Running and Rowing Equivalent Distances

[crbrownlee]

Someone posted the question about cycling, I'm curious about running. Obviously there isn't a direct comparison, but I'm interested in people's thoughts as most people I know run primarily for their exercise and I find I can't quite compare my rowing to what they are running.

Clearly runners experience hills and weather (unless running purely on a treadmill) and that would have an effect as well, etc. But I'm looking forward to the discussion regardless. Thanks, Chris

[bloomp]

Well... There's more to rowing than indoor rowing, and indoor rowing itself is just 'crosstraining' for the actual on the water variety. And I guarantee you that a rower OTW experiences much worse weather than any runner sticks around for. That whole thing about being surrounded by water, and cold water making people not feel too well.

As for comparing distances, a competitive 'mile' time is under 4 minutes. That's 1500m (or 1600m depending on the event), and that is a 1:23/500m pace on the erg. The best heavyweight rowers will go 1:25/500m for 2000m and since there isn't a 1500m 'event' in indoor rowing, I'm not sure what the world's best is for that.

When you extend the distance, it's very clear that running is easier to maintain a faster pace. For a 5000m run, you'll see times under 13 minutes at most Olympic/World-class events. Meanwhile, 15' has only been broken once for the 5k and the other really fast times are in the 15:10-15:20 range.

Reason being? It requires more power from your body to row than it does to run. The body can put more power into fewer parts and be more efficient in running, but with rowing you have to use almost all your muscles - and exert all your power in one motion rather than using momentum to help keep yourself going. It's PUSH rest PUSH instead of push push push push push. You will never match your running splits/times to your rowing splits/times unless you really suck at running.

[Bob S.]

And I guarantee you that a rower OTW experiences much worse weather than any runner sticks around for.

A rather rash statement. A gale force wind can make a run uncomfortable, but would make rowing in the usual plastic splinters, referred to as racing shells, impossible. On the other hand, blue water rowers face conditions that have no equivalent in land travel. (I have in mind Gerard d'Aboville, who capsized over 30 times on his solo row from Japan to the Columbia River bar.)

I do agree with your comparison of running and erging. Of course "distance" on an erg is a fictitious concept, but your answer should satisfy the original poster. I believe that it was what he was after.

Bob S.

[bloomp]

Hey, I wish I rowed in balmy California instead of Connecticut!

I don't think runners have to deal with barely thawed water, wind chills in the teens and water freezing on contact with clothing/skin/boat parts. Albeit, that's the worst I've ever rowed in, but being wet, cold and needing to have some sensation in your hands is a lot different than running in the wind/rain and not needing to grip an oar. I've gone on runs in winter cold (15-25 degrees) and even with minimal layers on (running shorts, long under armor top) it's nowhere near as bad as rowing in March/early April.

[hjs]

Well... There's more to rowing than indoor rowing, and indoor rowing itself is just 'crosstraining' for the actual on the water variety. And I guarantee you that a rower OTW experiences much worse weather than any runner sticks around for. That whole thing about being surrounded by water, and cold water making people not feel too well.

As for comparing distances, a competitive 'mile' time is under 4 minutes. That's 1500m (or 1600m depending on the event), and that is a 1:23/500m pace on the erg. The best heavyweight rowers will go 1:25/500m for 2000m and since there isn't a 1500m 'event' in indoor rowing, I'm not sure what the world's best is for that.

When you extend the distance, it's very clear that running is easier to maintain a faster pace. For a 5000m run, you'll see times under 13 minutes at most Olympic/World-class events. Meanwhile, 15' has only been broken once for the 5k and the other really fast times are in the 15:10-15:20 range.

Reason being? It requires more power from your body to row than it does to run. The body can put more power into fewer parts and be more efficient in running, but with rowing you have to use almost all your muscles - and exert all your power in one motion rather than using momentum to help keep yourself going. It's PUSH rest PUSH instead of push push push push push. You will never match your running splits/times to your rowing splits/times unless you really suck at running.

Most rowers will row faster than they run, certainly on longer distances. 15 km/hour is not fast on a erg, but not many heavyweight rowers can do that.

[gregsmith01748]

As someone who "really sucks at running", I can tell you that I am definitely faster on the erg than on the road. I can do a 10K on the erg in about 40 minutes, but running the same distance takes me nearly an hour (just under 9 minute miles)

I think the difference really comes down to body type. If you are light and lanky, I'll bet running is a lot easier. If you are a heavyweight, then rowing is much easier.

It is interesting to me that there is such a variation in physiology that this true. I bet there is a significant correlation with BMI.

[claus hansen]

Hi, I'm an erg-newbie, only four months experience from last winter. Just taking erging up again for this winterseason. I do triathlons in summer, so my endurance is rather good. My best erg time for 10 km. is 41.11, 5 km. is 19.37. These times are way better than my running times, as my fastest stand alone 10 km. is around 43 minutes. I would surpose the opposite to be the case. Maybe I'm better built for rowing than running?

Claus

47/70 kg./173cm./10 km. 41.11

[luckylindy]

I don't think you compare running and rowing, at least with respect to times. It is purely coincidental that the times are often close. In running, you have a much wider range of times (since running times are more linearly correlated with power output), vs. rowing where most athletes with ample training will be within a couple dozen seconds/500 of each other.

Consider a large 5k road race. Your top male runners in the 20-30 age group will be finishing in the 14 minute range. But many of the men in the same age group will be finishing in 30-40 minutes - even though they may have trained for months (although usually they are either very tall or heavier). In rowing, you probably wouldn't see this spread. It seems like most 20-30 year old men can get to 21 minutes in a 5k erg trail without spending a lot of time training. But a 'great' time for a 5k is only ~16 minutes, right? The difference between "trained newbie" and "world class" is tiny (4-5 minutes) compared to running (up to 15 minutes).

[Bob S.]

The difference between "trained newbie" and "world class" is tiny (4-5 minutes) compared to running (up to 15 minutes).

That's because the power input for the erg is proportion to the cube of the speed. That is not the case in running.

Bob S.

[badass916sp]

This is totally incorrect, but I put it at 1 to 1.

And I do cycling at 1 to 4.

Totally rough, but at least a starting point.

I can run 10K in under an hour-- I don't want to say a time, but I think I could get 55mins no problem.
I can erg 10k easily at 50 mintues. (so call it an hour--- I know, i know, 10mins on an erg is a HUGE difference)
I could maybe cycle a tough 40K in an hour... if I'm lucky (I'm a terrible cyclist).
I could MAYBE paddle an OC1 on the ocean at 10kph for 1 hour if I really tried or it were a race.

They're all different things and we are each better at some than others, but I kind of use the above rough rule of thumb when I am calculating overall work I have done over a month. I'm not going to be on the erg everyday... but I do kind of want to know how much I have put in over the week or month.

One thing I have yet to compare is OC1 paddling and Erg distances. Verdict still out on that.

I did do 18kms on my OC1 in flat water in exactly 2 hours, pushing the whole way at up to 170BPM.
I haven't tried 18kms on the erg, but based on an easy 50mins on the erg giving me 10-erg-kms, I'd say OC1 is significantly harder than erg.