Strongmen are capable of miraculous physical feats. Pulling monster trucks, deadlifting world record weights, and gripping super heavy implements are all in a day’s work for these athletes. But slow, steady state runs around a track, which more regular-sized athletes might not blink an eye at, is an entirely different story.

The big men are trained for explosive movements or displays of raw strength, which means that they need to conserve their energy and carry a ton of bulk to back up their pure brawn. Running is not something that comes natural to guys like Martins Licis and Hafthor Björnsson, a.k.a. The Mountain, who have both won the World’s Strongest Man competition. But with Björnsson still in the midst of training for a boxing career and eventual fight with fellow former strongman champ Eddie Hall, the steady state cardio is necessary for the program. Björnsson invited Licis to join him in Iceland for some running, a bigger challenge than you might think.

“I don’t think I’ve ever run for 30 minutes straight,” Licis says as he drives to meet up with Björnsson. “I’ve done a lot of sprinting in my life, I’ve done a lot of sports. But it’s all stop and go.”

Once they get to the track, Björnsson is ready to go. He tells Licis’ crew that the goal is to finish 15 laps on the track, which equates to 3.75 miles.

Before they start, Björnsson asks Licis the million dollar question. “Do you think you’ll be able to finish 15 laps?”All Licis can do to respond is look about sheepishly before grimacing at the camera and giving a tentative thumbs up. So Björnsson ratchets down the demand to ask Licis if he’ll at least give some effort. “I’m gonna try,” Licis says. “I’m actually scared. I think the most I’ve ever done is four or five laps.”

At that, the pair set off at a jog on the wet track. They don’t need to push the pace—there’s plenty of laps ahead of them. They keep up a light banter as they run, talking about training and Licis’ upcoming contests. At one point, Licis has to run straight to the bathroom off the track. By lap three, Licis is already complaining about his shins and calves. He takes a break to lean against a fence after four laps, or one mile. “Why do people do this?” he asks, sucking for air. “There’s nothing good about it. There’s no way this is good for health.” Spoiler alert, Martins: It is.

After that first mile, Licis is having too much pain with his shins and calves to stay consistent. Björnsson keeps trucking consistently—”It’s amazing seeing him just keep going and going,” Licis says in a voiceover. “He’s like a machine.”

As Björnsson enters his final lap, Licis decides that his tenth will be his last. That means he’s run 2.5 miles. Licis can’t stop talking about how impressed he is with Björnsson’s performance—but The Mountain is quick to share that he’s worked to build up his stamina. The day after his deadlift world record attempt, Björnsson went to that very track and struggled to run just one lap, or 400 meters. “I had to stop because my calves, my back—I had just lifted 501 kilograms,” he says. But he’s developed his endurance. “I’m doing this six times a week and boxing a lot.”

But Licis won Björnsson’s respect. “You did awesome for a guy who’s not running at all,” he says. “You were jogging, walking, and sprinting. You did everything.”

Next up for the pair: boxing. Licis is just as tentative for that as he was about the running. “I hope Thor doesn’t knock me out.”

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