SirHikeAlot, welcome to the board.
I wouldn't be so quick to draw too close a parallel between hiking and distance running. Similar, possibly. Predictive, no. Some do both well, while some do one well and not the other. A lot lies in whether it's an activity you enjoy. Personally, I'll strap a pack on and hike all day happy as a lark, but I absolutely despise the thought of putting on a pair of running shoes and going for a jog. I was a sprinter in college, so I have a natural distrust of any run longer than 400 meters.
Plenty of accomplished distance runners have been defeated by peaks like Whitney. As to DUG's limit, I think he said the longest he had
chosen to run in the past was a half-marathon, and that he'd like to do a full one some day. To me that doesn't pre-suppose that some "limit" exists, just that a choice has not yet been made. What I
do know about DUG is that, on the trail with a pack, he's pulled some monster back-to-back-to-back mileage days in the Sierra, and has successfully made it to at least one very difficult destination that relatively few hikers have even attempted (Gambler's Special).
I can't speak to any first-hand knowledge of C2C2C, but I would never link DUG's having never entered a full marathon with an inability to crank out a hard, difficult hike. That assumes way too much.
As to the other thread you were questioning, just a disagreement between two respected, highly capable board members. The dialogue went off the reservation for a bit, but equilibrium has been restored and you'll probably see them scarfing a Portal burger and a brew together this summer.
