[fdalvi]

It wouldn't be difficult at all if the optimal running technique was known before hand; I think the goal of many of these RL exercises is to either i) find a better solution than what we may have imagined or ii) confirm that our knowledge was indeed the best possible solution!

[bnegreve]

> It wouldn't be difficult at all if the optimal running technique was known before hand;

You're right, but this is a simulated environment. It means the physics in it are driven by a small set of known (and most likely deterministic) rules.

So I wonder if it would it be possible to analytically determine what is the best possible running strategy.

[kipi]

Correct, it wouldn't be hard to take the best known strategy and implement it perfectly. Aside from the two points you mention, it also serves as a precursor to applying RL to real levels in which we may not be so sure about the optimal strategy.