Who would win Sonic Foot Race (without Sonic or Shadow)

[MetalSkulkBane]

Last BumbleKast had this question and it intrigued me. We talked about smarts, strengths and yes speeds tiers, but how Sonic cast would do in foot race, no ESP, engines, flying or cheating?

Obviously Sonic gets first, without his shoes Shadow gets 2nd (or 3rd, maybe after Metal Sonic. But I doubt it, he uses even bigger engine).

But how do you think everyone else would do? Personally I think it all depends on length of the race.

Short Race (speed)

Spoiler

Disqualified for being too fast: Sonic, Shadow, Metal.

Slowest: Big and Charmy
Big is slow, bulky, unmotivated and might get distracted middle race. Unless he has incentive, then rule of funny says he might even this race.
But Charmy? He ALWAYS flies. And he's a kid. He would burn out extremely quickly.

Slow: Omega, Silver, Eggman, Vector.
Omega is big, clunky and not build for running, especially without jets. His only strength is that as a robot he doesn't tires.
Meanwhile Silver is completely reliant on his powers. 06 showed that on his own he's quite slow, probably just barely beating Omega.
Not sure where exactly Eggman fits. Sonic 2 aside, It's been hinted that he's actually in better condition that one would give him credit, but still.
Vector is in decent shape, but is also top heavy and not much of a runner.

Average: Cream, Rouge, Tails, Blaze
This is the hard one to decode.
Cream is a rabbit, plus she was fairly fast in Advance series or Heroes... as everyone else, including Big. She's still a kid, who relies on Cheese and flying (but not as much as Charmy). So she's highly debatable.
Rouge is in similar boat to Vector. She's more wing-reliant, but unlike him she's not muscle heavy, so I think she would outrace him.
Tails and Blaze both can keep up with Sonic... using their powers. One is a nerdy kid, other well, a princess. I still give them some benefit of the doubt, but I refuse to think they would win this race. Not sure which would win 1 on 1 race though. Mmmmmaybe Tails?

Fast: Amy, Espio, Knuckles
Those 3 are only Sonic characters that 'power' is good condition, without being large and heavy.
Amy and Knuckles had to many times keep up with Sonic.
Knuckles and Espio were keeping up in Sonic Rivals duology, which is all about racing.
Espio and Amy were speed characters in Heroes.
It's a close call, but ultimately I believe Amy would win, as her whole life is about running after Sonic. Espio is more slow and stealthy, Knuckles grounded unmovable, Amy chases her dreams.

With that said, what if speed wasn't deciding factor?

Long Race (endurance)

Spoiler

In 80s Thundercats cartoon Lion-O beat super fast Cheetara, because race was so friccking long. Stamina can beat speed. I'm not gonna do 2nd list, but broadly speaking the longer the race is, the more strong characters get a boost.

Omega and Big would eventually pass Silver and Vector. Heck, if race goes for infinity, they will be the only ones standing.

Cream is just a kid, she would tire out somewhat quickly.

Rouge might eventually beat Tails and Blaze, although that's arguable.

And finally I think Knuckles stamina and iron will would mean that he would eventually pass both Espio and Amy

 

And what are your thoughts?

[batson]

Out of the regular cast, besides Sonic, Shadow and Metal Sonic the ones I would put my money on in a race would probably be Tails, Knuckles and Blaze. Tails' main claim to fame in his bebut apperance was that he was able to keep up with Sonic after all (before his flight and later on his intelligence began to be his trademarks), and I've always gotten the impression that Knuckles' was also intended as a character who could somewhat emulate Sonic's abilities, both his running and his spin dash. And then Blaze also had that "similar to Sonic" vibe in her early apperances.

Other characters like, say, Amy or Espio are of course speedsters in certain games but I can't tell how much of that is pure gameplay and how much of it is "canon" from an in-universe perspective. Amy in particular is an enigma in this regard. Similar to the question of her speed I wonder if she is even canonically able to do the spin dash? I just don't know.