Ryan Hall vs Mike Wardian in the World Marathon Challenge

Wardian should crush this event. It's a normal week for him.

Wardian will win between the two, but I don't really GAF because his accomplishments still don't belong in the same sentence, page, or book as Hall's.

I agree 100%. Hall is awesome.

Question above was one vs. other.

i don't think wardian would argue. fact its, however, things have changed... and hall is competing in the same event as wardian. and i think there is no question, in this case, that wardian has the edge!

i don't think there is any disputing hall is a stud... from HS to his marathon career.... but there is something to be said for longevity.

i don't put them remotely in the same class... THEY put themselves in the same class these days. and, to me, there is something to be said for the kind of career wardian has had.

the question remains though... what do you think hall will do, and how do you think that'll compare to wardian. i'd have to guess in a single race, hall could still muster the legs (even with all the weight) to take wardian. no way he beats him overall in this challenge... but does he take ANY races from wardian?

Ryan hall will be lucky to average 3:30. Wardian should be able to average under 3 hours. (Maybe) As a warm up, Wardian ran 50.84 miles in a 6 hour race around a repurposed garbage dump.

well oiled machine wrote:

alright, who've you got!?!

Wardian is *really* good at this sort of thing. i could see him running all 7 in the 2:30-2:40 range.

what kind of marathon could Ryan Hall run these days, even if he wasn't stacking them up one after another?

this is the first time in my life i've ever taken notice of this event.... but there is definitely at least some interest given the two gentlemen mentioned here.

Hall runs one at 3:00....maybe....then DNFs the rest.

I really don't understand the running community's obsession with Hall's weight. I understand his self promotion of it even less. ANY runner who stops really running and starts lifting a lot will put on muscle mass. He's not really big. By elite runner standards sure, but he's not remotely close to any sort of size to be boastful about. If he's serious about it then cool. He's got the metabolism that he could beef up a bit more then cut and do a bodybuilding show at about 170lb....but that's stage ready, so 190-200 pre-cut.

Alan

Runningart2004 wrote:

Hall runs one at 3:00....maybe....then DNFs the rest.

I really don't understand the running community's obsession with Hall's weight. I understand his self promotion of it even less. ANY runner who stops really running and starts lifting a lot will put on muscle mass. He's not really big. By elite runner standards sure, but he's not remotely close to any sort of size to be boastful about. If he's serious about it then cool. He's got the metabolism that he could beef up a bit more then cut and do a bodybuilding show at about 170lb....but that's stage ready, so 190-200 pre-cut.

Alan

i'm certainly not obsessed about his weight. i'm thinking about it from the perspective of what a sub 2:10 marathoner could do for an easy-paced race, and weight is certainly one of the factors to consider.

i'd have to guess jogging 6:30s should be relatively easy for him right now (i.e. sub 3:00). surely, 30 pounds lighter, jogging 6:00 would be easy for a guy who was trained to run sub 5 pace for over 2 hours. so, weight is a factor.... not the only factor and not an obsession, but just something to talk about.

btw, i think his self-promotion of it is likely related to keep muscle milk as a sponsor.

anyway, i wonder if he'll DNF the challenge... hadn't considered that, but i guess i should!

well oiled machine wrote:

alright, who've you got!?!

Wardian is *really* good at this sort of thing. i could see him running all 7 in the 2:30-2:40 range.

what kind of marathon could Ryan Hall run these days, even if he wasn't stacking them up one after another?

this is the first time in my life i've ever taken notice of this event.... but there is definitely at least some interest given the two gentlemen mentioned here.

Yuchi Kawauch is by far the best at this sort of thing.

Wardian now. Obviously Hall's had a better career, but Wardian maximized and continues to maximize his innate ability. I like Hall, but strongly believe that because he's mentally feeble he didn't come close to realizing his potential.

Ryan Hall barely runs these days, and is like 220# of solid muscle. More of a CF guy than a marathoner. Wardian beats him by 30+ minutes each race.

His weight is the only thing to really consider. A 127lb Hall barely running could still run very fast. It doesn't take much to maintain fitness. A 160-170lb Hall is a completely different person.

I say he maybe breaks 3:00.....or at least is on pace to break 3:00 until 18-20 miles then glorious pain. I'm not sure he makes it through all 7.....unless he's done some actual training the last few months.

Alan

And while we are at it....Muscle Milk is crap.

Alan

Ryan Hall mentioned that he's been running around 42 miles a week to prepare for this challenge, AND NO RUN HAS BEEN LONGER THAN 8 MILES.

Read more here:

http://blog.ryanandsarahall.com/pre-world-marathon-challenge/

Just the product name itself sounds disgusting.

Runningart2004 wrote:

And while we are at it....Muscle Milk is crap.

Alan

This kind of event is right up Wardians alley. I don't know about Hall, but there probably aren't very many people that would do better than Wardian in an event like this.

I'd think Wardian would be able to average about 2:40 or so for this sort of thing.

Of course the travel would be pretty intense, so maybe that would slow him down.

the first marathon is in Antarctica. i wonder what the conditions will be like.

remember when wardian did 2 marathons in the same day:

http://running.competitor.com/2013/11/news/wardian-runs-231-257-marathons-in-one-day_89706

anyway, i think its cool that hall AND wardian are doing this... its gimmicky, but these guys at least give the gimmick some shine.

looking forward to seeing what they do.

It cost $38,000 to enter this event! Crazy travel and way to see the world. What about the lady running with a brain tumor? More kudos to her!

Thats Bethann Telford. I know her and Mike fairly well as they both live in Arlington.

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