Anyone else shocked by what these ultra trail runners ran for their turkey trots

A big thing to remember is, despite Lets Run's hate, these are elite runners in their respective event. Even if ultra/mountain running isn't as competitive as mainline track & field, they likely have the potential to run in the 13's or at least low 14's. So for them to go out & run a 15 or 16 minute 5k is a lot less big of a deal than your averagely talented runner.

Also, to address your "maybe they're on to something" comment, most casual runners are running far too few miles to reach their full potential. Not that mileage is the only way to get faster, however, every high-level runner you can name spent the first 10 years of their career elevating their weekly mileage, before gradually reducing it to take on greater intensity.

15 to 16 5K for pro runners is still an amateur hour. You didn't really expect them to run pitiful 17 min and be doing this for living?

There is zero overlap of abilities of a 13-16 minute 5k track runner to a trail ultrarunner.

Most people commenting here have a track background and they have no idea what skill is needed to succeed in trail ultrarunning.

But hey, if you think it's easy just do one and report back.

Several here have pointed out that you overlooked that these are elite athletes, and it should be no surprise they can run in the 15-16 minute range off of a mostly aerobic base.

However, your other mistake is the assumption bolded above: that their training is just jogging around for a while. You probably see their 11:00/mile average pace for a 22 mile, 7000 foot run and think "how incredibly slow lol" without a real appreciation of how much elevation, vert, and technicality play a role. I promise you that any 17-minute 5k roadie would get absolutely torn up on a 4 hour long run at 11 minute miles with a top (or even decent) trail runner. Both aerobically on the climbs and lack of skill/leg strength on the descents.

Also, the top guys are in fact doing workouts, not just jogging around: hill repeats, tempos, everything else. You just don't notice they're tempoing on Strava because its at 8:00 pace on a rocky trail that climbs 400 feet per mile.

There aren't very many pure "mountain-trail" ultramarathon guys that run in the 13s for 5km. There are probably a lot that ran (or could run) in the 14s and 15-min range though.
It's all about having a great aerobic base and being a decent distance runner all around. That's why I always say most top ultramarathon guys (even mountain running!) can go at least sub 2:25 in the marathon....and most are sub 2:20......with some in the sub 2:15 range. It correlates very well with all distance running performances.

And there is a huge difference between a 14-min 5km and a 16-min 5km! I ran a low 16-min for 5km as a freshman in high school....but only got down to 14:29 in college as all all-time PR. Still, that's going to give you enough "speed" to win something like the Pikes Peak Ascent or Speedgoat 50km etc.

If you can run anywhere near a 15:00 5000m, and you think you could only run around 16:30 off base training, there's something completely wrong with your base training.

Sage is always a great example that a 14:30 5k guy is not really 100 mile material. He has yet to finish that distance.

He got 12th & top American at the 95-mile TDS this year. Not quite 100 mile but pretty darn close wouldn't you say?

Sure that's close but how long did it take until he had this DNF at the Steamboat 100 in 2016. 6 years.

what have you ever done? nothing? thought so.

And in the interim he was tearing it up at the 50k-100k distance, when healthy. Would you say that someone focusing on the 10k-half marathon for a few years is proof that they aren't marathon material? People have different strengths and preferences and that's no reason to denigrate them as an athlete.

Whalmsly ran 4:01 and 13:x and 8:3x steeple in college,

Max king made 2 steeple finals for the Olympic trials one of those years he had done multiple ultras that year. He also finished near the top of the marathon trials with the same type of training. Patrick Smyth also had a decent trials on 2016 and has a 1:01 half pr.

Matt Daniel broke 4 in college and is top 10 all time at western states.

Whalmsly isn't even best marathoner of the ultra runners the US has had over the last decade and he broke 14.

I spend my life running ultras. I had the pleasure to run with some of the greats in the sport. While I am just a hobby jogger my running resume is not too shabby.

Now that is a funny comment.
People denigrate ultrarunners here all the time. They have exactly the different strength and preferences needed to do these long races.

now if we can just raise a new generation of *young* runners with this attitude that are willing to listen to their coaches

It's probably the same 2 or 3 dorks that badmouth almost everything on LRC. That's how they get their kicks.

then why are you hating on a fellow ultra runner? let him live

That’s the point i’m making. I have a 14:56 PB and a 16:30 is always doable even when I’m training as a 4/8 guy, or for a marathon, or even when I don’t have aim and I’m just getting outside and running 3-10 miles every other day I can still run 16:30.

No one should be shocked that guys who put up low 14s or high 13s in college can run a 15:30 or 16:00 5k even though they haven’t been doing anything other than running up and down hills/mountains anywhere from 6 to 12 minute mile pace.

I love it.

”Jogging through the mountains” (what a phrase…) is FUN for some, so how could it possibly require talent?

I’m kidding, of course, and love the bee in the bonnet of those bashing it.

There’s a rush in the beauty and adrenaline of mountain and trail running. Not everyone needs fast road times to validate themselves. It’s cool when they get those too - but they might not be running solely for the fast times that 90% of the haters wish they had.

The fact is most people aren’t professional-caliber athletes. Those that are, well, maybe they’re missing out on just a bit of the joy that comes from running like a banshee in the woods. They find their joy in different ways (like not having to grind away at a 9-5, having incredible running resources, chasing those track times, etc).

I suppose my thought is … just let people be. Respect that there are more ways to succeed and get fit than being a purist road runner.