Agree of disagree: Paul Chelmo, "The 5000m is all in the mind. It's only about 75 percent fitness. The rest is mental.

Matches my experience. I can mentally checkout in a marathon, half, even a 10k to some extent, and still run well for my abilities. To do well at a 5k requires focus really early in the race and gets painful pretty quick. A mile hurts more, but it's over much quicker.

I'm awed by that photo finish. Top five are all airborne. Not one foot on the track.

On Topic.
As Albert Einstein might say: It's all a matter of relativity. The better you feel (physically) during a race, the better you feel mentally. And vice versa.

I’m guessing what he is trying to say is that with any group of Olympic 5000 meter runners with similar physical talent the only difference is mental? And I’m guessing when he says “mental” he’s referring to drive, desire, and a type of mental willpower? If this is true then I disagree. When you are in the final lap of an Olympic 5000 and you have 4 or 5 people who could win, all the “mental” ability in the world is not going to help you if you make a stupid tactical decision and get yourself boxed in or out of position. I guess one could be charitable and in include “good tactical skills” as part of what one would call “mental” but I don't think that is what he is referring to.

I'd like to hear more from "Chelmo" on what the mental game is. Ali said he won half his fights before they started by taunting and gaslighting his opponents at press conferences, and during the fight, provoking them into rash or timid tactics.

Inigo San Millan, coach of 2x TdF champ Tadej Pogacar, says at the elite level Vo2 max has no correlation to predicting victory. What separates Pogacar is his freakishly efficient mitochondria via training/genes (which some others have), his ability to recover very quickly, and his mentality of being calm, patient, analytical, and despite a young age, knowing when to take risks.

Shaquile O'Neal kinda goes opposite of Chelimo, saying that everyone has the will to win, it's those who have the will to train smart day after day for months, doing all the 1000s of necessary things, that end up being a champion. Team sport (some include biking as a team) may have different mental demands than running.

I've thought a lot about the mental side of running recently so this thread is timely for me.

Basically my perception of what being strong mentally has historically been pinpointed around the moments where the race gets hard and having some special ability to block out the parts that are hard to push through.

Now I think this is backwards. The most important mental work that happens around a 5k or any other race is in the time leading up to the race and in the early stages of the race.

Consider this, your brain uses more energy than any other muscle in your body. So if in the hours leading up to and in the early stages of a race you can quiet your brain and minimize the energy it needs, then there will be more energy left for your whole body as the race hits the hardest moments.

qbi.uq.edu.au

How your brain makes and uses energy

Mitochondria are essential energy powerhouses that are essential for our cells to funtion.

Link:qbi.uq.edu.au/brain/nature-discovery/h...

In my first 2 years in college I had something of a mental block preventing my 5k times from keeping up with my 1500 and 10k performances. I would come through 2 miles close to my high school 2 mile PR and then fall apart. I had a lot of anxiety over that pattern and it seemed a self fulfilling prophesy.

Then I got into a fast heat at one of the invites at University of Washington. I was the slowest guy in the race so my plan was very simple, hang on for dear life. Also, it was my first time on an irregular length track, so even though splits were called out at each mile, I could barely hear them and I had little sense for where in the race I was. Then the bell lap shook me up and off I went to a huge PR.

Sure, I was fit and ready for that PR, but I also think the super simple race plan and the funky track helped me conquer the distance. After that race I was able to be much more consistent about closing out 5ks no matter what the track looked like.

What does "agree of disagree" mean, and who is Paul "Chelmo"?

A+

As with most Kenyans, Paul Chelimo has "0" clue as to how gifted he is...I like to say "Blessed". Yes, he trains hard, yes he deserves every bit of credit and praise for his amazing career, but Paul couldn't coach a middle school track team. To make a statement like that is not idiotic or stupid, it's that he doesn't know any better. The 5000m race is a wicked distance to master and perform well in. A blend of endurance and speed that requires aggressiveness and patience at the same time.

Long Live The Five!!!!!

Nothing is mental. You can't just believe your way through it. It's all about being prepared and the training. What is mental is still physical. You have to train your brain to override your fear of collapse. This speaks to the idea that one runner is mentally tougher than another. This idea is silly to me. Anyone who can sustain a six minute mile or faster over a 5k is already mentally tough. The rest is just training. Sometimes the training might not work for you.

re: "in the time leading up to the race"

Reminds me of Rupp calming sitting down at the start of the Oly trials marathon.

Image:i.redd.it/anq7qzf8eyj41.jpg

One of the most mentally confident 5k i've watched was Jakobs WC 5000m win, starting at the back of the pack, running mostly in 11th place till halfway, moving up to the front and gaslighting the field by getting water (who does that!?) basically saying: you chumps are no threat to me, and you know it.

And, if you have two runners neck and neck going into the finish line only one will work. Are you going to say that one was just mentally weaker than the other or that one just wasn't as fast on that day in the last 50. What makes racing great to is one might think back about where they can improve next time. It takes the course of time to master the race.

I don't know about precise percentages, but I think races like the 3000 and 5000 are quite dependent on mental state. There have been times when I've been in more or less identical (or superior) physical shape, but run terribly in races at these distances. On the occasions where I ran terribly, there has always been a theme of underlying psychological stress from things outside of running. When things got tough, I couldn't convince myself to dial in.

My impression is that to maintain your optimal 3-5k pace, it takes a lot of mental energy. If that mental energy is any way compromised by other stuff, you'll have a tough time maintaining things when it gets tough. For shorter races you can gut it out, for longer ones I think the mental stress has to be more considerable to have a huge impact.

Interesting book on this topic. Not sure it answers any questions definitely but a good read.

Completely wrong. The 800m is the last event in which you can gut out a decent time with terrible pacing. 400m for average joe's.

He is trying to be Yogi Berra with his funny numbers?

Problem is he never won the big one. I recall a minor medal somewhere, I guess that's good enough to say funny things. That's good PR.

But here's the facts: there is no mental vs physical. It's the same thing! Body and mind, no difference. Master this Zen wisdom and PR

I look forward to him winning gold in this Years World Championships

Its all in the mind!

Coe is going for the 800/1500m double again. This time he will finally win the 800m on pure hatred. Cram (injured pre-season) will be spitting feathers commentating on this one. Ovett is unavailable for comment.

I have noticed this before. Athletes are content that they are genetically more gifted than us.:

They work harder and are mentally stronger and tactically more intelligent than the rest of us!

I find it so motivating when a young athlete after a big win starts spouting life advice that's just the best.

Of course the difference between gold and silver may be mental strength but 10th?. Usually even the 1st 3 is down to basic speed. eg Tergat / Geb - the surprise is it was actually that close

How often do we see the faster fresher runner come second? Most of the time the winner looks like a winner. They finish just that bit better - or even a whole lot better.

But all sport is to some extent mental - even at a relatively modest level. Once we are up against equal opposition a mental edge is required, no less than at a top level. But physical capacity will determine your level at which you can compete, whether it is turkey trot or world championship. Being smarter, more tactically aware or even just more determined is what separates an athlete from their peers; and beating your equals or near equals is the only time the mental edge counts.

This feels correct to me. I dont how guys run run close to 4 min mile pace for 5k! Its seems crazy. Nevertheless i will share Paul's comments with my team!

What I've found is the 5k puzzle article is a good intro to balanced 5k training.

runnersworld.com

Solving the 5K Puzzle

An effort-based route to success

Link:www.runnersworld.com/advanced/a2080685...

It builds your ability to do all of it correctly and in the right order. That's the key. As Magill said, people try to do parts of it well and hope it comes together on race day. Such as doing intervals and hoping to string them together, or doing volume and hoping you magically get faster, etc.