Originally Posted by
PeteHski
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But let's have a look at more sustainable power. A 70 kg runner needs to average around 440W to run a 4 minute mile and that would be a serious maximal effort. But a 70 kg elite cyclist would be able to hold 440W for the best part of an hour. So it seems apparent to me that cycling would expend more energy over any sustained length of time.
You are suggesting that a runner can only sustain 400watts for 4 minutes (serious maximal effort) but a cyclist can sustain the same output for the best part of an hour. Basically that a cyclist has 15x the endurance than a runner has. 60/4=15. How do you explain that is possible? Could it be that somehow running requires more effort than cycling? Otherwise, why does the runner burnout 15x faster?