RunningAHEAD - Topic: Where have all the good runners gone? (page 3)

RunFree7

Run like a kid again!

posted: 4/27/2009 at 2:40 PM

Quote from Buckeye on 4/27/2009 at 1:26 PM:

Wow that is at least two Back to the Future references in the past week. Must have been a major impact Personally loved the 1st BTF, but not a big fan of II and III. They just do not make movies like the did in the 80's (Weird Science; Breakfast Club; Footloose; Ghostbusters; Top Gun ....) all you needed was a semi cheesey soundtrack and you were ready to rock!

Hated BTF II - Stupid to be continued movie. I refuesed to see the third and still have not. Love Michael J. Fox though. Dang it I just got done defending myself as being a runner. Now I have to figure out a way to get myself into the good runner category! Augh, I don't have enough time for that. Can I start with finishing in the top 15% of my races and that is for the people who can actually get off the couch to run :-) Once I BQ in the fall then I will fight more for this!

DoppleBock

posted: 4/27/2009 at 2:47 PM

Quote from xor on 4/27/2009 at 1:18 PM:

Point being, shit changes. Some is good, some maybe not. The good runners are still good runners and have a lot more races to choose between. Not all good runners want to run London. And the great runners have gotten a little greater (see: records which have fallen since 1980). And... more people at the slower end are running marathons now than ever before. It's just running.

Used to be they took down the finish line @ 4:00 hours or earlier Used to be there was not 450 marathons in the USA (I know the post is about London marathon) to choose from Used to be the East Germans thought a good stout beer was excellent training fuel

Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

DoppleBock

posted: 4/27/2009 at 2:59 PM

Quote from Jeff on 4/27/2009 at 1:39 PM:

There are some serious projection issues going on here. Who are the fast runners on this board who look down on or diminish the accomplishments of slower runners? This is why I hate these threads. MTA: I think I need an internet time-out.

I believe I judge each runner by 1 by a number of criteria 1) What do they accomplish compared to their goals 2) What do they accomplish compared to their God given talents 3) How hard do they work 4) Actual elite accompishments If your goal is 3:30 and God blessed you with the talent to run 2:30 if you would work at it, I am not that impressed - I am still happy for you to accomplish your goal and the joy that it brings you, but still not "Impressed" If you goal is 3:00 and you run 100 mile weeks for 5 years - truly focussed and straining toward the goal and finally hit it and you are really close to maxing out your talent - Booooo Yaaaah! Great job and I am impressed. Now if you half ass train and can run 2:15 - I am impressed, but shame on you for wasting your talent. If your goal is to run a marathon every weekend and enjoy it not for time, but for fun. Or want to see how fast you can run back to back marathons - I support you and think its great. Maybe impressive, maybe not. I know no one cares to impress Dopplebock

Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

bap

posted: 4/27/2009 at 3:02 PM

Quote from DoppleBock on 4/27/2009 at 2:47 PM:

Used to be the East Germans thought a good stout beer was excellent training fuel

Based on my experiences, runners who drink more run better. Unfortunately, I don't drink. A 54 year-old team colleague of mine showed up to a 5K cross country completely pie-eyed and staggering, after an all night drinking session, and finished 2/13 in AG in 22:57. Maybe Douglas Adams had a point. "Drink up," said Ford, "you've got three pints to get through." "Three pints?" said Arthur. "At lunchtime?" The man next to ford grinned and nodded happily. Ford ignored him. He said, "Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so." "Very deep," said Arthur, "you should send that in to the Reader's Digest. They've got a page for people like you." "Drink up." "Why three pints all of a sudden?" "Muscle relaxant, you'll need it." "Muscle relaxant?" "Muscle relaxant." Arthur stared into his beer. "Did I do anything wrong today," he said, "or has the world always been like this and I've been too wrapped up in myself to notice?"

Certified Running Coach
Crocked since 2013

xor

posted: 4/27/2009 at 4:47 PM

hat do they accomplish compared to their God given talents ... If your goal is 3:30 and God blessed you with the talent to run 2:30

If I don't have a direct line to The Man, how exactly do I know my God given talent for comparison purposes? This is a serious question. I mean, we all remember "the fast kid" in 3rd grade. But even if we're talking about the weekend warrior who manages to run a 3:30 with little training (while some of us are running 55-70 mpw to score a 3:20-3:30), how do we know the underlying talent? Oh, I'm not saying that "talent" doesn't exist. But I'm genuinely curious how this would be measured. As for me, God seems to have given me negative talent in the speed department. I was one of the slower kids and that ol' 50 yard dash President's Physical Fitness Test really sucked. But, thanks either to The Man or The Drugs, I seem to be blessed with quick recovery... so I exploit that. I doubt God much cares that I run marathons close together, but it impresses chicks.

C-R

posted: 4/27/2009 at 5:19 PM

Quote from xor on 4/27/2009 at 4:47 PM:

I doubt God much cares that I run marathons close together, but it impresses chicks.

Chicks dig the long ball. This question is so subjective as to be nearly a Monty Python skit. "I could be a good runner if I received some funding from the Office of Silly Walks." Can the same not be said for any sports? Since Kareem, Parrish and Chamberlain where have all the good centers gone. Why is the avg ERA higher now than 25 years ago? Point is the game/sport changes and it depends on your viewpoint Its just running and there will always be someone faster.

"He conquers who endures" - Persius
"Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

http://ncstake.blogspot.com/

Doug B

posted: 4/27/2009 at 5:25 PM

Oh c'mon now. We all know this a big reason. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/index.htm

DoppleBock

posted: 4/27/2009 at 9:23 PM

Quote from xor on 4/27/2009 at 4:47 PM:

If I don't have a direct line to The Man, how exactly do I know my God given talent for comparison purposes? This is a serious question. I mean, we all remember "the fast kid" in 3rd grade. But even if we're talking about the weekend warrior who manages to run a 3:30 with little training (while some of us are running 55-70 mpw to score a 3:20-3:30), how do we know the underlying talent? Oh, I'm not saying that "talent" doesn't exist. But I'm genuinely curious how this would be measured. As for me, God seems to have given me negative talent in the speed department. I was one of the slower kids and that ol' 50 yard dash President's Physical Fitness Test really sucked. But, thanks either to The Man or The Drugs, I seem to be blessed with quick recovery... so I exploit that. I doubt God much cares that I run marathons close together, but it impresses chicks.

I don't know, but after running 25,000 mile in 5.75 years and only a 2:45 to show - I think God did not bless me with 2:15 speed either.

Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

Buckeye

posted: 4/27/2009 at 9:35 PM
modified: 4/27/2009 at 9:39 PM

Quote from DoppleBock on 4/27/2009 at 9:23 PM:

I don't know, but after running 25,000 mile in 5.75 years and only a 2:45 to show - I think God did not bless me with 2:15 speed either.

That may be true ... but certainly does not make you slow nor not a great runner as you could out run 99.5% of the world population if we could get everyone to toe the line. Reminds me of a quote from Rudy .... "You're 5 foot nothin', 100 and nothin', and you have barely a speck of athletic ability. And you hung in there with the best college football players in the land for 2 years. And you're gonna walk outta here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame. In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself. And after what you've gone through, if you haven't done that by now, it ain't gonna never happen" in that quote we are to give all we can do and maybe a little more ... and that should be a great thing!

"It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it Great!

Doug B

posted: 4/27/2009 at 9:45 PM

Quote from DoppleBock on 4/27/2009 at 9:23 PM:

I don't know, but after running 25,000 mile in 5.75 years and only a 2:45 to show - I think God did not bless me with 2:15 speed either.

I say this with the utmost respect. God didn't make many people who can run a 2:45 marathon on a 200+ pound frame. Not many at all. In fact... you are the only one I know of. I'm sure there are more but there are not many. I think of it like this... Spud Webb played in the NBA. He even won a dunk contest. Was he a great NBA player? No. But he was 5'-7" tall for crying out loud and he was in the NBA! You my friend are like Spud Webb. I'm serious. And it is supposed to be a compliment.

DoppleBock

posted: 4/28/2009 at 8:27 AM

Quote from Doug B on 4/27/2009 at 9:45 PM:

I say this with the utmost respect. God didn't make many people who can run a 2:45 marathon on a 200+ pound frame. Not many at all. In fact... you are the only one I know of. I'm sure there are more but there are not many. I think of it like this... Spud Webb played in the NBA. He even won a dunk contest. Was he a great NBA player? No. But he was 5'-7" tall for crying out loud and he was in the NBA! You my friend are like Spud Webb. I'm serious. And it is supposed to be a compliment.

And this is where I have failed to reach my genetic potential - The deamon that haunts me - Spud did not control his height. I need to weight 175-180 before I know the answer to personal potential.

Long dead ... But my stench lingers !

Purdey

Self anointed title

posted: 4/28/2009 at 9:04 AM

99.9% of us are mediocre runners. How you view others' performances depends largely on where you are as a runner yourself. I bet that Wanjiru would regard Jeff's 2:36 as pretty mediocre. I regard it as astonishingly good. But then I guess Jeff is built to run marathons fast - DB's achievements are even more astonishing given his frame. Horses for courses my friends. Oh. And yes. There are fewer fast (sub 2:15) marathoners in the world than there were in 1988. And a much higher percentage of those that are left are from Africa.

mikeymike

posted: 4/28/2009 at 9:13 AM
modified: 4/28/2009 at 9:13 AM

Quote from Purdey on 4/28/2009 at 9:04 AM:

Jeff's 2:36 as pretty mediocre.

You mean the one he's going to run this weekend?

Oh. And yes. There are fewer fast (sub 2:15) marathoners in the world than there were in 1988. And a much higher percentage of those that are left are from Africa.

Are there? I know there are a lot fewer people going sub 2:50 but I sort of figured that was due to there being fewer weekend warriors getting after it. Are there really fewer guys going sub 2:15? It seems the opposite...there were 13 Kenyans (a few Ethiopians, etc.) who ran faster than 2:09 in the past two weeks.

Runners run

Minderbender

posted: 4/28/2009 at 9:29 AM

Where have all the good runners gone? This is what I usually ask myself about a mile into any race!

Doug B

posted: 4/28/2009 at 9:31 AM

Quote from Minderbender on 4/28/2009 at 9:29 AM:

Where have all the good runners gone? This is what I usually ask myself about a mile into any race!

word. I ask that at the first bend in the road.

Where have all the good runners gone? (Read 1621 times)