The Secrets of the World's Best 1500-Meter Training Group - Rongai Athletics Club

“My point was: we are doing a 3:32 in London,” Ouma said. “Anything shorter than that, you’re getting a repeat of Centrowitz winning with a pace slower than the physically challenged [in the] Paralympics. We don’t want to do that. So we agreed: it’s 3:32.”

Actually, it was the intellectually challenged race in the Paralympics and I believe Mikey won in a lead from the start to finish fashion (55 last lap) in 3:51.

The T20 classification is for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Brannigan has autism, and holds the 1500m T20 world record in 3:48.85. Earlier this summer, Brannigan ran a 3:57.85 mile at the Sir Walter Miler.

....and yes, an absolutely epic write up. Thanks Jon, stellar as always. If you ran as well as you write, you'd be accused of some serious doping.

Read the whole thing. Great write up and insight into that training group. I just wonder how long they can stay at or near the top with that frequency of speed workouts. Seems like quite a lot of intensity.

kmaclam wrote:

....and yes, an absolutely epic write up. Thanks Jon, stellar as always. If you ran as well as you write, you'd be accused of some serious doping.

He really deserves more praise and credit than he’s getting.

not "we," but you are splitting them. Perhaps if 800dude had stated "three *workouts*" per week, you wouldn't argue so vehemently? Certainly a semantical difference, the point is that most groups will do 3 workouts per week. I would actually contend that many do 4 workouts per week, as I consider the long run to be as taxing on the body as an actual "workout." It certainly requires a bit of recovery, which is why workouts done the very next day after a long run typically suck...

Beaverton Willy wrote:

I think we're splitting hairs here. I wouldn't typically consider 2 track sessions and a tempo as @three track sessions"; but I see your point.

Yes, this times 100000. Jon, absolutely stellar write-up, I can't tell you enough how impressed I am with the progression of your abilities as a writer, you really are in some rarified territory and I'm very appreciative that you still write for LRC. I'd honestly pay good money for content like that. Thanks again~

El Keniano wrote:

kmaclam wrote:

....and yes, an absolutely epic write up. Thanks Jon, stellar as always. If you ran as well as you write, you'd be accused of some serious doping.

He really deserves more praise and credit than he’s getting.

The question is, are black Africans (read Kenyans because no Ethiopians, Ugandans, Eritreans and others) have been busted) the only ones doping?

Off the top of my head, there have been about six busts of Kenyans (including ex-Kenyans) so far this year with the saintly Asbel Kiprop being the big name. We expect one more to be announced in the coming days. Percentagewise, a drop in the bucket of the world’s largest distance running community. They’ve pointed at the bust of Samuel Kalalei, the 167th Kenyan marathoner of 2017, as proof positive of the rot in Kenyan marathon running. I think that is be stretching things even if he were Kipchoge.

El Keniano wrote:

The question is, are black Africans (read Kenyans because no Ethiopians, Ugandans, Eritreans and others) have been busted) the only ones doping?

Off the top of my head, there have been about six busts of Kenyans (including ex-Kenyans) so far this year with the saintly Asbel Kiprop being the big name. We expect one more to be announced in the coming days. Percentagewise, a drop in the bucket of the world’s largest distance running community. They’ve pointed at the bust of Samuel Kalalei, the 167th Kenyan marathoner of 2017, as proof positive of the rot in Kenyan marathon running. I think that is be stretching things even if he were Kipchoge.

I think this is just a reflection of better testing in Kenya recently. If the same happened in Ethiopia we should expect to see a number of busts there as well. Busting someone is pretty hard, but it won't happen if you aren't testing or athletes are getting advanced notice.

El Keniano wrote:

peekay wrote:

J. Gault, please can your next story be "The Secrets of the World's Second Best 1500 meter Training Group - Team Ingebrigtsen".

I hope you are on your way to Norway right now

Bernard Ouma is in the comments section on this Ingebrigtsen piece. I love how the Kenyan guy is coming across as the more measured playing the long game. Well on his way to reaching Patrick Sang status.

http://athletics.co.ke/susan-egelstaff-despite-jakob-ingebrigtsens-success-kids-not-specialise-early/

Or Ethiopia. Seriously, why don’t western media like to cover them? I’m sure there are interesting stories there as well. Addis is just a short two-hour flight from Nairobi.

This is poor writing to exclude this. Very poor

I get not everything makes it into an article but the article was too long and boring to start with. 2nd Kenya is under a huge cloud now and Kiprop is arguably one of its biggest stars to get busted.

Leaving out anything was journalistic malfeasance.

El Keniano wrote:

kmaclam wrote:

....and yes, an absolutely epic write up. Thanks Jon, stellar as always. If you ran as well as you write, you'd be accused of some serious doping.

He really deserves more praise and credit than he’s getting.

More like getting more praise than he deserves l. The running press is so devoid of talented writers and churns out a bunch of soft ball rear kissing pieces that don’t tell us much.

John is average on his best day. It just no one does these kind of feature so he’s fawned over. It’s embarrassing to real journalists.

El Keniano wrote:

Or Ethiopia. Seriously, why don’t western media like to cover them? I’m sure there are interesting stories there as well. Addis is just a short two-hour flight from Nairobi.

Because of the disparity in the ratio of Kenyans to Ethiopians getting pinged for PED use. So for the media all the proven action is in Kenya, so that's where they're concentrating, even a simpleton can understand that. FMD you can buy the stuff in pharma bucket shops in a back alley, even the main streets, so it's a journalists heaven, Jon's probably writing up his next article on it right now.

Should Ethiopians start glowing on a regular basis guess what?, that's where the next story will be. Until then the cheating Kenyans will have to keep copping the heat.

Kenya glows brightly that's why. wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

Or Ethiopia. Seriously, why don’t western media like to cover them? I’m sure there are interesting stories there as well. Addis is just a short two-hour flight from Nairobi.

Because of the disparity in the ratio of Kenyans to Ethiopians getting pinged for PED use. So for the media all the proven action is in Kenya, so that's where they're concentrating, even a simpleton can understand that. FMD you can buy the stuff in pharma bucket shops in a back alley, even the main streets, so it's a journalists heaven, Jon's probably writing up his next article on it right now.

Should Ethiopians start glowing on a regular basis guess what?, that's where the next story will be. Until then the cheating Kenyans will have to keep copping the heat.

LANGUAGE BARRIER

Gjfjfjhfhggbnj wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

He really deserves more praise and credit than he’s getting.

More like getting more praise than he deserves l. The running press is so devoid of talented writers and churns out a bunch of soft ball rear kissing pieces that don’t tell us much.

John is average on his best day. It just no one does these kind of feature so he’s fawned over. It’s embarrassing to real journalists.

Have you seen the work of those so-called “real journalists” as far as athletics is concerned? Now THAT is embarrassing.

I believe Bernard was talking about the T13 1500m (for athletes with a visual impairment) that was won in 3:48.

It's because most of them don't speak much English. Almost every Kenyan runner speaks English, and the more experienced ones are usually very good at it. Most Ethiopians don't. Tirunesh Dibaba, who's been traveling the world for years, still likes to use an interpreter in press conferences.

I'm not criticizing them for this (I can only speak one language), but it's very hard to do quality journalism when your subject and best sources don't speak the same language.

Sand Dunes wrote:

Very interesting, main training points:

Strength train 3 times a week, only twice if in the week of a competition.

Three track workouts a week, only two if it is the week of a competition.

Warm up for there track workouts is also interesting instead of jogging 2-3 miles they do 30-30. Run easy for 30 seconds and than do 30 second stride.

Finish speed work with hill sprints 4 x 150m

Mileage not stressed.

Interesting how the coach is a national championship in Karate.

How are your reading capabilities?

"And every workout concludes with “pudding” (that’s dessert to you Americans), which usually consists of two sets of 4x150m sprints."

Which you make into: "Finish speed work with hill sprints 4 x 150m"

Language may indeed be an issue but, still ...

Congrats, again, on the Rongai piece. Did you, per chance, find out about the third Manangoi brother? ?We’re not stalking, I promise.

https://twitter.com/runemilyerun/status/1028279956625874944?s=21

El Keniano wrote:

Language may indeed be an issue but, still ...

Congrats, again, on the Rongai piece. Did you, per chance, find out about the third Manangoi brother? ?We’re not stalking, I promise.

https://twitter.com/runemilyerun/status/1028279956625874944?s=21

This is the first I've heard of a third Manangoi brother.

Jonathan Gault wrote:

El Keniano wrote:

Language may indeed be an issue but, still ...

Congrats, again, on the Rongai piece. Did you, per chance, find out about the third Manangoi brother? ?We’re not stalking, I promise.

https://twitter.com/runemilyerun/status/1028279956625874944?s=21

This is the first I've heard of a third Manangoi brother.

Well they have 33 siblings, so I'm sure there must be a third Manangoi brother in amongst them somewhere.