# Footspeed

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Maximum speed that a human can run

[Sprinting](/source/Sprint_(running)) is a sport that requires development of footspeed.

**Footspeed**, or **sprint speed**, is the maximum [speed](/source/Speed) at which a human can run. It is affected by many factors, varies greatly throughout the population, and is important in [athletics](/source/Athletics_(sport)) and many sports, such as [association football](/source/Association_football), [Australian rules football](/source/Australian_rules_football), [American football](/source/American_football), [track and field](/source/Track_and_field), [field hockey](/source/Field_hockey), [tennis](/source/Tennis), [baseball](/source/Baseball), and [basketball](/source/Basketball).

## Factors in speed

The key determinant of footspeed in [sprinting](/source/Sprint_(running)) is the predominance of one distinct type of [muscle fibre](/source/Muscle_fibre) over another, specifically the ratio of fast-twitch muscles to slow-twitch muscles in a sprinter's physical makeup. Though fast-twitch muscles produce no more energy than slow-twitch muscles when they contract, they do so more rapidly through a process of [anaerobic](/source/Anaerobic_exercise) metabolism, though at the cost of inferior efficiency over longer periods of firing.[1] The average human has an almost-equal ratio of fast-twitch to slow-twitch fibers, but top sprinters may have as much as 80% fast-twitch fibers, while top [long-distance runners](/source/Long-distance_track_event) may have only 20%.[1] This ratio is believed to have genetic origins, though some assert that it can be adjusted by muscle training.[2] "Speed camps" and "Speed Training Manuals", which purport to provide fractional increases in maximum footspeed, are popular among budding professional athletes, and some sources estimate that 17–19% of speed can be trained.[2] Though good running form is useful in increasing speed, fast and slow runners have been shown to move their legs at nearly the same rate – it is the [force](/source/Force) exerted by the leg on the ground that separates fast sprinters from slow.[3] Top short-distance runners exert as much as four times their [body weight](/source/Body_weight) in [pressure](/source/Pressure) on the running surface. For this reason, [muscle mass](/source/Muscle_mass) in the [legs](/source/Human_leg), relative to total body weight, is a key factor in maximizing footspeed.[3]

## Limits of speed

The record is 44.72 km/h (27.78 mph), measured between metre 60 and metre 80 of the [100 metres](/source/100_metres) sprint at the [2009 World Championships in Athletics](/source/2009_World_Championships_in_Athletics) by [Usain Bolt](/source/Usain_Bolt).[4][5] (Bolt's *average* speed over the course of this race was 37.578 km/h or 23.35 mph.)[6] Compared to quadrupedal animals, humans are exceptionally capable of [endurance](/source/Endurance), but incapable of great speed.[7] Examples of animals with higher sprinting speeds include [cheetahs](/source/Cheetah) which can attain short bursts of speed well over 100 km/h (62 mph),[8] the [American quarter horse](/source/American_quarter_horse) has topped 88 km/h (55 mph),[9] [greyhounds](/source/Greyhound) can reach 70 km/h (43 mph), and the [Mongolian wild ass](/source/Mongolian_wild_ass) has been measured at 64 km/h (40 mph).[10] The [domestic cat](/source/Domestic_cat) may reach 48 km/h (30 mph).[10]

At the [2023 Chicago Marathon](/source/2023_Chicago_Marathon), [Kelvin Kiptum](/source/Kelvin_Kiptum) set a time of 2:00:35, which equates to an average speed of 20.995 km/h (13.046 mph) throughout.[11]

## See also

- [Walking speed](/source/Walking_speed), the normal pace humans walk.

## Notes

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-fibers_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-fibers_1-1) Quinn, Elizabeth. ["Fast and Slow Twitch Muscle Fibers"](http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20071121100903/http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/anatomyandphysiology/a/MuscleFiberType.htm) 2007-11-21 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), *About.com*, retrieved November 26, 2007.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Zeigler_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Zeigler_2-1) Ziegler, Mark (18 April 2005). ["The NFL treats 40-yard dash times as sacred. But if those numbers are true, many players are faster than Olympic gold medalists and their clockings should be eyed with a dash of doubt"](http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050418/news_1s18forty.html). *Union-Tribune San Diego*. Retrieved 26 February 2014.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Human_speed_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Human_speed_3-1) Herper, Matthew. ["What's The Human Speed Limit?"](https://archive.today/20130123132738/http://www.forbes.com/2004/05/14/cx_mh_0514running.html), *Forbes.com*, May 14, 2004, retrieved November 26, 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [*International Association of Athletics Federations Biomechanical Research Project: Berlin 2009*](https://web.archive.org/web/20140514050117/http://berlin.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition/05/30/83/20090817081546_httppostedfile_wch09_m100_final_13529.pdf) (PDF), archived from [the original](http://berlin.iaaf.org/mm/document/competitions/competition05/30/83/20090817081546_httppostedfile_wch09_m100_final_13529.pdf) (PDF) on 2014-05-14, retrieved 2017-04-09

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [http://www.meathathletics.ie/devathletes/pdf/Biomechanics%20of%20Sprints.pdf](http://www.meathathletics.ie/devathletes/pdf/Biomechanics%20of%20Sprints.pdf) [*[bare URL PDF](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Bare_URLs)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [How Fast Is Usain Bolt? *Engineering Sport*](https://engineeringsport.co.uk/2012/06/21/how-fast-is-usain-bolt/)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Humans_and_animals_7-0)** ["Humans hot, sweaty, natural-born runners"](http://www.physorg.com/news95954919.html), *Physorg.com*, April 16, 2007, retrieved November 27, 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Kruszelnicki, Karl. ["Fake Flies and Cheating Cheetahs"](http://www.abc.net.au/science/k2/moments/gmis9911.htm), *Australian Broadcasting Corporation*, 1999, retrieved November 27, 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Rinehart, Janet. [\[1\]](http://www.iqhra.com/), *Iowa Quarter Horse Racing Association*, retrieved November 27, 2007.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Animal_speeds_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Animal_speeds_10-1) American Museum of Natural History. ["Speed of Animals"](http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004737.html), *Infoplease.com*, retrieved November 27, 2007.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["How fast was Kelvin Kiptum's men's marathon world record? Chicago Marathon 2023 race pace breakdown and split times"](https://olympics.com/en/news/how-fast-was-kelvin-kiptums-world-record-2023-chicago-marathon-split-times).

- Stipp, David (4 June 2012). ["All men can't jump"](http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2012/06/long_distance_running_and_evolution_why_humans_can_outrun_horses_but_can_t_jump_higher_than_cats_.html). *Slate*. Retrieved 7 September 2012.

- Resnick, Brian (November 5, 2010). ["The animal kingdom's top marathoners"](http://www.popularmechanics.com/outdoors/sports/physics/animal-kingdom-top-marathon-runners). *Popular Mechanics*. Retrieved 7 September 2012.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Footspeed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footspeed) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footspeed?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.