BREAKING SPEED LIMITS

Apr 26, 2006

By DREW McQUADE mcquadd@phillynews.com 

ONLY A COCKY cheetah smirks at the world's fastest human. 

Hyenas might laugh because that's what they do. Cheetahs can back up their arrogance. In research 6 years ago, "The Physics Factbook" determined cheetahs could run three times faster than Michael Johnson, who was the world's fastest human in 1996 when he high-tailed 200 meters in an unfathomable 19.32 seconds at the Atlanta Olympics. It's a good thing the meet was restricted to humans because in another study, cheetahs without adidas were clocked at 70 mph. Hyenas broke 40. Humans jogged a tad under 28. 

Despite the limits of the WFH, fellow humans bow in awe. With thousands of trackheads descending upon Franklin Field for the 112th Penn Relays this week now is a decent time to wonder how fast a man can run. 

The WFH is no Captain Kirk, so he can't get beamed from point A to point B in 1 second. Jamaica's Asafa Powell, who is arguably the current WFH, zipped 100 meters in 9.77 seconds to set a world record in Athens last year. If you took the time to read this far, Powell would probably be going into his lean at this point. It's mind-boggling to think he can go faster. 

Can he burn 100 meters in under 9 seconds? 

"If they change the rules," answered Dave Johnson, Penn Relays director. "If they can start the clock when a runner actually leaves the blocks as opposed to when the gun goes off and if they let him stick his hand across the finish line and count that instead of his torso. " 

Can the WFH run the 100 in 8 seconds? 

"Why not?," answered Charlie Powell, University of Pennsylvania track coach. "The limits are in your own mind and if you can open your mind things are limitless. You can achieve great things. The human potential is based a lot on what you can believe. The people who work in genetic engineering say when man can conceive it and believe it he can achieve it. 

"There are ethical questions in genetic engineering of course but in my mind there is not a question of limits. As a coach you set goals but you never tell a runner there are limits to how fast he can run. 

"Thank God for Roger Bannister. He proved there are artificial barriers. They said no one could run a 4-minute mile before Bannister. They said no one could long jump 26 feet. They said no one could ever pole vault 20 feet. 

"Can a person run 100 meters in 8 seconds? Why not? " 

Muscles might scream but the mind has the wind at its back. 

"Any time we try to place limits on what humans can achieve, we are proven wrong," wrote USA Track & Field chief executive officer Craig A. Masback in an e-mail. 

"While 9.5 seconds seems way out there given the current group of athletes and below 9 seems impossible, as athletes around the world have access to better coaching, better diets, better tracks and track spikes, better training insights, and all the other inevitable advancements, an athlete will always come along that breaks any barrier we choose to set. 

"Remember that people said a human would die if he ever ran under 4 minutes in the mile and only 50 years later sub-4 minute miles are commonplace. " 

And there are no morticians at the finish line. 

The WFH rep expected to attend the Penn Relays this week is Justin Gatlin, a Brooklyn native and reigning Olympic champ in the 100. The WFH is an unofficial title that often sticks with the Olympic 100 champ even if someone beats his time at another venue. Gatlin is on record he will trim two-hundredths of a second off Powell's mark. 

In track world, mental restrictions tend to be much looser than physical limitations. It's the kind of discussion that keeps the lights burning into the wee hours in the labs of sports medicine men. 

"The answer is yes, there are limits to how fast a man can run," said Dr. Brian Sennett, chief of sports medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. "To tell you what those limits are I'm not exactly sure. The genetic response to the question is based on the performance of the body as a machine. Muscular makeup, nutrition, oxygenation, hydration, training, they all dictate how fast you can run. 

"You are born genetically predisposed to be a sprinter or a distance runner or something in between. There are specific muscle types and fibers within each muscle that come into play. Those with fast-twitch muscles are more likely to be sprinters and those with slow-twitch muscles distance runners. 

"The more slender the build, the more aerobic physique the more likely to be a distance runner. Large muscle mass, more likely to be a sprinter. 

"Plus of course there's the mental side. The classic example of breaking down barriers is the 4-minute mile. There was a time breaking that was unheard of. Now they shatter it all the time. "

Bannister, who once ran at the Penn Relays, would not be so legendary today. Today, there are more Bannisters than legends. The limit to a man's speed is in a state of flux. 

"You take 2 seconds off a mile record and it might be 1/1000 of the time," said Sennett. "With sprinters, you're talking .01. The number has never been fixed. You can't. There's clearly a number there. No one will ever run the 100 meters in 1 second. The record might be leveling out and not likely to go much lower but it will go lower, only the increments get smaller and smaller. Theorists could say 8 seconds. Training styles might allow man to get faster and quicker. If you can change the technique and the training progresses, who knows? Maybe there'll be an 8-second 100. "

It takes me that long to get out of bed. The WFH has no such time constraints. To get a read on the future one need only to look back as a reference point. In 1896, American Thomas Burke won the Olympic 100 in 12 seconds. What a turtle. 

"The next breakthrough will be genetic engineering," said John-son. "The scientist will tell you we're near the limit. One statistician will tell you the points on the curve are flat; another will tell you it's just a straight line with no end point. A sprinting coach will tell you you have to go beyond the limits of the human mind. "

Scientists and statisticians alike might tell you the curve on the graph is a dotted line with openings for dreamers to slip through. 

"I don't know what the next horizon is on training," said Sennett. "I heard talk of a coolant device to reduce core temperatures in a human which will improve muscle recovery. "

Sounds like something you put in your car. On your mark, set, start your engines. *

AGENDA

What: 112th Penn Relays

When: Yesterday through Saturday. 

Where: Franklin Field, 33rd and Spruce. 

Schedule: Today: Men's decathlon final; women's heptathlon final; Tomorrow: College, high school girls events; Friday: Colleges, high school boys events; Saturday: High school, college championships, Olympic development, USA vs. World. 

Ticket office: 215-898-6151. 

Web site: Thepennrelays.com

Honorary Carnival Referee: Herman Mancini, 93, Relays Chief Clerk of Course, whose 68-year streak at the meet ends due to health issues. 

Notable names competing: (No relations): Mike Schmidt, Tom Jones, Keith Jackson, James Brown, Romulus, Marcus Allen, Joe Greene, Jackie Gleason. 

Unique names: Tyler D'Amore Doo, Pinky McBurrows, Hello Eugene, Kojo Tweedie, Nohjay Nimpson, Lady Comfort, Man Child. 

Longest name: Nutthawut Orataiwaiwattanakul, a senior from St. Raymond High School in the Bronx. 

Numbers : 883 high schools, 233 colleges, 127 clubs. 

Food: Out-of-towners looking for Philly staples can get a cheesesteak for $6.25 and a soft pretzel for 2.75 at the concessions stands. 

Flavor: The Jamaicans as usual will provide talent, especially in high school athletes on the track and enthusiasm in the form of green and gold flag waving frenzied fans in the stands.