Nike says a sub3hr marathon is a “sign of an elite runner..” in their Nike 4% article. Do you agree?

Chaffee County wrote:

[quote]Louis CK wrote:

Marathon Tiers:

H. 2:45- 3:00- Dedicated enthusiasts Tier II. Still respectable, but not quite as dependable as dedicated enthusiasts Tier I. Prone to crooked splits and But hey, they qualified for Boston so there- See

I. 3:00- 3:15- Twilight zone II- They trained (some), they didn't walk (much), and they finished (eventually) but they still didn't qualify for Boston, start in the A corral or beat the top masters woman. See your college xc teammate who didn't train at all.

J. 3:15-4:00 - Bucket listers. At 9 minutes a mile, they ran a marathon. See your Facebook need feed.

So Ed Whitlock was a dedicated enthusiast at age 74, fell into twilight zone two year later, and became a bucket lister at age 80?

A Typical LRC Idiot wrote:

Chaffee County wrote:

[quote]Louis CK wrote:

Marathon Tiers:

H. 2:45- 3:00- Dedicated enthusiasts Tier II. Still respectable, but not quite as dependable as dedicated enthusiasts Tier I. Prone to crooked splits and But hey, they qualified for Boston so there- See

I. 3:00- 3:15- Twilight zone II- They trained (some), they didn't walk (much), and they finished (eventually) but they still didn't qualify for Boston, start in the A corral or beat the top masters woman. See your college xc teammate who didn't train at all.

J. 3:15-4:00 - Bucket listers. At 9 minutes a mile, they ran a marathon. See your Facebook need feed.

So Ed Whitlock was a dedicated enthusiast at age 74, fell into twilight zone two year later, and became a bucket lister at age 80?

Agreed. I'm 55 and still going at it and will never stop. Some people on this site shouldn't be able to hit the submit post button more than once a month.

Training HARD! wrote:

A Typical LRC Idiot wrote:

So Ed Whitlock was a dedicated enthusiast at age 74, fell into twilight zone two year later, and became a bucket lister at age 80?

Agreed. I'm 55 and still going at it and will never stop. Some people on this site shouldn't be able to hit the submit post button more than once a month.

Context, my respectable friends. Tier ranking was intended for 20ish-35ish year old males. Dr. J could supposedly still dunk at 55. Is that impressive. Heck yes. Was 55 year old Dr. J an elite dunker. Heck no.

Do I think its awesome when a 60 year old runs 2:40 flat. Heck yes. Do I think he is elite in the same way a 2:09 Pro is elite. Heck no.

I fully support runners off all speeds, ages, sexes, and sizes. List was just an off the cuff summary description of various marathon demographics by time. If I offended anyone by not age/gender conditioning it up front, I apologize-

That said, Ill stop posting now and go for my run.

Nike Ways wrote:

If you're breaking 2:30, you're not putting food on the table, but it's still beyond being a hobby.

I believe that by definition it is a hobby in this case. I'm not minimizing the effort put in by those of us who have run sub-2:30, but it's a hobby because we do it for fun and a sense of accomplishment in whatever time is left outside of our jobs and family life.

I got a 2:52 at 2017 Chicago as a 42 year old guy. Also recently ran 1:16 half and 34:52 10K. I just think of myself as a competitive age group hobby runner (I am competitive in local/regional races in the masters/M40-44 category and even have won small cash prizes for top Masters but I am not even close to competitive at national/world class races. There are still legit world class runners like Lagat, Abdi, and Meb in my age group.

If Nike is talking about girls, then I agree. An elite male time is under 2:20.

Nike never said this, fake news.

The New York Times article did use 3:00 as a cutoff in their analysis. i.e. they looked at runners < 3 and over 3 but even they never said "elite"

They are using it as compared to all who run a 'thon. So yes sub3 is very rare among all the Americans who typically "run" 4-6 hrs.

Louis CK wrote:

Nike is full of crap. Here's the harsh reality: If you were not in the American Development/Elite Corral in the Chicago Marathon (Sub 2:31 for men) then you are just a person who runs and with or for varying degrees of personal successful.

Guys running under 2:10 will not see the difference between you (a 2:59 marathon runner) and a 3:30 runner.

It's like the guy who wins a local 5K in 16 minutes. Do you think he really cares about Denise who ran 28:30 or Tammy who ran 30:23 that day? There is virtually no difference between non-elite competitors.

As a former local yokel, I found that showing a bit of interest in what Denise or Tammy ran often led to other opportunities.

Colored Pencils wrote:

Nike Ways wrote:

If you're breaking 2:30, you're not putting food on the table, but it's still beyond being a hobby.

I believe that by definition it is a hobby in this case. I'm not minimizing the effort put in by those of us who have run sub-2:30, but it's a hobby because we do it for fun and a sense of accomplishment in whatever time is left outside of our jobs and family life.

I respectfully disagree. They aren't elite, but running 10 miles a day and training hard...not a hobby by my definition.

Bruin1996 wrote:

I got a 2:52 at 2017 Chicago as a 42 year old guy. Also recently ran 1:16 half and 34:52 10K. I just think of myself as a competitive age group hobby runner (I am competitive in local/regional races in the masters/M40-44 category and even have won small cash prizes for top Masters but I am not even close to competitive at national/world class races. There are still legit world class runners like Lagat, Abdi, and Meb in my age group.

That's above average Andrew and it is competitive. Keep at it!

Nike always has alterior motives with anything they do; furthermore, think as whole people use round numbers for distance races far too often. It's really easy to say Sub 4:00 is an elite mile, but put that over 26.2 that would be a 1:44:48. Obviously it will never be done but it's a far more accurate assessment than plucking a multiple of 15 out of the air. As for the question at hand I think elites are anyone who has the skill that can overcome any will to succeed, but an athlete who still works harder than anyone at it. I'd put that line around a 2:28. Anything above that but below, a 2:55 is dedicated but not elite. Women are probably 12 to 15 minutes above this threshold. This opinion is in no way accurate, just my opinion. I'm sure someone in some Phys Lab could get an actual answer, but to me all of those times dictate some sort of cutoff.

Recently ran 2:35 off of 25-30 mile weeks, one long run the week before and no workouts. I did bike 1-2 times a week for an hour to two hours. What does this make me?

6:xx- people just trying to finish, fatties

5:xx- average marathon finisher

4:xx- people who at least trained a few weeks or are at minimum generally athletic

3:xx high- decent female, male who trained for a while but not intensely, or a male who trains seriously but is new to running

3:xx low- good female, decent male

2:5x- female who trains very seriously or who has natural talent, athletic male who has moderate experience in running

2:4x- sub-elite female, regional class male. Anyone at this level trains very seriously (unless they are extremely talented)

2:3x- elite threshold for females. Very good males.

2:2x- elite females, sub-sub-elite males.

2:1x high- world class females, sub-elite males.

2:1x low- Elite threshold for males.

2:0x high- Elite males.

2:0x low- World class males.