How fast could Usain Bolt run the mile?

with his 400m time, he would break 5:00 in his sleep. still say 4:10.

Mos Def wrote:

kewliooooo wrote:

reality check...running distance is REALLY hard for sprinters. ever seen a sprinter on your team atempt a 5k? it is a sad sight

Not really. Running distance is difficult for pure 100 meter guys, but not so much for 400 meter guys. Remember, Bolt started out as mainly a 400 meter guy. I'm saying 4:35

No he didn't he started at 200m and even if he did you are talking crap as he is clearly better at 100m

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Usain Bolt has the natural talent to be one of the fittest men alive.

Of course he couldn't compete with Froning right now, but if he put his all into fitness, he could be a serious competitor.

That said, I would say his ceiling for the 1600 would be somewhere around 3:55, not faster, or he would lose too much muscle mass, which is not desired.

That said, I would say his ceiling for the 1600 would be somewhere around 3:55, not faster, or he would lose too much muscle mass, which is not desired.[/quote]

1600 he is not in HS

the dude is BIG and HEAVY. his heart/cardio system will become so strained from the duration of a mile. just saying, it's not a lack of fitness, it's a mass issue.

Outside of a race, my recent 100m is 14.20.....if I add race adrenaline and general stretching and track readiness, I'd give myself reasonable 13.85 for a raced 100m....Usain's best raced 100m is 9.58.....This means at full sprint,in a race scenario my PR would be 69% of his, roughly.My fastest mile time, recently, in race scenario on a flat surface (like a track, though not a track) is 5:57. Based on these calculations, in raw numbers:Usain would get roughly 4:10.55However, he is likely not a 4:10 runner in this regard....since his body would suffer some later wear for a potentially quick start, which would likely result in a diminish on lap 3 and a slight pick up on lap 4, here's what I give Usain for splits:60 67 72 68 1.5= 4:28:30 for Bolt's mile.That's my educated guess.

fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu wrote:

When in sprinting shape, no specialized distance training outside of what he already does.

I'd say 4:50. Does two laps in 2:22, fades hard to a 81, closes in 67.

When I did some sprinting in middle school I ran the PE mile much faster than when doing nothing at all. And the amount of training that Olympic sprinters do all day really adds up. But I think you need to work on endurance to get into the 4:40s.

if Bolt could run 4:20, then run of the mill high school sprinters would run 4:30/40/50 off of their sprint training. But very few ever do. Ergo, sprint training does not generate this kind of ability. Bolt would start hurting at 600m and struggle in to the 800m mark and likely quit by 900m. He won't even train every year for the 100m, let alone do an in season 400m. Why? Because it's too hard. So, now he's going to do a mile all out, and not rig down to a slow jog by the 3rd lap?? I'd be surprised if he broke 5, and that's an average 75 lap for a 44 second guy. But it would be entertaining to watch. He'd probably jog out in 57, then 30, to a conservative 87 second 600m before 40s 200m to 800m in 2:07, not bad at all. Then 90/87 for a 5:04.

Possible. But where do the standards break? Are we evaluating Bolt as a foolish sprinter who will try to sprint the mile? Or are we looking at a Bolt who will know he is running the mile, and therefore, will plan accordingly. Yes, Bolt as a runner, will likely plan for different distances. I don't know how practical it is to say a sprinter doesn't have a solid mile in them when track running is still a standard warm-up for even sprinters.Plus, this is apples and oranges...High school runners, all except for the elites, are highly untrained in other than running for a time. Many, in fact, most, are not trained in the best skill for a runner--how to breathe at pace to not risk Hypoxia.I believe Bolt, at his age, would know how to combat Hypoxia since the lactic acid and general windedness of Anaerobic Training would prepare him.We can't reasonably judge Bolt's standards by High Schoolers.

jjjjjjjjj wrote:

if Bolt could run 4:20, then run of the mill high school sprinters would run 4:30/40/50 off of their sprint training. But very few ever do. Ergo, sprint training does not generate this kind of ability. Bolt would start hurting at 600m and struggle in to the 800m mark and likely quit by 900m. He won't even train every year for the 100m, let alone do an in season 400m. Why? Because it's too hard. So, now he's going to do a mile all out, and not rig down to a slow jog by the 3rd lap?? I'd be surprised if he broke 5, and that's an average 75 lap for a 44 second guy. But it would be entertaining to watch. He'd probably jog out in 57, then 30, to a conservative 87 second 600m before 40s 200m to 800m in 2:07, not bad at all. Then 90/87 for a 5:04.

There is literally no way Bolt would break 5. He has no aerobic fitness, and being able to run a fast 400 means literally nothing except for he'd be great at burning himself out in the first lap. For those of you saying sub 4:20, I honestly wonder how brain dead you are. Literally no chance of Bolt having that kind of endurance. He runs the shortest event in track.

I really truly think he could go under 5:00 in his sleep.

Anyone on twitter who could ask him and settle this? He'd probably answer, right?

4:10 may be ambitious off no training, but 5:00? Come on. He could so easily break 5:00 it's not even funny.

I'm not sure if you are serious. But Usain Bolt will never ever be able to run 4:10 for a mile.

With full dedication for long time (which I doubt he could do) he might break 4:30. Maybe 4:20, not faster.

At the moment? No idea, but probably in the range 4:45 - 5:00. I very much doubt he can run sub 4:40 right now.

Florence Griffith Joyner, while still doping, and in her 30's, but fading from sprinting glory, set out to run long distance races. She started training and then debuted in a local 5k. She ran something like a 17:30.

A previous post got it right. Many sprinters find it very hard to go much longer than 600 meters.

And, many sprinters have no idea about "pace".

I doubt Usain would break 5 min for the mile.

Alright are you kidding me? I'm a high school discus thrower and my 5k is under 23 minutes. I am also one of the worst on the XC team. There's no way one of the greatest athletes in the world runs a 5k slower than me.

yep, no way over 20 minutes. Surprised no one has never asked him straight out on twitter what his mile/5k times are.

Right now: 4:49

Full year of mile training: 4:14

To the guy who said he wouldn't break 22 in a 5k: that is absolutely ridiculous. As long as they aren't fat, it should be pretty easy for a reasonably athletic male to come out and run 7 minute pace for 3.1 miles. We are talking about freakin USAIN BOLT here people. The dude is a specimen. Blah blah blah he's a sprinter blah blah. No. He is in excellent shape and could for sure go under 5, probably closer to 4:30. I could see him running around 17 flat for a 5k.

Me3 wrote:

Florence Griffith Joyner, while still doping, and in her 30's, but fading from sprinting glory, set out to run long distance races. She started training and then debuted in a local 5k. She ran something like a 17:30.

A previous post got it right. Many sprinters find it very hard to go much longer than 600 meters.

And, many sprinters have no idea about "pace".

I doubt Usain would break 5 min for the mile.

I think it's funny that you used a female sprinter, running a 17:30 (in her 30s) as part of an argument that Bolt WON'T break 5:00 for the mile.

She ran 5:39 pace for a 5k. And you think that means Bolt, at age 28, couldn't muster 5:00 for a single mile?

Interesting logic.

funny argument wrote:

Me3 wrote:

Florence Griffith Joyner, while still doping, and in her 30's, but fading from sprinting glory, set out to run long distance races. She started training and then debuted in a local 5k. She ran something like a 17:30.

A previous post got it right. Many sprinters find it very hard to go much longer than 600 meters.

And, many sprinters have no idea about "pace".

I doubt Usain would break 5 min for the mile.

I think it's funny that you used a female sprinter, running a 17:30 (in her 30s) as part of an argument that Bolt WON'T break 5:00 for the mile.

She ran 5:39 pace for a 5k. And you think that means Bolt, at age 28, couldn't muster 5:00 for a single mile?

Interesting logic.

BURN!