--- description: According to a new report published in the journal PeerJ, the fastest a Tyrannosaurus rex could have walked was 12 miles per hour. title: The T. Rex Would’ve Broken its Tiny Legs if it Tried to Run image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabdbc19bfe7f3490/6988d641fb4eac55db892f8a/t-rex.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Paleontology](/tag/paleontology/) ## Paleontology Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Turns Out T. Rex Would’ve Broken its Tiny Legs if it Tried to Run by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 19, 2017 2:23 PM CUT  The skeleton of a T rex named Trix is installed in a room of the Naturalis museum of Leiden on September 9, 2016, during the exhibition "T rex in Town". The skeleton of a T rex named Trix is installed in a room of the Naturalis museum of Leiden on September 9, 2016, during the exhibition "T rex in Town".MARTEN VAN DIJL—AFP/Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 19, 2017 2:23 PM CUT If the T. rex [chase scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxqHVoZ0fzc "undefined") in [_Jurassic Park_](http://time.com/3083131/jeff-goldblum-recreates-jurassic-park-scene-in-this-awesome-wedding-photo/ "undefined") gave you nightmares, rest assured: even if the [dinosaurs](http://time.com/4687329/laser-technology-fossils-dinosaurs-connection-to-birds/ "undefined") returned to Earth, you’d easily outpace the fearsome beasts in an SUV. According to a new report published in the journal [PeerJ](https://peerj.com/articles/3420/ "undefined"), the fastest a [Tyrannosaurus rex](http://time.com/4406326/new-dinosaur-tiny-arms-tyrannosaurus-rex/ "undefined") could have walked was 12 miles per hour. That differs with past theories that the T. rex could run. The Washington _Post_ reports that this study varies from past research because it includes weight loads in its calculations. The study’s authors say that testing on a model T. rex revealed the king of the dinosaurs would have snapped its leg bones if it tried to run. However, they acknowledged that they could have differently accounted for factors like tendon elasticity. Still, that’s not to say a speed-walking T. rex heading your way wouldn’t be terrifying. It would be roughly akin to an elephant charging at you — but with eight-inch teeth. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4864214/t-rex-tyrannosaurus-top-speed-run-running/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4864214/t-rex-tyrannosaurus-top-speed-run-running/"},"headline":"Turns Out T. Rex Would’ve Broken its Tiny Legs if it Tried to Run","datePublished":"2017-07-19T14:23:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:37:02.825Z","description":"The king of the dinosaurs had a major flaw","url":"https://time.com/4864214/t-rex-tyrannosaurus-top-speed-run-running/","keywords":["Paleontology","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabdbc19bfe7f3490/6988d641fb4eac55db892f8a/t-rex.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltabdbc19bfe7f3490/6988d641fb4eac55db892f8a/t-rex.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NETHERLANDS-SCIENCE-PALAEONTOLOGY-MUSEUM","caption":"NETHERLANDS-SCIENCE-PALAEONTOLOGY-MUSEUM","creditText":"MARTEN VAN DIJL—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/paleontology/","name":"Paleontology"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4864214/t-rex-tyrannosaurus-top-speed-run-running/","name":"Turns Out T. Rex Would’ve Broken its Tiny Legs if it Tried to Run"}}]}] ```