Endurance Athlete (Read 862 times)

4:50, ~48 hours,  5:53,   

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Yeah, I was gonna post this, but you did it so much more eloquently.

 

So, are any marathon or ultra runners up to the fitness levels of these guys?

I think it is a different type of endurance.  The ability to continue to stop, go, serve hard and return hard. I saw the last few sets with Murray.  The concentration, even that late into the match, was mind-boggling. 

Yeah, we runners can be mind-bogglingly stupid at the end of a long run.

Anything past 16 miles and I'm a slap-happy idiot who's lost the ability to do much other than run, drink water, and open Gu.

Yeah, we runners can be mind-bogglingly stupid at the end of a long run.

... some are mind-boggingly stupid at the START of a run...

TdF cyclists - 3 weeks, 6~8 hours a day at crazy speeds and some real killer climbs. Couple of "rest" days - when most of them do a few easy hours just to keep their legs ticking over.

To put my original question another way, do you think these tennis players/bb players/cyclists could run an awesome marathon?

If they trained properly for a marathon, I think most any elite tennis player, baller, or cyclist could bust out a BQ, maybe even a sub 3 hr marathon.  They have the physiological make up and the mental fortitude necessary to invest in a little pain for 3 hours.

maybe even a sub 3 hr marathon.  

I dont think an elite athlete would have much trouble breaking 3.