Pat Porter's training

Keep in mind that those times were run at altitude. =)

how did Pat Porter run at worlds? did they have world xc champs when he was around?

Read "Better Training for Distance Runners" by Coe & Martin and you'll find out what you want to know.

Porter finished in the top 10 at the World XC Championships 4 times with a highest finish of 4th in 1984.

all of vigil's course's are short or atleast make up for the altitude.

whatyouknow wrote:

all of vigil's course's are short or atleast make up for the altitude.

The distance really didn't matter much. It is more about how you progressed throughout the season and year to year on the same courses that matter.

1983

1 36:52 Bekele Debele (1963.03.12) 20.008 ETH

2 36:52 Carlos Lopes (1947.02.18) 36.030 POR

3 36:52 Some Muge (1959. . ) 23/24y KEN

4 36:53 Alberto Salazar (1958.08.07) 24.225 USA

5 36:56 Antonio Prieto (1958.01.11) 25.068 ESP

6 37:00 Rob de Castella (1957.02.27) 26.021 AUS

7 37:05 Dave Clarke (1958.01.01) 25.078 ENG

8 37:10 Ezequiel Canario (1960.04.10) 22.344 POR

9 37:12 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 23.293 USA

1984

1 33:25 Carlos Lopes (1947.02.18) 37.036 POR

2 33:30 Tim Hutchings (1958.12.04) 25.112 ENG

3 33:32 Steve Jones (1955.08.04) 28.234 WAL

4 33:34 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 24.299 USA

5 33:41 Wilson Waigwa (1949.02.15) 35.039 KEN

6 33:46 Ed Eyestone (1961.06.15) 22.284 USA

7 33:51 Pierre Levisse (1952.02.21) 32.033 FRA

8 33:52 Bekele Debele (1963.03.12) 21.013 ETH

9 33:52 Adugna Lema (1963. . ) 20/21y ETH

10 33:54 Francesco Panetta (1963.01.10) 21.075 ITA

11 33:58 Alberto Cova (1958.12.01) 25.115 ITA

12 34:01 Christoph Herle (1955.11.19) 28.127 FRG

13 34:01 John Treacy (1957.06.04) 26.295 IRL

14 34:03 Niels Kim Hjorth (1959.06.29) 24.270 DEN

15 34:04 Martti Vainio (1950.12.30) 33.086 FIN

16 34:06 Mohammed Kedir (1953.09.06) 30.201 ETH

17 34:07 Craig Virgin (1955.08.02) 28.236 USA

1985

1 33:33 Carlos Lopes (1947.02.18) 38.034 POR

2 33:37 Paul Kipkoech (1963.06.01) 21.296 KEN

3 33:38 Wodajo Bulti (1957.03.11) 28.013 ETH

4 33:45 Bekele Debele (1963.03.12) 22.012 ETH

5 33:48 John Treacy (1957.06.04) 27.293 IRL

6 33:51 Kassa Balcha (1955.12.05) 29.109 ETH

7 33:53 Christoph Herle (1955.11.19) 29.125 FRG

8 33:54 Abdelrazzak Bounour (1957.01.11) 28.072 ALG

9 33:56 Pierre Levisse (1952.02.21) 33.031 FRA

10 33:57 Bruce Bickford (1957.03.12) 28.012 USA

11 33:59 Fernando Mamede (1951.11.01) 33.143 POR

12 34:02 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 25.297 USA

13 34:04 Antonio Leitão (1960.07.22) 24.245 POR

14 34:06 Andrew Masai (1960.12.13) 24.101 KEN

15 34:08 Viktor Chumakov (1959.09.07) 25.198 URS

16 34:09 Ed Eyestone (1961.06.15) 23.282 USA

17 34:10 Boniface Merande (1962.02.13) 23.039 KEN

18 34:12 Dave Lewis (1961.10.15) 23.160 ENG

19 34:12 Craig Virgin (1955.08.02) 29.234 USA

20 34:17 Rob de Castella (1957.02.27) 28.025 AUS

1986

1 35:32.9 John Ngugi (1962.05.10) 23.316 KEN

2 35:34.8 Abebe Mekonnen (1964.01.09) 22.072 ETH

3 35:39.8 Joseph Kiptum (1956. . ) 29/30y KEN

4 35:42.6 Bekele Debele (1963.03.12) 23.010 ETH

5 35:47.2 Paul Kipkoech (1963.06.01) 22.294 KEN

6 35:48.4 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 26.295 USA

7 35:54.8 Kipsubai Koskei (1951.02.01) 35.049 KEN

8 35:55.7 Some Muge (1959. . ) 26/27y KEN

9 35:58.8 Alberto Cova (1958.12.01) 27.111 ITA

10 35:59.9 John Easker (1963.05.30) 22.296 USA

11 36:03.9 Ezequiel Canario (1960.04.10) 25.346 POR

12 36:05 Thierry Watrice (1957.01.23) 29.058 FRA

13 36:05.9 Ed Eyestone (1961.06.15) 24.280 USA

14 36:10.9 Rob de Castella (1957.02.27) 29.023 AUS

15 36:12.1 Bruce Bickford (1957.03.12) 29.010 USA

1987

1 36:07 John Ngugi (1962.05.10) 24.316 KEN

2 36:07 Paul Kipkoech (1963.06.01) 23.294 KEN

3 36:51 Paul Arpin (1960.02.20) 27.030 FRA

4 36:53 Abebe Mekonnen (1964.01.09) 23.072 ETH

5 36:54 Some Muge (1959. . ) 27/28y KEN

6 37:01 Andrew Masai (1960.12.13) 26.099 KEN

7 37:04 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 27.295 USA

8 37:08 Paul McCloy (1963.11.06) 23.136 CAN

9 37:09 Bruno Le Stum (1959.12.25) 27.087 FRA

10 37:10 Dave Clarke (1958.01.01) 29.080 ENG

11 37:11 Steve Moneghetti (1962.09.26) 24.177 AUS

12 37:11 Ed Eyestone (1961.06.15) 25.280 USA

1988

1 34:32 John Ngugi (1962.05.10) 25.321 KEN

2 34:54 Paul Kipkoech (1963.06.01) 24.299 KEN

3 35:07 Kipsubai Koskei (1951.02.01) 37.054 KEN

4 35:22 Boniface Merande (1962.02.13) 26.042 KEN

5 35:25 Abebe Mekonnen (1964.01.09) 24.077 ETH

6 35:25 Moses Tanui (1965.08.20) 22.219 KEN

7 35:46 Joseph Kiptum (1956. . ) 31/32y KEN

8 35:46 Kiprotich Rono (1958.01.04) 30.082 KEN

9 35:48 Some Muge (1959. . ) 28/29y KEN

10 35:49 Haji Bulbula (1961. . ) 26/27y ETH

28 36:26 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 28.300 USA

1989

1 39:42 John Ngugi (1962.05.10) 26.313 KEN

2 40:10 Tim Hutchings (1958.12.04) 30.105 GBR

3 40:21 Wilfred Kirochi (1969.12.12) 19.097 KEN

4 40:24 Steve Moneghetti (1962.09.26) 26.174 AUS

5 40:26 Tesfaye Tafa (1962.11.15) 26.124 ETH

6 40:29 Alejandro Gómez (1967.04.11) 21.342 ESP

7 40:32 Andrew Masai (1960.12.13) 28.096 KEN

8 40:34 Kipkemboi Kimeli (1966.11.30) 22.109 KEN

9 40:42 Moses Tanui (1965.08.20) 23.211 KEN

10 40:45 John Halvorsen (1966.08.17) 22.214 NOR

11 40:48 Bruno Le Stum (1959.12.25) 29.084 FRA

12 40:51 Francesco Panetta (1963.01.10) 26.068 ITA

13 40:53 Bekele Debele (1963.03.12) 26.007 ETH

14 40:55 Gary Staines (1963.07.03) 25.259 GBR

15 40:56 Dave Clarke (1958.01.01) 31.077 GBR

16 40:57 Joseph Kiptum (1956. . ) 32/33y KEN

30 41:31 Ed Eyestone (1961.06.15) 27.277 USA

31 41:31 Pat Porter (1959.05.31) 29.292 USA

Regardless of the short "mile" in Alamosa, I guarantee you Porter trained like an animal. He had the ability to hammer day after day.

A typical week in the fall/winter for Porter went as follows...

Sun- 20 miles

Mon- 16x600 on grass, with about 150m recovery

Tue- 12 miles in the mountains/hills outside of Alamosa

Wed- 10-12 miles

Thu- 6x1 mile - 3 min recovery at most

Fri- 8-12 miles

Sat- 10 mile tempo runs

This does not include his a.m. runs during the week. I'm not sure his weekly total during XC training - probably somewhere between 100-120. Maybe someone else on here remembers?

don't forget, he played Viren in Without Limits...

irun wrote:

how did Pat Porter run at worlds? did they have world xc champs when he was around?

World XC goes way back. It used to be an actual race over a cross country course. Not the multi-loop crit time trial it is today. And get this...they used to have everyone run the same distance. Simply amazing.

Did he ever attempt the Marathon?

He did on at least one occasion, as I recall, by that time in his career he was having trouble with PF.

Good stats Malmo. Things that jump out at me:

Carlos Lopes:

* came within less than a second of winning 3 straight World Cross races at the age of 36, 37, 38.

* Won world X-C races an astonishing DECADE apart ('76 and '85). Finished with Three world x-c wins and two silvers (not to mention Olympic 10k silver and Marathon gold, and marathon WR).

* was God...... ( :- ) )

Pat Porter:

* in the mid/late '80's when the East Africans started to really put their big imprint on world cross races, Pat Porter was FIRST NON-AFRICAN TWICE, and second non-african once. Pretty damn good. Three times he was better than virtually every runner in the world not from East Africa. Quite a feat, really.

* Ed Eyestone and Bruce Bickford had some very high finishes.

What was Porter's mile PR, did he ever run a serious one?

I used to have one of those runner's calendars with quotes on it back when I was in high school. There was one by Pat Porter about training at altitude in Alamosa:

"I once ran an all-out mile up here. I did 4:01. I can't describe to you what that was like. I saw God".

So if he could run a 4:01 in practice at altitude, he probably could have done a decent one on the track at sea level.

As much as I admire Pat, that "mile" wasn't on a track. No doubts that he could do it, but he wasn't running 4:01 at 7000ft.

Agreed, it's not a full mile.

Miles are shorter in Alamosa wrote:

As much as I admire Pat, that "mile" wasn't on a track. No doubts that he could do it, but he wasn't running 4:01 at 7000ft.

How do you know?

I know, I was there. Those "miles" are run at a park and they are not a full mile. However, it doesn't take away from how hard Porter trained, particularly when you consider the 7,500 ft. elevation.

Average_Joe wrote:

Miles are shorter in Alamosa wrote:

As much as I admire Pat, that "mile" wasn't on a track. No doubts that he could do it, but he wasn't running 4:01 at 7000ft.

How do you know?