Shalane is showing us how easy ultra running is

ultra thon bro wrote:

WinnytheBish wrote:

Do you know what else is hard? Running head first into a wall for 24 hours. Should that be a respected discipline as well? Just because it's hard doesn't mean it's a valid sport. It's just what weak-minded people do when they can't handle the acute pain of a shorter distance.

Bro, who hurt you as a child? Ultras are as valid of a sport as any other foot race. Racing from point A to point B, first one over the line wins. How is this comparable to self harm of hitting your head against a wall for 24 hours. Sorry bro that ultra runners make you feel insecure for whatever reason. Did one beat you recently at your local 5k or something?

I guess it's a valid sport that real runners would dominate if they felt like it

Does anybody on this thread really think Shalane wouldn't dominate the ultramarathon scene just because there's some sticks on the ground?

WinnytheBish wrote:

Does anybody on this thread really think Shalane wouldn't dominate the ultramarathon scene just because there's some sticks on the ground?

She might. But uh, those “sticks” aren’t as easy to deal with as these LR people think. I’m a 2:33 marathoner with lots of ultra experience and I’d get smoked by elite female ultramarathoners, especially at the 100 mile distance. They would literally finish, take a nap, eat, and then wait another hour at the finish line for me. Trail running is a skill that non-ultra runners seem to have no appreciation whatsoever for.

WinnytheBish wrote:

Does anybody on this thread really think Shalane wouldn't dominate the ultramarathon scene just because there's some sticks on the ground?

How much time have you spent running on really technical trails or climbing a lot of vert? Not a ultra but just one example:

Me personally I think shalane could do very well in comrades or a ultra like that elite marathoners do well in. But when you get in to very technical trails with lots of vert it becomes a different beast. Sure eliud kipchoge could crush Killian Jornet in a flat non technical 50k or 100k. But in the mountains on a hard rock 100 course, even if you gave kipchoge a year to prepare, he would still lose to the top guys like Killian Jornet. It's like thinking the top 100m guys would crush the top 800m guys if you gave them time to train.

Tommy2Nuttz wrote:

Its not worth it financially for an E African to run an ultra. The return on investment is awful why would they? All those miles in training for what? American ultra runners always live well. They dont need prize money to live. Put some real money on the line and see what happens.

Africans dont run for fun, its a deadly serious job. Run and win or starve,

This. If there was serious money in ultras you'd start to see more east Africans do it.

24hrs at 5min pace? You have no idea what you're talking about.

While it can certainly be said that the professional ultra scene is much less competitive than road marathons (this is simply due to the huge difference in the # of runners participating in each sport, access to the sports and, importantly, $ motivation), it is a big mistake to think that skill at shorter distances necessarily translates to skill at longer distances.

I enjoy running ultra distances but am far less competitive at those distances relative to 10k-10m distance (or even marathons); there are folk I would smoke in a 5k or 10k who can easily beat me at 50m. As the race time increases into the 5hr, 10hr, 15hr+ range (and elevation becomes significant), very different metabolic (and mental) factors come into play. Good ultra runners have to be very efficient, very resistant to muscle pounding/fatigue and have a really good mental game.

Of course, there are many runners who focus on road/track racing who would be fantastic at the ultra distances. If there were decent $ in ultra racing (and it could be done more sustainably), I have no doubt the east Africans would dominate. Some good shorter distance runners, however, will find they become much less competitive when they try out very long distances. So, if you've never tried racing those distances (this is very different from just completing the distance), don't knock it.

Reading this thread its quite easy to see who have set a foot outside of pavement or not. Quite entertaining.

WinnytheBish wrote:

I guess it's a valid sport that real runners would dominate if they felt like it

Comrades didn't go so well for Kipchoge's brother.

Clearly you jogged it.

To all the “ultra running is easy” people. Marathons are also easy when you run them slow. Maybe try running road ultras at sub 4 min pace. No that’s easy, try a mountain race at sub 5 min pace. No that’s also easy, try breaking a world record. Wait, I’m talking to people who barely run under 18 mins.

The issue with Shalane is not that she can run solid marathons 5 weeks in a row: the question is, could she run them all at the same time?

WinnytheBish wrote:

well,, wrote:

The weekly ultra bashing thread. Next, please.

Have fun jogging 12 minute pace through a forest searching for where to take the next selfie.

That does sound like fun. Thanks!

WinnytheBish wrote:

Have fun jogging 12 minute pace through a forest searching for where to take the next selfie.

This is simply the long distance equivalent of you nerds getting hot under the collar for US runners finishing 5-10 minutes off the pace in any marathon to a random Kenyan stud or still trying to convince yourselves Rupp is a contender.

WinnytheBish wrote:

well,, wrote:

The weekly ultra bashing thread. Next, please.

Have fun jogging 12 minute pace through a forest .

That IS fun. That’s the point. That’s why you do it.

Also, you can only go so fast uphill at elevation.

Road ultrarunning, probably you're right. But road ultrarunning is basically Comrades and some otherworldly crazy stuff like 24 and 72h (98% mindset, 2% athletic fitness). As for trail running, maybe I am only quarter decent at marathons (I had a bad day in Chicago and finished right next to Shalane, got a fist bump from her), but I know for sure it requires some skills which can be trained and which I don't have, like downhill running on rough terrain.

John___Matrix wrote:

WinnytheBish wrote:

Have fun jogging 12 minute pace through a forest searching for where to take the next selfie.

This is simply the long distance equivalent of you nerds getting hot under the collar for US runners finishing 5-10 minutes off the pace in any marathon to a random Kenyan stud or still trying to convince yourselves Rupp is a contender.

It's more telling that the world's best distance runners don't take ultras seriously enough to waste their time. It's just a bunch of white people who work at Orange Theory and pretend visits to Shake Shack after each jogfest is "fueling."

This premise assumes that ultras are basically flat big city races being run by someone who is a major champion. Shalane is proving that she is still an elite caliber runner. The very best runners are on the track/roads. But Shalane would still have to train for something like Western States. Maybe she is showing she is built for the ultra life but that doesn't extend to everyone in the sport.

A 34% incline isn't running.

WinnytheBish wrote:

Does anybody on this thread really think Shalane wouldn't dominate the ultramarathon scene just because there's some sticks on the ground?

Shalane would win any ultra in the world very easily if she were motivated to do so.