[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

Even in a fantasy novel such as LOTR there is an internal logical structure that applies to its inhabitants. It is not by job to show you that Gimli DID NOT TRAIN. How does one point to what is not there? Proving a negative comes to mind. It is your job to demonstrate that he did. The book gives us no evidence that Gimli engaged in the type of long term long distance running or even race walking that is necessary to rack up the kind of miles that Tolkien uses. Tolkien gives us no evidence of it. Its simply not there. If it is please quote me the edition, the chapter and the page. I will be glad to read it.

Running? I have no idea if Dwarves are generally runners or not... but as regards their ability regarding stamina? Well, allow me to quote from the Silmarillion:

Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong to endure. Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and enmity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not forever.

From Chapter II of the Quenta Silmarillion proper: "Of Aulë and Yavanna".

Furthermore, from the Lord of the Rings, I quote with regards to Gimli's running:

'Well, after them!' said Gimli. 'Dwarves too can go swiftly, and they do not tire sooner than Orcs. But it will be a long chase, and they have a long start.'

'Yes,' said Aragorn, 'we shall all need the endurance of Dwarves....

--from the last page of the Two Towers, Chapter I: "The Departure of Boromir"

'Even I, Dwarf of many journeys, and not the least hardy of my folk, cannot run all the way to Isengard without any pause,' said Gimli. 'My heart burns me too, and I would have started sooner; but now I must rest a little to run the better. And if we rest, then the blind night is the time to do so.'

--from about the seventh page of the Two Towers, Chapter II: "The Riders of Rohan"

So the third day of their pursuit began. During all its long hours of cloud and fitful sun they hardly paused, now striding, now running, as if no weariness could quench the fire that burned them.

--from the same chapter, approximately page eight or nine of that chapter.

As you can see, it is quite clear that Gimli, a Dwarf, was a hardy and resolute member of a hardy and resolute species, and it is quite clear that there was a good deal of running involved, though not constantly. Within the internal consistency of Tolkien's world, it seems fairly clear that he envisioned Gimli running--and keeping up with the others. There is a difference between "never been trained" and "unable to do something". The former implies the lack of a teacher, which I will grant: Gimli probably never had a long-distance, mile-covering teacher. However, given that he is said to be a Dwarf of many journeys, and given that Dwarves don't ride horses, and given that Aragorn admires his Dwarven resiliency, I think the implication is that Gimli was quite capable of the feat.