Why are pretty much all white elite marathoners 2:12 runners?

minus 4 minutes for being white and minus 4 for not using peds. use your brain

It's because they are not fast enough to run with the leader so they end up running in the second pack at 5 minute pace.

Baldini is white and in my recent memory.

Reid Coolsaet just ran 02:10:28 at Berlin.

Five minute mile pace is part of it. 5min miles are "good." Kenyans think 3min per km is "good" (2:06)

fadsfadsfsdf wrote:

Five minute mile pace is part of it. 5min miles are "good." Kenyans think 3min per km is "good" (2:06)

Yes, the very rare exception crack 2:10, but a few do... (Very very few without PED. You probably have more than enough fingers to count them)

The top white guys usually end up running either 2:10, 2:11 or 2:12...

It's been like that for over 30 years...

What's the normal temperature for Los Angelos at 10 a.m. PST on Feb. 13, 2016?

Does it support a 2:09 marathon.

marilson dos santos - multiple marathons under 2:10s

the current list of americans just don't have the talent.

somebloke wrote:

marilson dos santos - multiple marathons under 2:10s

the current list of americans just don't have the talent.

They have the talent-- a ton of guys with HM PRs in the 1:00-1:03 range. They just can't hack it in the marathon. Not sure what the disconnect is, but maybe it is true that they're zoned in on "5:00/mi pace" and can't break this "barrier". Guys from the 70s/80s were zoned in on competing and pushing to the max.

5 white Australians have run sub 2:10

I remember 2012 it seemed like there were a lot of white marathoners at that 214-215 mark. 4 years later we have clipped 2-3 minutes off (vail, curtis, eggleston, cabada are all high 10s, low 11s). The only problem in 2012 the kenya/ethiopia considered 206-208 elite, now they are down to 204-206, if that high.

The 5 minutes/mile argument may be one of the reasons for a few US guys. But that clearly is not the case for europeans, where 2:12 is just 3:08 pace. I ran a 2:13 marathon myself and believe the 2:12 "barrier" is just the physical limit for lots of white runners without taking drugs

sdv wrote:

5 white Australians have run sub 2:10

He means in recent memory.

Quite a few White Americans have also done so.

ı ɥɐp ɐ pɹǝɐɯ ןɐsʇ uıƃɥʇ ʍɥǝɹǝ ǝʌǝɹʎouǝ ʍɐs ndsıpǝ-poʍu ǝxɔǝdʇ ɟoɹ ɯǝ.

ditch the watch wrote:

somebloke wrote:

marilson dos santos - multiple marathons under 2:10s

the current list of americans just don't have the talent.

They have the talent-- a ton of guys with HM PRs in the 1:00-1:03 range. They just can't hack it in the marathon. Not sure what the disconnect is, but maybe it is true that they're zoned in on "5:00/mi pace" and can't break this "barrier". Guys from the 70s/80s were zoned in on competing and pushing to the max.

Maybe they need more iron. More crossfit. Wear fitbits. Fuel belts. Go paleo. Go vegan. Go hipster.

That's what I learned from Runners World.

White marathoner wrote:

The 5 minutes/mile argument may be one of the reasons for a few US guys. But that clearly is not the case for europeans, where 2:12 is just 3:08 pace. I ran a 2:13 marathon myself and believe the 2:12 "barrier" is just the physical limit for lots of white runners without taking drugs or blood doping like in the 70/80s (not illegal back then)

Do you ever wonder if the Ryan Hall we're seeing now is a Ryan Hall off of drugs and it isn't pretty? Expect this comment to be deleted in 5,4,3,2,1...

ditch the watch wrote:

somebloke wrote:

marilson dos santos - multiple marathons under 2:10s

the current list of americans just don't have the talent.

They have the talent-- a ton of guys with HM PRs in the 1:00-1:03 range. They just can't hack it in the marathon. Not sure what the disconnect is, but maybe it is true that they're zoned in on "5:00/mi pace" and can't break this "barrier". Guys from the 70s/80s were zoned in on competing and pushing to the max.

It's true, we have more guys who can crack 1:02 in the half than can crack 2:10. It shouldn't be like that.

Although that was true in the "old days," too. Lots of good half guys never went all the way with the same success.

Honestly I think it's the numbers and psychology. 4:30 miles for the half and 5:00 for the full has become "industry standard" race pace for US distance elites. Switch to 2:45 KMs for the half and 3:00 KMs for the full as goal race paces in training and they would get somewhere.

Do you think Kenyans go and train at 3:12 KM pace in marathon workouts? NO!

Because most white elite marathoners live and train where there is blood testing and EPO isn't available on the streetcorner.