ended, they only had a part of the first day, and a part of the fourth day - so they might well have covered over forty miles of rugged (or at least unpaved) terrain on the full days.

Another historical march of note: King Harold of England marched his army very quickly from York (where they had just defeated Harald Hardrada's attempt to take England) in the north to Hastings in the south (where they were defeated by William of Normandy). I've read somewhere how far and how fast, but don't recall exactly. I think it was on the order of 250 miles in five days.

[Coffeehouse]

The length of travel and short time spent has always impressed me when you consider Gimli's small stature.. I always wondered what his top speed was!

Originally Posted by Valandil

Remember too that Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli were making their pursuit over rugged terrain - not on roads. And - while they covered ~45 leagues (135 miles) by Eomer's estimate - ere the fourth day was ended, they only had a part of the first day, and a part of the fourth day - so they might well have covered over forty miles of rugged (or at least unpaved) terrain on the full days.

Another historical march of note: King Harold of England marched his army very quickly from York (where they had just defeated Harald Hardrada's attempt to take England) in the north to Hastings in the south (where they were defeated by William of Normandy). I've read somewhere how far and how fast, but don't recall exactly. I think it was on the order of 250 miles in five days.

I find this period in time so fascinating since in many respects it was a war between various Scandinavian royalty on English soil Three warring factions, the forces of King Harold of England (of the Anglo-Saxon-Scandinavian House of Godwin), the invading Norwegians from the north led by King Harald Hardråde and the invading forces from across the Channel, led by William the Conqueror, the direct descendant of the Viking Rollo of Normandy, founder of the kingdom/duchy there.

[Attalus]

Look here.

Jorge Pacheco of Los Angeles was the champ with a winning time of 23:20:16, followed by Akos Konya of Oceanside, Calif. Donaldson was the third runner in, beating “ultramarathon man” Dean Karnazes of San Francisco who finished fourth and Badwater star Pam Reed, who finished fifth.
The arduous route starts at Badwater in Death Valley National Park and ends at the Whitney Portal at the base of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48 at 14,497 feet in elevation.

. The Badwater Ultramarathon is 135 miles long.

[Alcuin]

Originally Posted by Attalus

The Badwater Ultramarathon is 135 miles long.

That sounds painful. Here are comparison speeds, assuming 135 miles in 24 hours, with various assumptions for break times in hours:

[afro-elf]

After four years...
I forgot to thank everyone for their replies. For myself, my exercise walking pace is around 4mph. However, that drops after an hour. Also, it is not wilderness, and I am not carrying any gear nor do I have the will of Saruman against me.


Also, comparing the Ultra-marathoners, the 3 Hunters didn't train for their pursuit, and again were hampered by the will of Saruman. Of, course this not to take away anything from the Ultra runners.