Recently a powerlifting buddy of mine "ran" a local 150 mile race and did quite well (finished top 20) with literally zero running training. All he does is powerlift 3-4x/week (squats and deadlifts 2x + lots of leg accessories) and walks 25-35 miles/week with a heavy weighted vest. Also does a lot of the stairmaster.
This got me thinking - is this type of training ultimately "better" for grindy long races vs. traditional training of high running mileage? Seems like physical fitness only gets you so far, at some point you need a ton of leg strength to get you over the finish line.