If you could be world class in any track event, what would it be?

Kinda like a retro Dr Delano Meriwether?? He wore Speed-O's.

Andy Barber wrote:

It'd look like a Victorian bathing costume on me... Actually, may be that would add to the effect.

STEEPLE

800 meters, CLEARLY, the ultimate running test and way sexier than the 1500 meters.

100 meter sprinter.

You don't have to workout that hard. Get big chunks of the year off. Most people would know your name which would get you lots of things for free.

But.... My mind likes distance too much so probably 1500/mile. Still have to train hard, mostly year round. Less people would know you.

High and Mighty wrote:

100 meter sprinter.

You don\'t have to workout that hard.

hahaha so why don\'t you go for it? seriously, jump in with the sprinters on their next workout. just make sure you have plenty of ice for the two torn hamstrings you\'ll have by the end of the day. oh and be careful you don\'t get crushed to death in the weight room after practice.

Unfortunately I am not a world class sprinter. I don't have the fast twitch to be so.

I have known several all-american sprinters and they do not live the lifestyle that a distance runner does.

Nice attempt though. Sprinters are the biggest slackers in the sport.

Mandingo, I with you on the 5000m.

? wrote:

Mandingo, I with you on the 5000m.

I think I know who you are! Did you run a 20 miler yesterday in 1:48:29?

1500m or the mile, the Classic Distance.

800

Pole vault- to add to my sex appeal :) And I imagine that the experience of propelling yourself that high would be pretty awesome compared to running around the track 50 million times.

If it were an option in real life though, I'd probably go with the 5 or 10K, to see my training pay off, and because I started running those distances because I liked them.

There would be a different kind of fame than being a 100m world class runner- because there are a lot of great American 100m runners, but at the distance events, you'd be one of very few.

I wish, but no. You don't know me, I am just some random dude.

guess why distance runners live that "lifestyle". it's because jogging around for 10 miles weighing 130 pounds does not come remotely close to the stress placed on the body by an intense sprint workout. when your workout involves the maximum force your body can produce CNS fatigue is immense. the harder you workout, the less time you can physically spend doing it, and the more recovery time you need. sure, i've heard distance guys complain about their ever-present shin splints, and then freak out when they felt a sore hammy for the first time. when you are a sprinter every muscle is sore every day. don't think i've ever seen a distance guy puke his guts out in practice or after a race either. add three or four days of heavy lifting a week to your schedule and we'll see how much mileage you get in then. you like to think that you work harder than everyone else but it's just not true.

High and Mighty wrote:

100 meter sprinter.

You don't have to workout that hard. Get big chunks of the year off. Most people would know your name which would get you lots of things for free.

But.... My mind likes distance too much so probably 1500/mile. Still have to train hard, mostly year round. Less people would know you.

Personally, I found sprint training harder than middle-distance training. You're on the track for lot longer, you're in the gym a lot more, and you're having to run at your maximum way more. Whereas with MD I could log some easy miles, you don't really do that with sprinting. Just my experience.

I mentioned that sprinters are the biggest slackers. Personally, throwers work the hardest from what I can tell and live the most regimented lives. Sprinters usually live the worst livestyle and have the worst work ethic, at all levels from what I have seen.

You can sing whatever song you want to sing but I am not buying it and you certainly cannot wipe my memory of all I have seen in my years of running and coaching in the sport of track and field.

how do you know so much about the "sprinting lifestyle"? do you follow them around all day taking notes? so now throwers work the hardest? i'm sure they have a pretty intense eating regimen... you're just pissed because you aren't as fast as the "lazy sprinters" who don't have to spend the entire day running, and aren't so socially awkward that they stay home on saturday night updating their mileage logs. your name suits you well, especially when you pull out the ever-popular "i have ran and coached for years and i know everything" defense. i bet you're not quite as smart as you think you are if you really believe that all athletes at the top don't work equally hard to achieve success.

good one wrote:

i bet you're not quite as smart as you think you are if you really believe that all athletes at the top don't work equally hard to achieve success.

I shouldn't enter this pissing match, as I tend to agree that all athletes work hard, just differently based on your specialty. However, you implied earlier that sprinters work harder than distance runners, are you backing off of that claim now?

I would want to be world class in the shot, disc, or hammer. And I wouldn't really need a medal either, just a top 10 or 15 world ranking.

Imagine the $$$$$ I'd make putting the shot over 68 feet while weighing in at 117 lbs. and 5'6". I am a freak!!

This is fun. Glad I had a few free hours today to spend online.

Before I respond directly to your questions I few things should be made clear. By sprinters I mean 100/200 sprinters. I have all the respect in the world for 400 runners, whom I consider to be mid-distance (400 - 3k).

How do I know about the sprinting lifestyle? I have been part of teams in high school and college that had very good sprinters. I hung out with the sprinters in high school and college and got to know some of their friends from other schools. They were some of the best in our state and in the country. They would do more things that they shouldn't than doing the right things. As a coach now, I get to see college kids first hand and get to talk to their head coaches. You get all the dirt you need to make an assumption, even if you don't want to know some of the details. Don't get me wrong, there are serious sprinters out there everywhere. Their event just doesn't demand as much as most other events in track and field, in my opinion based off of my observations and conversations.

I now live with an olmpic thrower, 2004, and a few other world team throwers. They do have a very strict eating diet and many times they are pissed at me because I am always eating cake, brownies and ice cream. They rarely budge from their diet. So I think I know what world class throwers do and it sure is the hell more than I do. A totally different level of commitment.

I do spend a decent amount of time running. A have been lucky enough to be able ro enjoy a high level of running in high school, college, and post-collegiately. You are right though, it is a bit unnerving that sprinters don't have to put as much in to get a lot out, compared to most other track and field events. That is why I answered the original question to this thread with the response of sprinter, but you were a bit to slow to pick up on that I guess.

With regard to my name, it is meant as a joke because I honestly feel just the opposite of what it says. I have plenty to learn and certainly don't consider myself smart, just a good observer. In regard to me using the years of running and coaching as an example, what else am I suppose to use as my reasoning for knowing about sprinters? ESP? Magazines? Message Boards?

Not all athletes at the top work equally hard. That might be the stupidest thing posted on this thread next to the garbage I just wrote. Many athletes at the top work hard but there are plenty that don't and several that work harder than others. This includes the lifestyle that allows you to be all you can be (sorry army).

In the end, I guess I will agree to disagree.