RE: How can the Japanese have so many men at sub-62 for half and so few top-notch 5 and 10K guys?

Check the World Half Marathon results which took place this weekend before you feed me the crap about how great the Japanese are for the half marathon distance.

When I was in College and oppossing teams would run crazy fast times, our coach would always tell us that it is all decided when we RACE ON THE SAME COURSE IN HEAD TO HEAD COMPETITION. That way we can see what it really means.

In college U.S. guys keep focused on getting better at 5000 m. In Japan they move to the half early.

I've seen a lot of stupid posts on this site, but this has to be in the top five.

You're trolling or retarded wrote:

I've seen a lot of stupid posts on this site, but this has to be in the top five.

Care to elaborate, professor?

japanimation wrote:

You're trolling or retarded wrote:

I've seen a lot of stupid posts on this site, but this has to be in the top five.

Care to elaborate, professor?

While I can understand how someone (you) who would write such nonsense would need an explanation, no elaboration is needed for all of us who aren't so mentally deficient.

Pikachu you up wrote:

While I can understand how someone (you) who would write such nonsense would need an explanation, no elaboration is needed for all of us who aren't so mentally deficient.

Oki-dokie, captian of the debate team. I see I will not get a response beyond "you're stupid." It's OK. My son did not learn to effectively communicate his feelings when he disagreed with someone till at least the second grade. So there's hope for you.

I will grant that one of those programs is suspicious (I think everyone knows who that is), but has it occurred to you that the reason for the difference in performance is that certain coaches in the USA have been listening to a certain fellow from Italy and a certain naturalized American from Kenya, and we figured out that the Lydiard crap the Japanese have been following doesn't work?

Japanese are running the same times with the Lydiard crap that Viren ran in the 1970's. The problem is that the world standard for 10000 is about a full minute faster these days. You don't hear Salazar talking about Rupp running marathon long runs in training line Snell; You hear him claiming that Rupp can sprint in 11-flat with a two step running start (you don't have to believe it to note the change in emphasis).

WAKE UP.

coach d wrote:

Japanese are running the same times with the Lydiard crap that Viren ran in the 1970's. The problem is that the world standard for 10000 is about a full minute faster these days. You don't hear Salazar talking about Rupp running marathon long runs in training line Snell; You hear him claiming that Rupp can sprint in 11-flat with a two step running start (you don't have to believe it to note the change in emphasis).

WAKE UP.

So once again the explanation is that Americans are just so much smarter than the Japanese. And the influence of Lagat is huge! Nevermind that probably the greatest marathoner in history trained in Japan, that Japan also has several 27:00 Kenyans training in their country. But once again, they are not smart enough to take advantage of it. Yup, Japan is light-years away from having a coach that discovers that to lower his pupil's PR by like a minute you have to boast about how fast he is over 100 meters.

But he's not the only genius coach. There was that Jamaican coach that discovered you had to eat Yellow Yams to sweep the Olympic 200. The Finn who discovered his athletes needed to contract rare blood diseases that needed hospital visits right before big races. The Chinese coach who discovered turtle soup allowed you to dominate women's running.

Rupp has been Alberto Salazaring his veins for many years and should do well.

Top American distance runners have a LOT more speed than Japanese.

Top Africans even moreso (but not my much).

How many japanese are below 10s for 100m/20s for 200m/45s for 400m/1:45 for 800m and 3:35 for 1500m?

Few, if any.

The japanese are disciplined and have good endurance but in terms of natural talent and speed they have little of either.

Thus, while they are equal to Americans at 13.1 and 26.2, they are nowhere near them at the shorter distances.

Also, track is definitely less of a focus compared to road races, particularly marathons.

unfocused wrote:

Top American distance runners have a LOT more speed than Japanese.

And this "LOT more speed" wasn't doing jack for American distance runners until Salazar discovered it in 2009.

been to japan ? plenty of roads to run on. not crowded after hours in rural areas. thus marathons, ekiden, road races are what they do. top participation sports are judo, karate, kendo, football, road running. for spectating, sumo is number one, followed by baseball. many preps choose to go to specialized vocational/sports high schools if aspiring police, military, athletics, and trade careers.

japanimation wrote:

Why hasn't there been a genius Japanese coach who has discovered that his/her athlete needs to focus on closing speed and open up the floodgates to sub 13 and 27? Are they just lazy and dumb?

Have you ever been to Japan? The 5000m and 10000m aren't nearly as popular as the longer road races. At New Years, all of Japan is at home eating food and drinking beer watching Ekidens the same way US families are watching football on Thanksgiving. They've got races like Fukuoka that are loaded with money, a 2:43 B standard, and if you're slower than 2:48 pace, you get pulled off the course. That's an entirely different way of looking at the sport.

I love this: "Suddenly in 2009 the Americans start running sub 27, sub 13 and the Japanese still remain at 27:40."

Kennedy broke thirteen twice over sixteen years ago and since then, zero should have followed in his wake? The difference between the 1990s and recent years is that men that could be national class 1500m runners are training for longer distances. Rupp has run 3:34.7, the same time that Charlie Gruber ran and he made the Olympic team at 1500m back in 2004. Tegenkamp is another 3:34 man, Solinsky's run 3:35. Ritzenhein is the anomaly, with only a 3:42 best, but his 8:11 two mile suggests that he's better than that. Maree was obviously good at both 1500m and 5000m, but others before him (Centro, Liquori) never got out of the 5000m what they could have.

Look at Fernandez. He's run 3:34 off hobbled together training, was the NCAA 1500m Champion his freshman year (as was Manzano) and everyone knows he's going to be a 10000m/marathon man.

It's the compression socks...you gotta drop a turd in them to get an adequate recovery effect

I was wondering if anyone was going to mention that the Japanese are not generally not nearly as interested in the track distances as we are. Thanks.