Let Us Introduce You To The 21 Yr Old Robertson Twins of NZ - Been Living In Kenya For 4 Yrs Training To Be World's Best

Rojo, it would be really interesting to know what their times were before going to Kenya to train. If you have any info, please post it.

Disregard the b***hole troll who posted first. Just another jealous runner who cannot compete with either of these runners.

That won't tell you much because they were 17 when they left so of course their times will be slower.I am not convince that going to Kenya to train is the most effective way to follow your dream of being a professional runner.

what about before wrote:

Rojo, it would be really interesting to know what their times were before going to Kenya to train. If you have any info, please post it.

Disregard the b***hole troll who posted first. Just another jealous runner who cannot compete with either of these runners.

Weren't these the same two guys that ran at that "Run Through History" race in Belgrade against Menjo? I seem to remember them doing okay. This is an old story (good, but old).

If you know their times before they went to Kenya you can check their progression, and compare it to other runners. If the improvement amount is better than other runners, from 17 to 21, then that is what I would be interested in, and what runners on letsrun would be interested in.

I don't want to ruin your idea but that won't tell you much. It is very difficult to predict someones progression from 17-21 so you can't compare an N of 2 to some hypothetical average runner. What might have been more interesting is if they did the same training but one stayed home and one went to Kenya.

What about before wrote:

If you know their times before they went to Kenya you can check their progression, and compare it to other runners. If the improvement amount is better than other runners, from 17 to 21, then that is what I would be interested in, and what runners on letsrun would be interested in.

Anybody can move to Kenya. Let's see the times that will put them among the world's best.....

13:32 ain't gonna cut it.

Sorry I can't swing from peoples' sacks like 'what about before' and be all bubbly and excited every time I hear some inspirational story about them.

What about before wrote:

If you know their times before they went to Kenya you can check their progression, and compare it to other runners. If the improvement amount is better than other runners, from 17 to 21, then that is what I would be interested in, and what runners on letsrun would be interested in.

I'm going to assume (and hope) that you don't do any type of scientific research.

El terrible` wrote:

Anybody can move to Kenya. Let's see the times that will put them among the world's best.....

13:32 ain't gonna cut it.

Sorry I can't swing from peoples' sacks like 'what about before' and be all bubbly and excited every time I hear some inspirational story about them.

In the video he said it was 13:16. Not bad for 21 years old

In the video I heard 13:16 from one twin and 13:19 from the other. Are they both sub 13:20 athletes? If so I'd say they're doing the right thing. Business saavy as well for them to recognize their marketability.

Will have to see them race to really make a judgment on their potential. Let's see on Sunday.

These guys are the real deal, Jake and Zane finished 5th and 7th respectively at the Belgrade race last fall. The guys who they raced there have run 12:55/26:56 (Menjo), 1:08:58 (Tum), 12:48 (Shaheen) and 7:27/12:46 (Kipchoge).

http://www.iaaf.org/news/kind=100/newsid=58510.html

*1:00:58 for Tum I meant

rojo wrote:

In a day and age when many runners talk about giving it their absolute all to become the best they can possibly be, these two upped and moved to Kenya at age 17 and haven't seen their parents in four years.

Rojo, I understand how the passion evoked by these two young men have triggered an emotional response from you, however, I implore you to retain a modicum of rationality here. The fact of the matter is that they left their home at the immature age of 17 to live in extreme poverty in order to pursue an impossible dream. I greatly resent the notion of runners "giving it there absolute all to become the best they can possibly be" because it leads to destructive and irresponsible behavior like this. Following your dreams is one thing, but following them to this extreme will ultimately lead them to becoming nightmares.

"Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them." If nothing else, I don't believe this quote applies to these guys. They are doing what they love and giving it all to see how good they can be, and in the process hurting noone. I say more power to them.

Thanks for sharing. I actually listened to the whole video and I have to say, I will be rooting for these young fellows. They seem very humble and determined. Best wishes to them.

Absolutely, I'm also rooting for these guys. It doesn't matter whether they become Olympic, or superstar runners or not. Their willingness to try something, and do the best they can, is what impresses me. This point is entirely lost on the troll posting on this thread.

This I suspect is the real reason they went there. They are a fan of the BBC.

Long African Dongs wrote:

I bet these two are just taking so much long African dong to the balloon knot and mouth to get training tips.

Both the twins ran sub 9min 3,000m at 14 y/o, and Jake ran 14min26sec for 5km at 16, and Zane around 3.54 for 1500 (4:11 mile) which would be the fastest they ran before leaving.

As a New Zealander I am take a very keen interest in how the boys go, from the video it looks like they have matured alot. It is so exciting to have two very talented guys just throw themselves at it completely for a few years. So much of our talent in New Zealand never gets realised, very few ever push the boundaries to really see what they are capable of.

Get up the Robertsons!

Cool story. One thing: why are their "5K" times so much faster? Are they among the first runners in history whose road times are better than their track? Something's fishy with that (though the Belgrade race results back 'em up).

In the video they say they haven't raced the shorter distance as much. They plan to do so. Unlike other runners, the twins would be happy with improvements of a few seconds. That is a good mental attitude.