u/Funnyllama20

I’ve been thinking about a dumb thought, and it has been plaguing me, so I’m opening it up to y’all for your thoughts: How do you win an infinite race against yourself?

Here’s the hypothetical:

You are cloned as you are now, psyche and all, and pitted against yourself in an eternal trail race. Neither of you ever ages, and there is no finish line. The eternal goal is to maximize the proportion of all elapsed time during which you are in the lead (i.e., you want to be in the lead as much as possible). What is your strategy? Do you walk, run, or do a mix? What’s your recovery strategy and long-term plan?

Parameters:

* You always want to win. There’s no “I’ll just go slow to enjoy myself.” You can enjoy it, but both of you are equally motivated to stay in the lead.

* You are initially the same person, but as you have different experiences, you become fundamentally different people. This means your starting strategy is identical, but you will change and grow as people over time.

* You can still get stronger or weaker. You can get injured and have to recover and work through your injuries as necessary. There is no access to PT or doctors. You cannot get sick or develop any diseases other than those you have now.

* There is no fatal danger on the trail. You can be attacked by an animal, but you will always survive with no more than some light scratches.

* Any running gear you want, including clothing, shoes, and changes of shoes, appears when you ask for it. No technology such as cars, scooters, etc. is allowed.

* Any food ingredients you want appear along the trail, but if something requires cooking, you must cook it. You are magically provided with all necessary cooking equipment whenever you choose to cook.

* Whenever you wish to rest or sleep, a pavilion with a lawn chair magically appears next to you. You also have one bedroom that is climate-controlled to your liking. You must clean it and wash the sheets as needed; if you leave it dirty, the next room that magically appears will be in the same condition.

* No attacking or sabotaging the other racer. You may spend as much time with them as you’d like, provided they agree and you can keep up. When you are together, no one is in the “lead,” so you are naturally disinclined to run with them too much.

* The trail is infinitely changing and is similar to the Appalachian Trail.

* The weather goes through normal yearly seasons.

* No PEDs or other banned substances are allowed.