Why the diss on ultra runners? Many 2:25 marathoners show up to the start line of 100s and get smoked (by hours). Leg speed doesn't help much when there is 40,000ft of elevation change on super technical terrain. Plus 2:25 isn't that fast.
I smoked a 1:08 half marathoner (in a 50k) this past summer by 45 minutes because of the 9,000ft of climbing in a race. I read on his blog that he guaranteed an easy win before the race. That was only a 31 mile race. I think he was seriously humbled.
soccer
basketball
football
running is waaaaayyyyy down the list, its not really competative because east african completely dominate the sport
If you mean American football, you are being a tad insular. It's only played in ONE country.
Geb would kill in any 100m race. Give him 1 day to prepare for this.[quote]saasdfsa wrote:
You don't think a world XC champ like Tergat could run a few trails? Jesus, he'd win a 100 miler by 2 hours. Maybe it is because the grand prize of these races is a belt buckle and a post race slab of meatloaf, they don't get the EA athletes. If the prize was $500K, Krupicka wouldn't be top 10 in any ultra.
When the local ultra guys like Nick Clark (4th at Western States) run 5Ks, they get beat by every varsity HS boy at my kid's HS. The guy is like a 17 minute 5K. Nick Clark is a great trail runner, but there is no way in hell he could beat Tergat or Geb over 100 miles. Repeat: no way in hell.
Apples and Oranges. Blah Blah
Nick trains for mountain ultras not for 5ks. I would like to see a 5k star step up to the 100s and see how he does on his 5k training. That is what Nick does when he runs a stupid 5k.
EZ10Miler wrote:
soccer
basketball
football
running is waaaaayyyyy down the list, its not really competative because east african completely dominate the sport
You're joking about football right? One country cares and actually plays. Watch a game- most of the players are far from athletes. I'll give the running backs, D-backs, linebackers and receivers credit, but lineman and QB's- no way.
The other sports are athletic but, since running is more widely practiced than any, it makes it harder to be at the top.
I once read (and I can't remember where) that running is the activity done by more people except breath, sleep, and eat. Even sex has fewer participants!
Now, to be the best at it is simply awesome.
runn wrote:
You're joking about football right? One country cares and actually plays. Watch a game- most of the players are far from athletes. I'll give the running backs, D-backs, linebackers and receivers credit, but lineman and QB's- no way.
The other sports are athletic but, since running is more widely practiced than any, it makes it harder to be at the top.
I once read (and I can't remember where) that running is the activity done by more people except breath, sleep, and eat. Even sex has fewer participants!
Now, to be the best at it is simply awesome.
Don't be silly - all pro football players are remarkable athletes. The point about American football only being played in one country is valid (though the U.S. is a very large country).
The only answer to this question is soccer, though. World class soccer players can come from virtually anywhere. I don't know the exact statistic but Premier League players have come from something like 75 different countries and that's just one of the top-flight Euro leagues. Even back when elite distance running wasn't totally dominated by a handful of East African nations, there wasn't that level of diversity. If we adopt the most liberal definition of world-class, top distance runners have come from most European countries, a good number of African nations (but way, way less than half), a few Asian nations (Japan, China, Korea), fewer South American countries (Brazil, Colombia), the U.S., Mexico and Canada. That's pretty impressive but world-class soccer players have come from virtually every nation on earth, with the exception of a few microstates or island nations. Especially nowadays, the best players at each position come from a variety of countries, whereas top distance runners really only are produced by a few East African countries, the U.S., Great Britain & Spain.
When I win the lottery, I'm going to try that. $500,000 prize for the first to finish a 100 miler. I think it would be rather interesting.
You can't be serious. Nick could train for 5K for the next 24 months and not break 15 for 5K.
A good EA cross/marathoner like Tergat is familiar with steep terrain. Where this type of runner may need additional work are technical downhills and fueling. Yet I'm almost certain that if Tergat trained for ultras, he'd wipe the floor with any typical ultrarunner.
It would be absurd for an elite EA distance runner to run a race like Western States for the level of prize money at stake. That's why they don't do it. They've probably never even heard of these races.
If one of these races ponied up a huge prize pool and gave at least 12 months notice, you'd see exactly where Tony Krupicka stacks up. Out of the money. The race would be flooded with an army of Kenyans and Ethiopians, who would take home all the loot.
I'm not saying Krupicka is not an awesome runner. He is. The point is, ultras do not get the best runners in the world to enter. They get people who want to run ultras.
saasdfsa wrote:
To break it down even further, I would say ultrarunning might be at the top. Extreme distances on extreme terrain with very few people having the guts to attempt it. It's not competitive from the standpoint of # of runners, but it's the ultimate mental and physical challenge and <0.2% of all runners have the ba**s to attempt a hundy.
you clearly have no understanding of what the word "competitive" means.
and did you really have to censor "balls"? just goes to show that yours have yet to drop.
EZ10Miler wrote:
soccer
basketball
football
running is waaaaayyyyy down the list, its not really competative because east african completely dominate the sport
this makes zero sense. americans completely dominate basketball and football. that doesn't make them uncompetitive. same goes for east africans and running.
Eating contests
'all pro football players are remarkable athletes'
No, they are remarkable sprinters -just watched a bit about 10 seconds of play in 5 mins
Soccer is much more widespread and is the most played in the world but the players are not the fittest sportsmen. Watch them play in the heat or extra time and they start dropping - considering it is the equivilant of a relay and it's not that impressive
There are only 2 proper sports running and fighting the rest are just hobbies!
kick ball is boring. it's dead in the u.s.
I wish Usain Bolt would step up and run a marathon. He would come in around a half hour faster than Meb or Tergat.
This is the basis of your ignorant commenting. Faster at shorter distance would mean faster at longer distances.
Tell me why the black Africans have such a problem dominating a short ultra like Comrades? Many have tried and many have failed. In the Lore of Running, Noakes thinks it might be their bird like legs that make it hard for them to compete in the ultras. They do not have the stamina for it.
So get off of Tergats nuts for a minute and do some research on the subject.
Why would any elite EA runner bother with a 100 mile race?
Please answer that simple question.
People used to say the same about mountain running, where it was mainly European runners winning, but take a look at the results over the years...
http://www.wmra.ch/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=564&Itemid=34
World Mountain Running Trophy/Championship, Men's Individual champions:
2001 - DE GASPERI Marco ITA
2002 - WYATT Jonathan NZL
2003 - DE GASPERI Marco ITA
2004 - WYATT Jonathan NZL
2005 - WYATT Jonathan NZL
2006 - ORTIZ Rolando COL
2007 - DE GASPERI Marco ITA
2008 - WYATT Jonathan NZL
2009 - Geoffrey KUSURO UGA
2010 - GASHAZGHI Samson K. ERI
In 2010, East African runners took the first 6 places. Most likely a matter of time for ultras too, but why train half a year for an ultra, when you can get start money to run a big city marathon?
The 100km world record is held by a Japanese guy with a 2:10 marathon PB.
Watch out if Gebrselassie ever decides he wants the 100km record to add to his collection.
To answer the question - football, a.k.a. association football, a.k.a. soccer.
Didn't Al Sal win Comrades well after his marathon prime? He was a pretty competitive 5/10K runner as well. So his case demonstrates that an elite 5/10/Mar runner can win an ultra. His case demonstrates this isn't apples and oranges, that an elite marathoner can win an ultra. However you can't show me where some Western States winner has run a 13:30 5K can you? Why is that?
Your Usain Bolt point is worthless. Bolt makes millions running sprints. Why would he move up? Moreover, the man is huge in his chosen sport and I have no idea why he would subject himself to ultra mileage for a 99% pay cut.
Many elites, being from poor countries, are motivated by financial rewards. That's why I said if ultras paid a good prize, you'd see good competition. Even Comrades pays a fairly light prize considering how much a runner would have to specifically train for it and then get beat up by the race. I don't know if they have appearance pay though.
I appreciate trail running for what it is, but let's get real here. The marathon distance is already long and very competitive, and pays well. Marathon road races are capable of having large fields to support large prize purses. This couldn't work on a typical singletrack trail in the mountains, so these races will never have big purses, unless someone decides to sponsor the event in a large way.
Trail ultras are great events for those that are into them, but don't go thinking these guys are the best runners in the world. That isn't to say they aren't very good. What's the problem with that? Seriously, sometimes you trail/ultra guys are really delusional.
Recently, there was a great discussion among the elite ultrarunners in regards to the future of prize money in the sport, and the absolute statement from those elites (Roes, Mackey, Jones, Krupicka) is that yes, they would welcome more prize money and it'd be great for the sport. But, they fully realize that their tiny world would begin to crumble as soon as the Africans show interest.
There is not a 100M competitor alive ignorant enough to think that a faster runner over the marathon can't eventually beat them over 100M. Heck, one of our best is a sub-15' guy, etc (Braje).