Who you got? WVN is obviously only a 400m runner. Might be able to run competitively as far as 600m but that's a stretch. But he's still a world class athlete nonetheless.
Ryan hall used to be a beast and does still run an okay amount, but has gained 50lbs and clearly doesn't run at the level he did before.
I think in a solo time trial in taking Hall but in a head on head race I say Niekerk can sit on hall and out kick him
What a silly question. Hall ran close to 4 flat at 17 y/o. Wade is great but in a real race (not a sit & kick), Ryan has him beat imo.
Ryan hall has become the leading a** hanky in America.
A year away from a reality show.
300m behind.
From the hand of God.
WvN imo. He does a whole lot of intense speed endurance training and being a 400 specialist shows he does have at least some strength. Wayde is also somewhat slim for a 400 runner which should also help. I wouldn't be surprised if he could go sub 4:40 in the mile.
Ryan Hall is just too heavy, old, and out of shape that I just can't see him beating the fastest 400 runner of all time in peak fitness.
Pro 800m Runner wrote:
WvN imo. He does a whole lot of intense speed endurance training and being a 400 specialist shows he does have at least some strength. Wayde is also somewhat slim for a 400 runner which should also help. I wouldn't be surprised if he could go sub 4:40 in the mile.
Ryan Hall is just too heavy, old, and out of shape that I just can't see him beating the fastest 400 runner of all time in peak fitness.
You've got to be kidding me, just because someone is skinny doesn't mean they can beat Ryan Hall in a mile...lol
In 3 years it'll be Hall vs bob kennedy w Kennedy at the lean. Winner races the shark
Personally, I find this a very intriguing question. Ryan Hall would certainly have the edge if he was either in good running shape or at his usual weight. However, we don't completely know how much he has been running or how far off of his usual weight he is. WvN is slightly more predictable since we know his up-to-date race times at other distances, so we can at least nail down a :30-1:00 range he would run within. It also depends on Hall's physiology and how high his aerobic baseline is.
I know Halls been doing some marathons and halves, but does anyone have any recent race results from him at a shorter distance? Preferably a result where he wasn't running alongside Sara?
My gut reaction is Hall, but some analysis could probably get us close to a definitive answer.
The questions is really, how fast could each of these athletes currently run an all-out, non-tactical mile - which would lead us to the answer of who is faster. We assume that neither is doing anything beyond whatever their current training regimen (or lack thereof) is to prepare for the race and that both are in good physical health, willing to go hard.
WVN is the more known quantity here. Though he's never run a serious mile to my knowledge, we know that he is at peak fitness at an event that requires some aerobic fitness, but that he probably doesn't do any specific training non-sprint distances. For a sprinter, he is light and small, so the main thing holding him back is his lack of mile training/natural ability. I say WVN could hit a ~4:10-4:20 mile if he had someone to key off of (I say he does worse in a TT because pacing is something that is practiced in distance training, which he presumably doesn't do).
Hall was never a miler in his prime as an adult, but has run sub-4 as a teen, meaning that he likely has a good amount of natural ability. He also has the "memory" of what it feels like mechanically and physiologically to go hard in a mile, which could be a key factor when racing someone who lacks this. So even if Hall is out of shape and over race weight, I still say he runs a decent mile based on pedigree and confidence. I'd slot him at 4:10-:20 as well, but maybe give him a slight edge because he is more familiar with the race distance.
I doubt he can break 6.
PortlandXCGirl wrote:
so we can at least nail down a :30-1:00 range he would run within.
So he can run anywhere between 4:15-5:15? Really solid confidence interval you've got going there.
The real question is, are we A) taking Hall at his current fitness, or B) allowing him to train while keeping his muscle?
If A, he can probably run 4:45 and WVN will own him.
If B, he can run 4:20, and I don't believe WVN can match.
My prediction for WVN is 4:30.
Ryan hall would easily win in sub-5. No doubts.
reed wrote:
Ryan hall would easily win in sub-5. No doubts.
Well, you should have doubt. I have seen world class male sprinters run anywhere from 4:30 to 6 flat. Some just really suck at running the mile, others are strangely able to pull out an average high school mile time despite training excusively for the sprints.
Some of it depends on the athlete, and some on their training style. A 400m training program can be extremely variable. Some programs have a lot of volume with repeats up to as long as 600m on a weekly basis, even including short "tempo" runs of 10 minutes or longer.
For the right athlete, it would be very reasonable to expect as fast as a 4:30 during the middle of the season, right before they start to phase out these longer slower repeats.
Just because you're talking about an elite sprint talent doesn't mean they magically have zero aerobic ability. They may be all 2A and 2X muscle type, but some of them will still have a massive "engine" in their cardiovascular system.
Saying no elite sprinter can run as fast as 4:30 is like saying no MLB baseball player can do that. We have no reason to think an individual can or can't, but it is pretty likely that somebody in the league can.
Lebron James has run 4:50 in a rec gym before and is much heavier than WVN
WVN has to be in at least 4:30-4:35 shape
I'll still take Hall at 4:20 though
I'd pick Wayde. Assuming Ryan hasn't been training for running at all lately, besides maybe an occasional recreational jog. But impossible to say really!!!
I seriously doubt Hall can run 4:20 right now this very minute... When he did all those marathons a few months ago, what was his fastest time? He's a long ways off what he was...
Please name one world-class sprinter who can break 5 or even 6 in the mile.
You're asking if the fresh 400m world record holder who has the body of a 1,500m runner, could run a mile faster than a body builder who jogs occasionally through the week? WVN would just have to run 20 seconds slower per his distance 4 times in row and he would nail a sub 4:12 mile.
In Ryan's peek shape back in 2010 he ran a road mile in 4:17.
Put it at a 3k and we have a real challenge.
ScriptedConnection wrote:
Please name one world-class sprinter who can break 5 or even 6 in the mile.
You kidding? ANY world-class sprinter can break 6 in the mile. A small portion could also break 5.
how about Ritz versus Caster in a 1000 meter race? This suggestion is about as dumb as Wayde versus Hall