Dethroner Tactics: Optimal Foot Chase Speed?
9 Comments Published by Joel March 8th, 2007 in Ask Dethroner, Fitness, Survival. Share This
You’ve just put your dump truck stacked with coke and hookers into the ditch—now you’re hoofing it from Johnny Law. You’ve only got a few seconds before the choppers and backup arrive so escape is now or never.
Assuming the cop is of moderate fitness and you’ve got the power of powder propelling you, what’s your best tactic: a burst of speed for as long as you can maintain or a steady lope just out of taser range until the cop drops in a wheeze?
I would go with a quick burst to put some air between you and fuzz, then drop to a steady pace.
Of course, this comes from someone whose only running came from trying to score from second on a single in little league.
I would say that your best bet would be to run as fast as you can for as long as you can and then find a spot to hide from said boy in blue.
This is, of course, entirely dependent upon the setting that you find yourself in and your ability to make rational decisions under the influence, lets say of a recreational amount, of your illicit stimulant of choice.
In a rural setting I would suggest running in a wide circle until you double back to your pursuer’s vehicle and add a little Crown Vic GTA to your sheet.
In an urban setting I would tell you to head for a more crowded area and attempt to augment your couture in a bid to blend in.
I would like to end by disclaiming any of this suggested action as I know that if I were the Beat Cop attempting your apprehension, the mere idea that your dumb crackhead ass would be trying to flee from the scene would encourage me all the more to vigorously apply my maglite focibly to your skull or simply plink your retreating form in the back of the knee with my standard issue.
We don’t live in Great Britain folks, long live the Second Amendment.
If you’re painting a picture of me with hookers and cocaine in a dump truck, you might at least have armed me with a BFG, thanks a lot. I hate running, I’m a stand-my-ground kind of pre-corpse.
In my petty criminal days I used to wear a red hat which got switched with a dark blue cap as I ducked into the subway. Of course that was in the Bronx in the 1980s so cops usually gave up pretty quick anyway. These days the NYPD will shoot first no matter what the crime so I wouldn’t bother running. I got chased one Summer in Nebraska and hid in a cornfield for a few hours before they gave up as it got dark. Got ticks but not arrested.
Having some experience in this matter I can tell you that a burst of speed is your best bet, peppered with multiple obstacles such as fences and garbage cans. The adrenaline should keep you going for a while. You want your “pursuer” to loose visual contact with you before he has a chance to call in some fresh legs. Also, make sure you flee in the opposite direction as the hookers, multiple targets are much harder to track.
There is only one logical route: a burst of speed has to come first. You can be sure the cop isn’t going to think that catching you ten minutes from now when you run out of oomph is going to be his best bet. He’s gonna give it all he has. If he catches you, it won’t matter how much endurance you have left.
I think the key in any chase situation – because, really, why limit it to cops when you could be running from so much – is to put as much ground between you and the opposition as fast as possible. Distant people will always seem harder to catch, and you can leverage benefits of being able to choose the course more easily, putting obstacles in your opponent’s way, or hiding, or whatever you like, really. That being said, any foot race is only going to be partially about speed. If you wind after ten seconds you’re probably toast regardless – so stay in shape, kids!
My sister-in-law is a cop. She’s run the Boston Marathon several times, and worked as a fitness instructor before entering the police force.
If someone runs, she chases them for a while until they realize they aren’t going to shake her. She then points out to them that it would be in their best interests to stop now rather than later. (She may express it more… concisely than that.) They stop.
When you’re looking for someone in a crowd, you know where to point your eyes. If the guy is your height, you look at people around your height. If they’re shorter, you point your eyes down. If they’re taller, you point your eyes up.
In this case you want to get some distance from the law and get into a crowd. Lose or change your hat and lower your height by bending your knees and crouching while walking (not running) away.
Take up parcours and head for an area with lots of obstacles…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaopu5W8Ryg