New study finds runners in the U.S. are getting slower
A new study by RunRepeat analyzing 19.6 million results from over 16 thousand marathons has found that marathoners around the world, and especially in the U.S., are getting slower. The study found that in 1986 the average finish time was 3:52:35 and today it’s 4:32:49, a slowdown of over 40 minutes.
The study also looked at the fastest and slowest states. The fastest state in the U.S. is Massachusetts, finishing the marathon in an average time of 4 hours 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Washington state clocked in as the second fastest state and Indiana came in third. The slowest state in the U.S. is Hawaii, with an average finish time of 6 hours 16 minutes.
Study finds bumblebee decline may indicate mass extinction
A new study out of the University of Ottawa has found that bumblebees are in sharp decline across Europe and North America due to hotter and more frequent extremes in temperatures, reports The Guardian.
The study has found that the likelihood of a bumblebee population surviving in any given place has declined 30% in the course of a human generation. Researchers with the study say the rates of decline are “consistent with a mass extinction.”
New Jersey town shuts down road to help with salamander migration
East Brunswick, New Jersey is taking measures to ensure salamanders can safely migrate. Throughout late winter and early spring, the town intermittently shuts down Beekman Road between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. for the salamanders, tree frogs and other amphibians so they can get to the vernal pools across the street for breeding.
“I’m pretty sure East Brunswick is unique in our protection efforts in the state,” East Brunswick resident David Moskowitz told patch.com. “When we found slaughtered amphibians one raw night 12 years ago, we knew we needed to do something and convinced the mayor to allow us to close the road.”
