Who knew we would bring actual science into the discussion? In defense of the approximate 50% of us who feel the marathon is harder, I don't think any of us maintain a marathon even on a hilly course like say Boston would be near as difficult as actually trying to run as hard as your body would allow up Whitney or something like the Pikes Peak Marathon. My only assertion was that I think many of us moderately serious runners kind of figure out through our training and other races what our ideal/best marathon race pace is and we try to hold that for 26.2 miles. I personally think the kind of effort required to push yourself and run your best marathon is much greater than the effort that is required for a "normal hike" up Whitney. One is a race and the other is a nice but long and pretty hard day in the mountains. I have zero doubt that the mountain marathons like Pikes Peak and others are even harder for those who really run them hard. I am also sure hiking Whitney would be significantly harder than simply walking a marathon as the extra four miles would pale in comparison to the elevation gain and the altitude on Whitney. It goes without saying that mountain weather, unconsolidated snow, etc could and would be game changers in the discussion.
Kent
