LeBron James - Article says he can run a 4:20 mile

Nope. He can't. End of story.

That's not an article. That's just some guy shooting off his mouth. No facts, just opinion. Talk is cheap

No. Wrong.

Bib #1 wrote:

That's not an article. That's just some guy shooting off his mouth. No facts, just opinion. Talk is cheap

I hope the magazine did not pay him for that drivel.

My kid ran a mile in PE last year at school. I do not recall the time but it seemed really fast. I asked if he was sure it was a mile (it was not on the track). And he said the PE teacher said it was. I guess my kid asked the PE teacher about it and the PE teacher ran it with a GPS watch (as the PE told me in an email he wanted to know just how close it was before getting a wheel) and found the loop that had always been said to be a mile (the PE was in his 2nd yr at the school) turned out to be 0.9 mile.

So some 300 pound guy might have run a 5:55 or might not have or it might not have run a full mile.

Now I can see LeBron breaking 5. Being a NBA player requires a pretty good bit of endurance--not distance runner type but endurance regardless.

This is from one of those wannabe frat bro jock clones from Citius mag...of course they think "king" James can run a 4:20 mile...and of course they use the mile instead of the 1500... they've been programmed to spout off this nonsense to increase popularity in the already popular sports amongst fans of the not-so-popular track and field in the hope of increasing the popularity of distance running amongst fans of the popular sports.

He's 6'8" 270 pounds or so and is 33 years old. I'm sure he can break 6:00 for a mile but no way in hell he runs 4:20. Maybe 5:20 tops.

What do you think is so magical about a 4:20 mile that one of the world’s most gifted athletes couldn’t do it with a bit of targeted training? Back in the 1980s, I covered the NBA (Knicks and Nets), and can tell you that most of the athletes at that level are phenomenal. (They’re better now than then.) I was having a discussion at one game with another writer, who happened to have been a USA track and field Olympian. I pointed to Nets power forward Buck Williams and remarked that he could be a world-class IH guy. My friend said, “He could be a world-class anything.” I had recently PR’d at 3:53 for 1500, and I had no doubt whatsoever that Williams (at 6-foot-8) could have whipped my butt with a bit of track training at any race 800 and below. Do you think Stephen Curry couldn’t run close to 4:00 if he’d chosen track? Not to knock any 4:20 milers, but it’s not exactly uncommon. I ran that fast as a scrawny high schooler. My track credentials are nothing to be arrogant about, but I know where I stood as an athlete.

If a 300 lb guy ran at pace for 6:00, that'd be impressive enough for me, mile or not.

Why not? 4:20 isn't fast anyway, maybe for a high school junior.

It is funny to constantly read the LRC wannabe's claiming that some professional athlete in another sport could not run (whatever) time.

They have to continue to push down others to make themselves seem better.

4:20 is not that fast for a world class athlete.

You don't think he could run hard for 4 minutes?

Congrats on your 3:53 1500 PR, your 4:20 mile in high school, having an Olympian for a friend and for hanging around NBA players in the '80s.

Listen people, athletic ability has NOTHING to do with being a good distance runner. Being a good distance runner has NOTHING to do with being athletic.

I know plenty of great athletes (including one current NBA player) who can't break 5:30 in the mile. I know plenty of great runners who are absolutely terrible athletes. They have nothing to do with each other.

not the same wrote:

Listen people, athletic ability has NOTHING to do with being a good distance runner. Being a good distance runner has NOTHING to do with being athletic.

I know plenty of great athletes (including one current NBA player) who can't break 5:30 in the mile. I know plenty of great runners who are absolutely terrible athletes. They have nothing to do with each other.

Well you're definitely right about great runners being terrible athletes. That's a given. What you nerds have to remember is we're not talking about some random big athletic guy. We're talking about possibly the greatest athlete in the history of our species. Don't feed me the decathlon BS either. If he wanted he would demolish the decathlon. There's no money in it. None of us know how fast Lebron could run a mile but I'd guess it's a helluva lot faster than any of you would ever dare give him credit for.

Buck could have been a great thrower and maybe jumper but no way would he have been a world class 400ih runner. I've watched some very good athletes as well and there's a difference between a 49 second quartermiler and a 45 second quartermiler.

Also in the pre AAU days when athletes played more than 1 sport these athletes were more well rounded. The current kids are more 1 dimensional hence they break down so easily. The typical college strength and conditioning coach laments the lack of general conditioning that these d1 studs possess.

4:20 might not be great but no way A 6'8" 240 pound guy runs it.

Right now or during an NBA season? Not a chance in hell.

Training for it and losing a substantial amount of weight? Maybe. It is difficult to tell the distance running capabilities of someone who has phenomenal explosive/athletic abilities but has not demonstrated anything wrt distance running.

Please stop. wrote:

Well you're definitely right about great runners being terrible athletes. That's a given. What you nerds have to remember is we're not talking about some random big athletic guy. We're talking about possibly the greatest athlete in the history of our species. Don't feed me the decathlon BS either. If he wanted he would demolish the decathlon. There's no money in it. None of us know how fast Lebron could run a mile but I'd guess it's a helluva lot faster than any of you would ever dare give him credit for.

You seriously need to take a class in physiology and stop with this BS unbelievable athlete = good distance runner crap. You sound like a high schooler who doesn't understand how distance running works.

NBA thinker wrote:

I ran that fast as a scrawny high schooler.

Of course, being "scrawny" is a tremendous BENEFIT when it comes to mile running. This brilliant think piece completely fails to recognize this fact as well. "The kid who was so small and sad looking that his mom had to use a clothespin to keep his jersey from falling off"... was probably one of the fastest kid in school!

You are dramatically underestimating how difficult it is to lug all that muscle around a track four times (a 300 pound tubbo running a 5:55 mile, as the author claims, would be one of the more astonishing feats in the history of athletics). If you look like you're built to run through a brick wall, like LeBron is, you're going to be a sh*tty distance runner. I fully appreciate that he is a freak of nature and perhaps the best athlete in the world. He still couldn't sniff 4:20.

not the same wrote:

Please stop. wrote:

Well you're definitely right about great runners being terrible athletes. That's a given. What you nerds have to remember is we're not talking about some random big athletic guy. We're talking about possibly the greatest athlete in the history of our species. Don't feed me the decathlon BS either. If he wanted he would demolish the decathlon. There's no money in it. None of us know how fast Lebron could run a mile but I'd guess it's a helluva lot faster than any of you would ever dare give him credit for.

You seriously need to take a class in physiology and stop with this BS unbelievable athlete = good distance runner crap. You sound like a high schooler who doesn't understand how distance running works.

Of course you know better than I do, because you know everything. I'm not claiming Lebron can run a world class mile. I'm telling you he can do a mile faster than most distance runners would ever give him credit for. Speaking of taking a class in physiology, you have no idea what it's like to be one of the premier athletes the world has ever seen. Neither do I. Who are you to say what somebody like that can do? You have no f'ing clue.

Please stop. wrote:

not the same wrote:

You seriously need to take a class in physiology and stop with this BS unbelievable athlete = good distance runner crap. You sound like a high schooler who doesn't understand how distance running works.

Of course you know better than I do, because you know everything. I'm not claiming Lebron can run a world class mile. I'm telling you he can do a mile faster than most distance runners would ever give him credit for. Speaking of taking a class in physiology, you have no idea what it's like to be one of the premier athletes the world has ever seen. Neither do I. Who are you to say what somebody like that can do? You have no f'ing clue.

He's a great athlete for sure, but he only seems better than most other pro athletes because of his size. If he had his same athleticism and he was Stephan curry frame then not one person would think he's a standout.

I'll take someone like Iverson or Jordan for pure athletic ability. There is a long list across many sports.