Thoughts? Sal Wirth ran 9:17 3200 as a sophomore last spring.
There aren't enough kids running distance to have a good feel of good this performance. Obviously it is good but how does it compare to an 7/8th grader running like a 4:50 mile?
No (male) runner trains their entire life to only run a 1:11. If you’re slower than 5:00 pace, you’re not a real “runner”.
Haha I’m with you but I was doing 32k runs to get around the city when I was that age. 1:11 is still pretty pedestrian for an athlete of that talent level. Not as any crazier as 14 year olds getting close to the 4 minute barrier.
if you’ve been training your whole life though and only run 1:11 man you’ve been slacking on your diet, training, or both.
His most impressive result in the half marathon was the 1:11:24 time (5:26.8 pace) he ran as a 14-year-old.
...
At 12, it says he ran a a half marathon in 82:43. That's 6:19 pace. Wow. He ran his 5k sb a few months later in 18:26.
These are interesting performances. Mostly it gets me thinking about how fast TRUE elites must be at a young age.
So Mantz ran a 1:22 HM at 12, and a 1:11 at 14.
OK.
This guy worked his way to a 28:xx 10k in college, finally breaking 28 in his senior year 2020-2021 (as a 24 year-old, hahaha). Ran his PR 27:25 this year, at 25.
None of this is impressive on a global elite scale.
Imagine the 12 year-old ability of guys who actually became global elites, often running elite times in their early 20s!
Other posters have stated accurately, relative to international competition, who knows how good are these 12 & 14 year old performances. I am glad not too many kids try to race fast 1/2 Marathons at 12 and 14. U.S. youth who raced one of the big October U.S. Marathons during XC season, the ones I have known or watched under perform in high school and may not ever race XC in college. I used to go on 12 mile tempo runs July & August before my senior high XC season at 5:40 to 5:50 per mile. Ruined me. U.S. youth attempting to race fast 1/2 Marathons should be discouraged. Incremental steps: U.S. cannot bypass 800m. U.S. needs to fix 800m then 1500m and go from there.
His most impressive result in the half marathon was the 1:11:24 time (5:26.8 pace) he ran as a 14-year-old.
...
At 12, it says he ran a a half marathon in 82:43. That's 6:19 pace. Wow. He ran his 5k sb a few months later in 18:26.
These are interesting performances. Mostly it gets me thinking about how fast TRUE elites must be at a young age.
So Mantz ran a 1:22 HM at 12, and a 1:11 at 14.
OK.
This guy worked his way to a 28:xx 10k in college, finally breaking 28 in his senior year 2020-2021 (as a 24 year-old, hahaha). Ran his PR 27:25 this year, at 25.
None of this is impressive on a global elite scale.
Imagine the 12 year-old ability of guys who actually became global elites, often running elite times in their early 20s!
Why do you think global elites would be faster? Most of them were probably playing football instead of running.
Running fast at a young age is a combo of training more than others and hitting puberty early. Puffer set the world record for 12 year olds. He was a very, very good high school runner but he didn't turn into the best kid (or even top 10) in his class...
Jakob Kiplimo ran 13:19 (5000m)and 27:26 (10000m)as a 15 year old. No chances of short course cuz they were track races, that’s fast. That guy is definitely very special.
This thread has gone pretty far without turning into the usual Mantz thread. Presumably most of you know what I mean; some of you must be posters on previous threads. I was expecting posts along the line of:
"So he has been an age cheat all along."
"Those times are not impressive considering he was actually 23 at the stated age of 14."
"When you're 7 years older than everyone else, of course you win."
"If he really is 48 now, those races were during his athletic prime."
I don't think any of this. I have never posted to this effect on any Mantz thread. However, many LRC posters - many of you - do and have. What has changed? Why is he now considered to be the age he claims?
Again, I have never questioned or ridiculed his age, but after seeing every single thread on this guy go that way for years, it is remarkable that nobody claims he is a grandpa (stated more times than I can count in the past) or lying about his age anymore. It's great that it doesn't deteriorate into that now, but the posters in question must still be here, so it truly is remarkable that this thread hasn't.
Deer rojo. Can you find out what Bekele's races were around 1996, and what his PBs were? He was 14 then. I wonder what he would of done in a half mary.
Do you honestly think when someone uses the contraction "would've," that they're saying "would of?"
These are interesting performances. Mostly it gets me thinking about how fast TRUE elites must be at a young age.
So Mantz ran a 1:22 HM at 12, and a 1:11 at 14.
OK.
This guy worked his way to a 28:xx 10k in college, finally breaking 28 in his senior year 2020-2021 (as a 24 year-old, hahaha). Ran his PR 27:25 this year, at 25.
None of this is impressive on a global elite scale.
Imagine the 12 year-old ability of guys who actually became global elites, often running elite times in their early 20s!
Why do you think global elites would be faster? Most of them were probably playing football instead of running.
That's exactly my point. So thanks.
If anyone with the talent to go on to TRUE elite status (on the level of <12:50, <26:50, <60 in their early 20s) bothered to train and race at a young age like Mantz did, they would crush these childhood times of his.
His childhood record is just a curiosity, like pointing to a random NCAA basketball player's first-grade highlight reel.
Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win a LetsRun t-shirt.Help us build the best running shoe review site for a chance to win one of 10 LetsRun t-shirts.
