Now that the women's wr has dipped under 2:12 we have to take a hard look at US men's marathoning and ask what is wrong? Why can't the US get a large number of men that can run under 2:10? Yes the new world record holder wore the latest version of super shoes, but so are US men who are all struggling to run sub 2:10.
So what has to happen to get US men's marathon running out of its current sad state?
There entire American school sports system is constructed to produce shorter distance specialists. Nothing wrong with that, but then you won´t have scores of sub 2,10 runners.
There entire American school sports system is constructed to produce shorter distance specialists. Nothing wrong with that, but then you won´t have scores of sub 2,10 runners.
This. Just compare it to Japan and where value is placed in school. Not rocket science.
We are still clinging to training methodologies from the 1960s and 1970s. Weekly long runs at slow paces, speed workouts geared towards shorter distances rather than marathon specific pacing, waiting too long to give the marathon a go, etc.
Everyone else has moved on. We are still treating Lydiard as a be all, end all approach.
We are still clinging to training methodologies from the 1960s and 1970s. Weekly long runs at slow paces, speed workouts geared towards shorter distances rather than marathon specific pacing, waiting too long to give the marathon a go, etc.
Everyone else has moved on. We are still treating Lydiard as a be all, end all approach.
Ok 1 decent answer seems like everyone else I simply willing to throw their hands up and simply accept the current state
We are still clinging to training methodologies from the 1960s and 1970s. Weekly long runs at slow paces, speed workouts geared towards shorter distances rather than marathon specific pacing, waiting too long to give the marathon a go, etc.
Everyone else has moved on. We are still treating Lydiard as a be all, end all approach.
Pretty sure that’s how Frank Shorter trained. High mileage, a mostly easy long run, sometimes a pick-up the last 10 miles. Short speed workout during the week. He won Olympic gold and, give him super shoes, he would easily be a sub-2:10 guy.
In the US, everyone tries to train as little as possible to make the most incremental gains as possible rather than just training to run close to elite times.
2:12 guys think, how can I change my training the slightest bit so I can be a 2:11:45 guy? Outside of America, everyone knows that you need to be sub-2:05 to be relevant, so they don’t mess around with those minor drops in time.
It’s the same as how it was in the early 00s in the 5000m. We could not get any of our guys to run sub-13:20 because they were so obsessed with running 13:19.99. Now we have guys running 30 seconds faster.
We are still clinging to training methodologies from the 1960s and 1970s. Weekly long runs at slow paces, speed workouts geared towards shorter distances rather than marathon specific pacing, waiting too long to give the marathon a go, etc.
Everyone else has moved on. We are still treating Lydiard as a be all, end all approach.
Pretty sure that’s how Frank Shorter trained. High mileage, a mostly easy long run, sometimes a pick-up the last 10 miles. Short speed workout during the week. He won Olympic gold and, give him super shoes, he would easily be a sub-2:10 guy.
There entire American school sports system is constructed to produce shorter distance specialists. Nothing wrong with that, but then you won´t have scores of sub 2,10 runners.
But slow track runners to, burn the kids out as they won’t run there is root and breach change required
We are still clinging to training methodologies from the 1960s and 1970s. Weekly long runs at slow paces, speed workouts geared towards shorter distances rather than marathon specific pacing, waiting too long to give the marathon a go, etc.
Everyone else has moved on. We are still treating Lydiard as a be all, end all approach.
Ok 1 decent answer seems like everyone else I simply willing to throw their hands up and simply accept the current state
So, Kenya and Ethiopia, countries where the average income is 2k a year have more sophisticated training plans than the country with the largest economy in the world?
American football is the dominant sport in America, and I would argue that it dominates the track, at least in the fall. Maybe to be #1 we need to play a sport that no other country plays.
Lots and lots of pickup trucks flying down concrete roads all day doesn’t make for the best marathon training in USA but you really have to go against the grain to make it work.
Ok 1 decent answer seems like everyone else I simply willing to throw their hands up and simply accept the current state
A) America is still one of the top players on the international marathon scene. Far from number one, but still one of the better marathon nations after East Africa and Japan. Yes, we are under performing based on our resources and population, but we're not a bottom tier marathon country either. It's namely cultural. The marathon will never be considered a ticket out of poverty here, and we don't have an Ekiden culture like Japan, etc.
B) Apparently there's not really a super attractive group for top level American marathon talent out of college. After NAZ lost Fauble and co., I thought they'd go out and grab some top upcoming Americans to go marathon specific. Instead, they've been signing international runners. Not really sure if it's because they can't attract top American talent, or if it's because they don't think Americans are fastest enough to rep the brand effectively.
Ok 1 decent answer seems like everyone else I simply willing to throw their hands up and simply accept the current state
It’s because this topic has already been discussed ad nauseam here. The simple answer is twofold: 1) our best guys prefer to run shorter distances on the track. 2) there isn’t enough financial support for the collegians in the 13:30-13:45 5K range who might be able to blossom into solid marathoners to stay in the sport after they graduate.
We need a couple of million people all living at a subsistence level at altitude who all know that their best chance at a better life will come from being a world class distance runner, and a culture that treats our successful athletes as national heroes.
Ok 1 decent answer seems like everyone else I simply willing to throw their hands up and simply accept the current state
A) America is still one of the top players on the international marathon scene. Far from number one, but still one of the better marathon nations after East Africa and Japan. Yes, we are under performing based on our resources and population, but we're not a bottom tier marathon country either. It's namely cultural. The marathon will never be considered a ticket out of poverty here, and we don't have an Ekiden culture like Japan, etc.
B) Apparently there's not really a super attractive group for top level American marathon talent out of college. After NAZ lost Fauble and co., I thought they'd go out and grab some top upcoming Americans to go marathon specific. Instead, they've been signing international runners. Not really sure if it's because they can't attract top American talent, or if it's because they don't think Americans are fastest enough to rep the brand effectively.
Why is it so hard to accept the Kenyans and Ethiopians as a group just have better genetics for long distance running? If this weren’t the case, Japan would dominate.
I recall Haille Gabresallassi being asked why Ethiopians are so good at distance running.