How can you walk 4mph and sleep at the same time?

[Phantomking]

Hello, everyone. First off, let me say that I really like this book. I love how Stephen King (or Richard Bachman :P) was able to make 100 guys walking an incredibly interesting book. The Long Walk shows off King's skill at creating amazing characters.

That being said, how did the characters "doze" while they were walking? It's impossible for someone to walk for a long time and sleep while not dropping under 4mph or veering off the road at the very least. Has anyone else had a problem with this aspect of the book?

I know shapeshifting clowns and inexplicable domes are impossible too, but this book was more "real" so to speak.

[GNTLGNT]

After a while, muscle memory takes over-we CAN go on "autopilot" so to speak...it is not an impossible feat of feet...

[RandomMan]

Not that this answers your question, BUT I can remember a time when I was in college...had wife and kid...two jobs (one full-time, on part-time)...and I drove 25 miles from school to my apartment and never remembered a thing. Once I woke up in bed with a Taco Bell burrito in my hand...gues I went through the drive-thru on that particular day. This happened a lot...I know, not very safe...but I didn't have many options back then. I just knew one day I was gonna veer off the Lewisville Bridge but never did. The mind is a very powerful thing my friend!

[sam peebles]

It's the survival instinct. After walking for what (two days straight?), I don't find it very hard to believe that some people could drift off without stopping in their stride. Their will to live trumps collapsing in sleep.

The part (and only part, as I love the Long Walk) I have a problem with is the 4 mph. Not only is that a walk, but that is a brisk walk. I find it hard to believe that anyone could sustain that speed for as long as they do, sleeping or otherwise. If I ever made some adaptation (delusions of grandeur), I would tweak that to 3 mph.

[CorbinKale]

I don't recall marching while sleeping, but I saw others do it. I was able to march with my eyes closed, and stay on the path just by listening to the bootsteps in front of and behind me. I suppose the subconscious brain could make use of the same sounds.

[blunthead]

Hello, everyone. First off, let me say that I really like this book. I love how Stephen King (or Richard Bachman :P) was able to make 100 guys walking an incredibly interesting book. The Long Walk shows off King's skill at creating amazing characters.

That being said, how did the characters "doze" while they were walking? It's impossible for someone to walk for a long time and sleep while not dropping under 4mph or veering off the road at the very least. Has anyone else had a problem with this aspect of the book?

I know shapeshifting clowns and inexplicable domes are impossible too, but this book was more "real" so to speak.

One of the things I appreciate and enjoy about Stephen King is he offers an explanation when one is required for events in his story. Steve's stories necessarily contain hard to believe elements, and I think he enjoys the challenge of making them believable; the more unbelievable, the greater the challenge, the more he loves it.

I recall Steve addressing the problem with sleep in The Long Walk; I do not recall at which point.

[Pucker]

Once during Navy basic, I ran a slide projector for roughly 20 minutes while "dozing." Under extreme duress, your body will find ways to rest while your mind still works . . . although how effectively and for how long is open to interpretation.

I would agree with Sam that four miles per hour is an athletic pace, even for teenage boys, to keep up for any length of time, but my guess is that a "leisurely stroll" is not what Mr. King had in mind, and that we can stretch credulity far enough to accept this particular detail . . . given some of the more wildly far-fetched notions up with which he would come in the fullness of time.

[Anna Rose]

its just the same as sleep walking...