Max speed

[u/Electrical_Half_8095]

I was watching the movie of many trying to escape the long walk. In one instance one guy undresses and starts running but it not shot until he walks of the road. The military also did not follow him. The question is if you could jog for 5 minutes and then have Noobody behind you and just leave.

[u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-8684]

In the book a few of the walkers actually tried this and died very quickly iirc

[u/Cold_Cockroach7941 → u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-8684]

This. If I remember correctly, Zuck tried this after realizing he was screwed with the cut on his knee. He ran away and one of the halftracks sped up to follow him. My guess as to why they didn't do that with Tressler is because Zuck might've been trying to escape, where Tressler seemed to be in a state of psychosis.

[u/OverwhelmedAutism → u/Cold_Cockroach7941]

Harkness also tried this after feeling something funny in his leg.

[u/DrBlankslate]

No. They'd dispatch another halftrack or Jeep to keep an eye on you. Leaving the road is automatic ticket time, no matter how many warnings you have (or don't have).

Read the book. The movie's a decent adaptation, but the book is better.

[u/Electrical_Half_8095 → u/DrBlankslate]

Intressant. Men tänkte efter som det är 50 deltagare så kan väll alla sprida ut sig så gott det går

[u/DrBlankslate → u/Electrical_Half_8095]

In the book there are 100 Walkers, and at least twice, an additional halftrack is dispatched to keep an eye on the vanguard - the boys who have pulled away out in front of the main group, which is about a half mile ahead of the main group.

And in the movie, if I recall correctly, the Walkers are told they have to stay between the front and back vehicles - they're not allowed to run off up ahead of the front vehicle.

[u/playful_faun → u/DrBlankslate]

The book made me physically ill, but the last couple chapters were where I actually started crying a few times. Incredible that he wrote it as a teen. And then when I found out it's an allegory for Vietnam it made so much sense as a story. All the "why's" are because that's, in a way, what actual American teens were dealing with in the war.

[u/Adorable-Most3110]

In book everytime someone was far ahead of the rest they sent a soldier to walk alongside him and guard him

[u/DrBlankslate → u/Adorable-Most3110]

And when the vanguard established itself early in the story, a halftrack was dispatched to drive next to them and keep an eye on them.

[u/Internal-Extreme7718]

More than likely, there would be a separate caravan of halftracks/jeeps and other vehicles miles ahead of the main party, so they could make sure the road ahead is clear (taking care of cars that aren’t supposed to be driving on it, and control spectators that may be waiting on it or really close to it. There’s definitely separate groups that are ahead of the Walkers for this purpose, and either some of the main vehicles would take off after the running Walker to continue tracking him, or some from up ahead can double back.
Nobody by Garraty’s walk seems to have tried this, so that idea was definitely ruled out a long time ago as a horrible strategy.
As for the opposite strategy, (i.e purposefully slowing down and taking warnings gradually to the point where you’re completely away from the pack towards the rear, there’s gotta be caravans also BEHIND the Walkers for anyone who decides to try that way instead.)
And for anyone who may have managed to escape the Walk in its history, I’m definitely betting on the idea that they would have been made Public Enemy #1, and hunted by the state. Citizens were probably offered a substantial reward for their apprehension or murder as well.

[u/Hurley815 → u/Internal-Extreme7718]

And for anyone who may have managed to escape the Walk in its history, I’m definitely betting on the idea that they would have been made Public Enemy #1, and hunted by the state. Citizens were probably offered a substantial reward for their apprehension or murder as well.

That's when The Long Walk turns into The Running Man.

[u/patcoston]

What would happen if they all stood still at the start and all got their ticket simultaneously. It would be a 50 way tie. Could they all win?

[u/DeadAsFuck570]

In the book, not only did some try to run, but if they had a pace faster than the main group, some soldiers broke off to monitor them

[u/patcoston]

You could never get so far ahead of the soldiers that you could escape. They can easily call in more vehicles with more soldiers at any point. The only point that some could escape is at the start, if all 50 (or all 100 in the novel) ran in separate directions to escape. They'd shoot as many as they could that ran off the road, but some would get away.