Answer & explanation
The official answer, with Fermi’s reasoning step by step.
Answer & explanation
Official answer
26
minutes
How to estimate it
Fermi’s official “Napkin math”
A cheetah is the fastest thing on land, about as fast as a car cruising on the highway. Call it 60 miles an hour. A marathon is about 26 miles.
- Marathon
- 26 mi
- Cheetah top speed
- ÷ 60 mph
- 26 ÷ 60 of an hour
- ≈ 26 min
A cheetah is the fastest thing on land, about as fast as a car cruising on the highway. Call it 100 kilometres an hour. A marathon is about 42 kilometres.
- Marathon
- 42 km
- Cheetah top speed
- ÷ 100 km/h
- 42 ÷ 100 of an hour
- ≈ 25 min
Rounded assumptions may give a slightly different estimate. The official answer above is the game’s reference value.
Source calculation & reference
- Fastest recorded cheetah (Sarah, Cincinnati Zoo, 2012)
- = 61 mph (98 km/h)
- Marathon distance
- = 26.2 miles
- 26.2 ÷ 61
- ≈ 0.43 hours
- ≈
- 26 minutes
Reference cited by Fermi: Cincinnati Zoo and Guinness World Records cheetah speed record (Sarah, 2012)
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