I first met the Roberston brothers in Kenya in 2007. It was directly after World XC in Mombasa, Kenya and they stayed in the country and never looked back. There were 17 years old. Trying to compare a high school junior in America today to what those two guys took on is like a different planet. They had very little money and were living pretty rough, they even got malaria. But they stayed at it and hung in there.
16 years in Kenya (and Ethiopia) those guys have seen, been through and done stuff that most folks can not imagine. Sometimes they may have been burning the candle at both ends in training and sometimes they may have let their emotions guide some of their efforts, etc., but they were 100% all in.
At the end of the day they lived through an adventure that you can't buy with money and put up some dang good performances on the way to be more than proud of.
I watched them scrape Zane up off the ground and into a wheelchair at the finish line of the Olympic marathon. There was a lot of carnage and a lot of DNF's (the entire Ethiopian team) on that day, but that guy hung in there and survived.
To have run 3:34 and sub 60 min half pre-super shoes and in the Olympic marathon is one heckeva career. How many guys have run 3:34 and 2:08? That list is pretty short.
All the best Zane, great career, inspired a lot of people. No regrets man. Good on you.
I agree with this. They got to live in a different country (from NZ), experience lots of different things at a very young age. Honestly, I think it's brave what they did. How many teenagers would move out to Africa on their own and make a go of it, not come back? Not many IMO. I just hope they enjoyed their time there and they have things set up to do after retirement.
Out of interest, would you consider the reverse, a Kenyan moving New Zealand, "brave"?
Ummm.. I'm no pro, but was doing dynamic stretching in club running 10-15 years ago. And mixing the intervals with fartleks and mid-tempo and long tempos and thresholds.
Ummm.. I'm no pro, but was doing dynamic stretching in club running 10-15 years ago. And mixing the intervals with fartleks and mid-tempo and long tempos and thresholds.
Was being coached by a then current Olympian so I'm sure they were relaying the kind of training they were doing. Is more my point.
Cost of living in Kenya is probably a tenth of NZ or US, so it seems like a great move for a marginal pro. I bet they’re reasonably well off now. Plus, it’s tough to be based out of NZ and race with any frequency. I’d say it was a great move
he just says that he is not a professional runner. IE he’s not making any money out of it. Sponsor has dropped / not renewed him, and possibly not working with an agent either.
So he’s completely right that he’s not professional. But watching his insta past few days he still seems to be training very seriously.
and that post was designed to either attract attention of a future sponsor ‘I’m still keeping up with the best’
or to advertise the fact that he’s doing some coaching ‘been working on my business’
Also it's been always a struggle for the twins to get into races. Because they wanted to do it on their own, they got very frustrated with the running politics (that's what Zane also says in his last IG post.) They thought their running will open the doors, but often you have to have connections to get into races and in too many occasions they were not able to show their true potential. Twins have been always stubborn, but that's also so good about them. Good luck to Zane (& Jake)
I just did a longish cool-down run with an ex-pro (easy run for him!) and we were talking about this current era vs. 10 years ago or (in our case) 20-30 years ago.
He said, "the current training philosophy is so different and so much smarter. We ran so hard on every interval and now you see people using science and blood testing and double-thresholds and so many smarter approaches to the sport. In the low-mileage 90s, we just killed ourselves doing all-out repeats and never really developed our actual physiology the way the best trained young runners are doing today."
So you just did a longish cool-down run with an ex-pro who trained like an idiot back in the 90s?
And this has convinced you that 'modern training' is so much better?
Have you been living under a rock? Good training has been around since before you were born.
In 2007, European and American distance runners still sucked. There were a couple that could occasionally, accidentally, be competitive, but we were so far behind the Kenyans, it was embarrassing. There were no super groups training at a medalist level. It didn't exist here. In 2007, the USA was coming off a few years in a row where we couldn't send full teams to the Olympics and World Championships because we didn't have enough runners with the B standard to fill out the roster.
Being a white kid, the daydream was to be good enough to go to Kenya, to be taken in as an insider, to learn their ways, live as a runner monk, and become a world beater.
In 2007, 2008, 2009, The Robertson's were living the dream.
But then the floodgates started to open. Ritz ran 12:56. Teg ran 12:58 a couple weeks later. The next season Solinski ran 26:59 and a couple 12:55/56s. The training groups really began to emerge at an elite level, and they've improved ever since.
The Robertsons are just a couple years younger than me. I know they had a lot of hardships in Kenya, but I think they'd absolutely say it was worth it, especially in the early days when it was still the best possible option. Probably by 2012 at the latest they were wishing they were in Oregon training in luxury with a super group. They may not admit that, but I'm sure they were thinking it.
Ummm.. I'm no pro, but was doing dynamic stretching in club running 10-15 years ago. And mixing the intervals with fartleks and mid-tempo and long tempos and thresholds.
Was being coached by a then current Olympian so I'm sure they were relaying the kind of training they were doing. Is more my point.
It's a fair point, so let's call that 2010 ish. Around that same time, the Americans were all of a sudden competitive on the world stage for the first time since the 70's.
Ritz ran 12:56 and medaled at World Half. Teg ran 12:58. Solinsky ran 12:55/26:59. Centro medaled at 1500 in 2011, Rupp ran 12:58/26:44 and medaled at 10,000 in 2012. It all culminated in 2016 when the Americans dominated the Olympic distance events (medals at 800, 1500, 3000st, 5000, marathon). What else happened around 2016...there were like 5 high school sub-4 milers.
My point is, the times and competitiveness of the Americans has been building for a long time. None of that has anything to do with shoes or a BU track.
Craig Mottram was the fastest non African on the planet at his peak. He had the respect of any field he was in. Goucher and the twins were good but not comparable.
In 2007, European and American distance runners still sucked. There were a couple that could occasionally, accidentally, be competitive, but we were so far behind the Kenyans, it was embarrassing. There were no super groups training at a medalist level. It didn't exist here. In 2007, the USA was coming off a few years in a row where we couldn't send full teams to the Olympics and World Championships because we didn't have enough runners with the B standard to fill out the roster.
Being a white kid, the daydream was to be good enough to go to Kenya, to be taken in as an insider, to learn their ways, live as a runner monk, and become a world beater.
In 2007, 2008, 2009, The Robertson's were living the dream.
But then the floodgates started to open. Ritz ran 12:56. Teg ran 12:58 a couple weeks later. The next season Solinski ran 26:59 and a couple 12:55/56s. The training groups really began to emerge at an elite level, and they've improved ever since.
The Robertsons are just a couple years younger than me. I know they had a lot of hardships in Kenya, but I think they'd absolutely say it was worth it, especially in the early days when it was still the best possible option. Probably by 2012 at the latest they were wishing they were in Oregon training in luxury with a super group. They may not admit that, but I'm sure they were thinking it.
The USA has made superb progress in last 10 to 12 years after a low ebb.its great to see,as a non USA person
The change in Europe is less pronounced, partly because it didnt dip as far as USA, and partly because so many current elite Europeans are ex east Africans. But yes, in some nations things are moving on well.
I find the idea that some amazing athletes could compete well "accidentally" against the best on the planet rather bizarre.
So you just did a longish cool-down run with an ex-pro who trained like an idiot back in the 90s?
And this has convinced you that 'modern training' is so much better?
Have you been living under a rock? Good training has been around since before you were born.
You are right. The Lydiard, Cerutty, and Bowerman eras were before I was born and they were indeed better. That is true. There were always "good eras" in training.
Sadly for me and my friend, we happened to be at our prime (mid to late 1990s) during an era when:
a) America sucked
b) we all ran low-mileage (50-70 miles a week in college)
c) we raced every workout "all-out" because we were usually hanging on for dear life
d) we didn't do any strength, core, or stretching at all
e) we did a ton of short intervals to train for the 5000m
f) our best nutrition was spaghetti feeds, Gatorade, and bagels (and zero protein)
g) we ran our easy days way, way too fast and never really recovered
and h) we didn't start running until we were in high school at the earliest.
I know that today, none of these eight factors is considered "smart training" anymore. That is what he and I were commenting on.
The kids of today are doing it the right way and I respect (and envy) that. Modern training is much better as reflected by the huge jump in performance at every level. The proof is in the pudding, the 1990s sucked compared to today. I am fine admitting that.
Even with 2:06 potential he's a mile behind the best. He thinks his life in the sport was worth it so that's all that matters.
I was in Iten in May, 2022, and was told that both Jake and Zane had guesthouses mainly catering to foreigners I think paying around 40 EUR per night which is big money in Kenya. If wrong on that figure, I stand corrected.
Was it worth it? The guy seems to love distance running like a nerd so for someone like that, spending his professional career in a place which lives and breathes distance running must have been living the dream. And how many current US and European pros would give their left eye to be able to run sub-60 and 2:08 right now? It may not have been a spectacular career but it's a solid one
Even with 2:06 potential he's a mile behind the best. He thinks his life in the sport was worth it so that's all that matters.
I was in Iten in May, 2022, and was told that both Jake and Zane had guesthouses mainly catering to foreigners I think paying around 40 EUR per night which is big money in Kenya. If wrong on that figure, I stand corrected.
Did you ever check his refrigerator while you were there?
The guy is 33. He trained hard in Kenya for 16 years. Got everything he could out of his system. Nothing to be sad about. He did this thing and he has aged out. Was it worth it? I think so else I envision him being at the level of Fogg Dogg or whatever his name is because that's what he would thought he was worth.
But no - he went to Kenya and he felt his worth was a lot more and it was.
Zane Robertson made headlines when he announced his retirement from professional running at the age of 29. Nearly a decade-long professional career brings with it many accomplishments, but it's impossible to know whether or not this was worth the effort. It undoubtedly wasn't easy for him to end his time in such an iconic sport, and questions linger on whether the decisions he made over the course of his career were ultimately beneficial or not. International accolades like becoming the youngest winner of the world half marathon certainly suggest that they were; however, only Zane himself can answer if this was truly the right choice for him.
So you just did a longish cool-down run with an ex-pro who trained like an idiot back in the 90s?
And this has convinced you that 'modern training' is so much better?
Have you been living under a rock? Good training has been around since before you were born.
You are right. The Lydiard, Cerutty, and Bowerman eras were before I was born and they were indeed better. That is true. There were always "good eras" in training.
Sadly for me and my friend, we happened to be at our prime (mid to late 1990s) during an era when:
a) America sucked
b) we all ran low-mileage (50-70 miles a week in college)
c) we raced every workout "all-out" because we were usually hanging on for dear life
d) we didn't do any strength, core, or stretching at all
e) we did a ton of short intervals to train for the 5000m
f) our best nutrition was spaghetti feeds, Gatorade, and bagels (and zero protein)
g) we ran our easy days way, way too fast and never really recovered
and h) we didn't start running until we were in high school at the earliest.
I know that today, none of these eight factors is considered "smart training" anymore. That is what he and I were commenting on.
The kids of today are doing it the right way and I respect (and envy) that. Modern training is much better as reflected by the huge jump in performance at every level. The proof is in the pudding, the 1990s sucked compared to today. I am fine admitting that.
My coach is from the 90s and still does this stuff, send help