Is there any NFL player that could currently run a 4:30 mile?

4:30 is by no means a great physical feat. But being able to run a fast 200 or 400m does not extrapolate to a mile. Decathaletes who train for the 1500m have trouble running that fast, many cant. Same thing applies to most great milers. I bet they would have trouble breaking 5.0 for 40yd. Many linemen can run that fast.

The college I went to just so happened to be outstanding on the decathlon, including placing multipe guys at both indoor and outdoor ncaa's, trials qualifiers, etc. I can promise you that they do not 'train for the 1500.'

A 200 might not mean much for a mile, but a 400 means something. Nobody runs a 400 all out and isn't tired, it tests stamina.

An Olympian decathalete does.

Besides an NFL player certainly doesn't either. So again, no way without specific training

dial it up wrote:

You just proved my point. You are not a high level athlete, thus you can't comprehend what a high level athlete can do (I am not saying I am either). 4:30 is not that fast. Now if we are talking sub 4:10 or something then yes, I think it requires specific training.

So you are saying a high level athlete is someone that can make serious money at it.

Where my 4:04 mile and 3:42 1500 didn't provide a living for me, it gave me the chance to train with and compete against some pretty elite runners.

The context of the original post was :

"The current shape that they're in, not if they trained specifically."

Now a 4:30 mile got to be pretty easy for me but that was because always in training to run fast.

But if I had taken a couple years off from that kind of training and played football, I could not have lined up and run 4:30.

I stated that some football players had the ability but could not do it in the current shape they are in.

I don't think Usain Bolt could do off of his current training and he is certainly a high level athlete that even specifically trains to run.

Decathletes do some specific training to handle the laps.

ummm...... wrote:

Our sport needs Nick Symmonds to challenge publicly any NFL player to an 800 or mile race. Right?

Now that is a dumb comment. He's arguably in the top 5 for 800m in the world. Maybe challenge them in a 400, not HIS event. That's like him playing RB with LB doing their thing.

But to the original question, I would not be surprised if an NFL player could do around 4:30. Those guys hold the greatest amount of athletic talent in the world. 4 67's in a row wouldn't be that big of a problem. They have the mentality to push through the pain.

Those saying no are SLEEPING on these guys. They hold more talent in a broken pinky finger than most of you do in your whole body.

I know exactly what you are saying, you didn't need to say it again. You are not a high level athlete. I was similar to you, just a little bit faster and more geared towards the 800, I was not a high level athlete. It took years and years of dedication for us to get where we were. The guys in question took years and years of dedication to get 100x further in athletics than we ever could.

I trained with one world championships finalist, and one who placed top 5 at usa's twice, they were in another world. A lot of NFL players are in another world that comes after that one.

On a side note, one thing that has to be assumed but I haven't seen discussed is that there would need to be proper motivation, I dont think anyone could half ass a mile in 430

EVERY SINGLE NFL PLAYER COULD BREAK 4:30, THE VAST MAJORITY COULD BREAK 4:10

Weatherford also holds (or held) the Illiniois school record in the heptathlon.

People thinking that zero NFL players could run sub 4:30 are drastically under rating the athletes in the NFL and/or overrating their athletic skills.

How many 16 year olds in the United States can run sub 4:30? It's not that hard.

Exactly. WOMEN do it for christ sake.

Listen: 80% of the energy produced during the mile run is aerobic. The mile requires a SIGNIFICANTLY different type of stress on the body then sprint races, and is SIGNIFICANTLY different even from the 800m. This is all displayed an cited in this link:

http://www.zone5endurance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/GastinGraph1.png

Now listen: the type of effort required in football is very different from the mile run. No one in the NFL is training to run the mile. Rather, their training would more closely resemble the training of a sprinter. As shown, SPRINT RACES =/= DISTANCE RACES in terms of how energy is produced.

Simply put, it is virtually impossible to possess the aerobic strength required to run a 4:30 mile without specific, aerobic oriented training. I believe it is very unlikely that any NFL football players are doing this type of training, because it is of no benefit to them. Therefore, I conclude that no one playing in the NFL is currently capable of running a 4:30 mile.

[However, many players are certainly capable of this feat if they train for it. Some may even be able to run a sub-5 minute mile without specific training. But, 4:30 is simply too fast].

Not one single person here said the NFL mimics the training for a mile. However, much in the same way that I could sit on my ass and gain ten pounds for the next 10 years and still run an 800 under 2:10....there are SOME(see:not all) players in the nfl with the natural capability to run a 4:30 without their training being 80% aerobic.

A lot of your logic and conclusions are faulty but I don't feel like explaining it so I'll leave it at that.

dial it up wrote:

Exactly. WOMEN do it for christ sake.

Sure, but women also run marathons in under 2:20. I would bet all the money I'll ever make for the rest of my life that no NFL player could go out and do that without (or, probably, even with ) special training.

And as the example of decathletes show, good athlete does not imply sub 4:30 miler. And, generally, decathletes are built more like runners than are NFL players.

If they exist, there's no more than a handful that could do it. And, frankly, I'd be pretty surprised if it turns out that any exist.

I went to a perennially good XC high school with at least one kid sub 4:20 in the mile every year and 2 sub 16 in 5K XC.

Literally half of the freshmen and sophomores that showed up first day practice and hadn't really done much over the summer could run 4:40 - 4:50.

Heck didn't German Fernandez run 4:15 as a 13 or 14 year old? If you are playing most downs as a wide receiver or running back, that is a very tiring position.

You sir, are an idiot

The Dingo wrote:

The current shape that they're in, not if they trained specifically. A friend and I were debating.

You figure the only ones who would have a chance are cornerbacks, safetys, wide receivers, running backs, and a select few quarter backs. Linebackers, lineman, tight ends, etc. are way too big.

My initial thought was no. But after thinking, and given the huge number of athletes in the NFL, I could see it being possible.

The answer is no! - based on "current shape that they're in, not if they trained"

There are probably only a few guys who could run a sub-5 mile, but 4:30 requires training. The 6' 2" 185lbs types with some specific endurance training could run 4:30, but the volume of muscle strength and fast-twitch speed work is counter to running a mile. NFL players are sprinters and most sprinters are surprising very poor at anything beyond 400m. I've coached 46x 400m runners who could barely run a sub-5 mile. With that said, most sprinters who are not too muscular can become very good 'middle' distance runners when they train for it; my high school XC team had some of the nations top sprinters.

No. Wrong.

I am not saying that 80% of their training has to be aerobic. I am saying that their aerobic metabolism has to be capable of producing ~80% of the energy needed to run a 4:30 mile -- which is considerable.

I am saying that it is extremely unlikely that anyone in the NFL has that type of aerobic metabolism, because I think that type of metabolism can only be developed through specific aerobic training. Even if someone is naturally gifted with a strong aerobic metabolism, they will still need to develop it further in order to run a 4:30 mile.

Now, you listen...

Nobody has claimed that all the NFL players could run a 4:30.

The question is whether ANY could.

To claim that NO players could run 4:30 is more lame than claiming ALL players could.

Weatherford

An exception as he is a kicker