Who'd walk the route more easily for 8h though? A random Western today or a random Roman then?
Modern European pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago seem to do about 20 km/day [1] and it's considered tiring but accessible by average people, not serious hikers. They carry less of their supplies and do not need to fortify their camp against barbarians.
Roman soldiers were presumably fitter and better trained than the average Roman (though maybe not by much, since everyone worked manual jobs). Maybe that's enough to account for the difference.
[0] https://www.quora.com/Did-Roman-legions-actually-march-20-mi...
[1] https://caminoways.com/how-many-days-does-it-take-to-walk-th...
i target 35km/day with a 40L pack and finish my segments within 6-7 hours. asphalt, dirt and grass, and hiking trails (rocks, roots, dirt, etc) are the most standard surfaces and, to be honest, they’re all exhausting in their own rights so a change in surface is always welcome.
i can’t imagine marching most of this with near double body weight and then having to make camp.
Imagine the Roman army with Adidas Ultraboost.
It wouldn't have been any. After 3 days, the Adidas Ultraboost would have been "kaput"
Yeah, because they sit in the Albergue half of the day. You need to start looking for one around 4pm or it will be full because people tend to stop walking around that time. It’s also an activity that mainly retired people do.
You can easily do 40 km/day on the Camino routes with manageable elevation (the coastal ones).
You’re right about the equipment weight though, I can’t imagine what a Roman soldiers full pack must have weighed with the textiles of the time. On the Camino, you don’t really need to bring anything except some clothes.
I see the point with the camp but on the other hand after the third day you’re more limited by your feet, not the time, so you would still have enough time for that in my estimation.
Probably better to compare "A random Italian" rather than "A random Westerner", the Americans and other car-focused cultures kind of drag down the average a bit too much otherwise.
Industry fucked us too, dude.
Take ownership of your life, and inspire others to do the same. Make choices, understand consequences as much as reasonable, and there is comparatively little to complain.
When I look around since I am not the youngest, the most miserable people are those who just sit back in their 'comfort zone', and expect above to be fixed for them. It ain't coming, their life is a pale shade of what-could-have-been, health goes to crap, so does mood and everything else. Its not comforting place in any way, they are just too scared to experience any form of discomfort to move away from it, and often look for similarly-minded echo chambers where they went their endless frustrations from life they chose for themselves.
I agree state and regulators should be doing their part, massively better, but so should all of us. Those that do have usually much better and longer and happier lives. What more reasons does anybody need.
I was average, physical capacities wise.
The only caveat since you said "random" is obesity.
I've walked for 8 hrs before, wearing modern sneakers on roads with vehicular traffic, and travelled about the same distance estimated by Google Maps. I'd estimate the Roman would like be able to travel in the same duration, barring other extenuating factors (like Caesar staging a revolt against the Senate and crossing with his legion right in front of your planned route), with worse shoes but more walk-friendly roads.
That said 30km/day is very real, even in mountain country. It takes 6-7 hours, the rest is resting/gawking/laying on a mountain watching the sky (or trying furiosly to find that effin trail on osmand). I walked that a few times a week when I lived in Montenegro, and that was 50/50 roads and mountain trails from sea level up to 700m-ish elevation and back. No fancy shoes, no prep but for a hat and couple bottles of water. After a third walk or so it isn't even exhausting.
You use 10–20% more energy for just mildly uneven surfaces - probably more for roman cobblestone.
For shoes we also went not too far: Merrel sandals basically replicate roman caliga with modern materials. And it's not like you can use even halfboots in mediterannean unless it's winter - it's just too hot.
You seem to be equating flatness with surface hardness. Tarmac isn't unforgiving to walk on because it's flat, it's because it has no give.