What is the running speed of giraffes?

The Nile Sport Safari logo features a giraffe and an athlete running across the savannah. Moreover, visually it seems like the runner is dragging the giraffe on his back. We chose this image, to express our desire for the perfection of human in our unity with perfect wild nature. Our motto "Train and travel" says pretty the same thing, because a passion for travelling can move us towards perfection.
In our childhood we visited city zoos a few times and saw those bestial prison conditions giraffes and other great creatures live there. We realize that sometimes zoos do a great job of preserving populations of endangered species, but the sight of animals in cages or cramped enclosures is still disgusting. All the time we imagine ourselves in their place. This is similar to life imprisonment, but without guilt, trial or investigation. But a circus with animals is even worse. It is a life imprisonment with daily torture.
Another thing is the wildlife reserves and national parks in Africa. It is not only incredibly interesting and joyful to watch animals in their natural environment on a real safari, but you also feel as if you have came back home after thousands of years of wandering in a foreign land. We all come from the East African savannah. Moreover, modern giraffes and modern humans as species are almost the same age.
Until recently, scientists believed that all giraffes belonged to one species - Giraffa camelopardalis, which includes nine subspecies, differing in color, horn shape and habitat. However, genetic studies have revealed that the differences between giraffe subspecies are comparable to the differences between polar and brown bears. Although all giraffes are very similar in appearance, these four groups are distinct species: the southern giraffe (G. giraffa), found in South Africa, Namibia and Botswana; Masai giraffe (G. tippelskirchi) from Tanzania, Kenya and Zambia; reticulated giraffe (G. reticulata) from Kenya, Somalia and southern Ethiopia; and the northern giraffe (G. camelopardalis), found in central and eastern Africa. Genetic analysis showed that the common ancestor of these species lived from 400 thousand to 2 million years ago, which is sufficient time for the formation of new species of mammals.
What about the running speed of giraffes? Observations show that giraffes can reach very high speeds (about 60 km/h) for short periods of time (~5 minutes), but are also capable of running medium distances at speeds of about 40 km/h. For comparison, the great runners of Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia, such as Eliud Kipchoge or Joshua Cheptegei, can maintain a speed of about 21 km/h for about 2 hours at a marathon distance (42 km), which is much slower than a giraffe's speed, but for a longer time. The main difference is the type of exercise: marathon runners demonstrate exceptionally high levels of aerobic endurance, while giraffes combine anaerobic and aerobic capacity. Athletes achieve these results thanks to the high density of mitochondria in their muscles and an efficient oxygen delivery system, which is similar to the mechanisms used by giraffes for long runs. However, giraffes have the unique advantage of elastic energy stored in long tendons, which significantly reduces the metabolic requirements of running. These adaptations show that giraffes have evolved to be not only tall and graceful, but also efficient runners, capable of handling various types of physical activity.
Life in the savannah taught both us and giraffes to run for a long time. Of course, neither a giraffe nor sapiens can run away from a lion and a leopard at a short distance. But the evolution of running abilities does not stand still. Give us another million years, maybe we'll escape a lion.
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