So THIS Race Exists...

Just a normal guy getting ready for a normal track meet:

Just a bunch of normal runners in the starting blocks ready to start a normal 100 meter sprint:

Just a group of runners sprinting down the tra... wait... WHAT?

Are they racing on ALL FOURS?!?

Yep. They are.

Kenichi Ito from Japan broke his own World Record last week for the fastest 100 meters on all fours. Yep, that's a thing. Here he is in action. You have to see this.


Direct link: http://youtu.be/DFxSNDhYzXg

Are we all just supposed to ignore the blatant lane line violations?

He ran (well, maybe "galloped") 100 meters in 16.87 seconds. That's very impressive. When I think about that in relation to the final, nasty 16x200 track workout that Coach Jen had me do before the "Midsummer Mile" road race this last summer... I was only able to get down to 31 seconds twice in that workout. That's 15.5 seconds for 100 meters. And this guy did about that pace on all fours. NUTS!!

Here's Ito running by himself in 2012 when he set his previous World Record of 17.47:


Direct link: http://youtu.be/Wc17_6HQdrQ

Ito says he's walked around his neighborhood in Tokyo on all fours for nearly a decade. He's fascinated with primates, and says his running style is based off the African Patas Monkey. Here's one final video (that practically looks like an SNL skit at times) of Ito at home:


Direct link: http://youtu.be/66gMk7k7QgY

My training for the 2014 100 meter "all 4s" race starts today.