Proof: Japan > USA? All-star Ivy League alums w Olympic finalist, 2 13:30s, and a 3:35 only seeded 11th in Ekiden

My main thought historically has been, "Wow, they aren't nearly as talented but they sure do well at the marathon/ekiden by working their butts off."

Or should I update that after reading Sports Gene and be fatalistic and be like, "Damnit, they have better genetics than us for the marathon?"[/quote]

Well said Rojo, people need to acknowledge that there is a mentality among Japanese distance runner's that makes them surprisingly good at competing at an elite level without necessarily harboring elite talent. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't a japanese ekiden team almost upset an elite level kenyan team last year when rupp ran? Wasn't Soi pushed to his limit by a no-name japanese runner?

The point of this comparison is to show that there is something special about this Japanese distance culture, that there are some truly gutsy runners with in, and that even some top level NCAA guys can get their butts kicked but these relatively unknown athletes...

It looks like we have a new answer to the other day's thread about the college team with the most sub-14 guys. Move over Oregon and Wisconsin. Meiji University has 11 guys under 14 minutes.

'You'd be totally studly right? '

How old are you? There is something wrong about describing another man as a stud and trying to use terms that younger people use when you are way beyond that age group.

As for Japan well they are just training like pro's at a young age. Junior athletics means nothing its what happens on senior world stage and Kenya and Ethiopia are still on top by a very long way

Letsrun.com wrote:

We love pointing out how good the Japanese are at long distance running so here we go again.

Imagine if you had a college team with the following guys on it:

Donn Cabral - Olympic steeple finalist/13:40

Kyle Merber 3:35 1500

Joe Stilin 13:33

Dan Lowry 13:34

Mark Amirault - 13:45

You'd be totally studly right? Well the Ivy League team has those guys and bunch of 14:00s on it and they are seeded 11th in the collegiate Ekiden in Japan.

http://japanrunningnews.blogspot.com/2013/10/izumo-ekiden-preview-best-line-up-for.html

The Ivy League is not.....good. Merber was a one-off 3:35 and doesn't translate at all to Ekiden success. He might be the 50th best XC runner in the US on a good day.

Look at the Ivy's 10k times as an indication for Ekiden success. They are not much faster than the best women runners in the world. I don't think that even bun-huggers could help this squad against the Japanese.

11th was a generous ranking. The report handicapped the American's chances accurately: "A placing in the top ten would be a pretty major achievement for the Americans."

adsfasdf wrote:

10k times are much harder to come by in the USA. The Ivy guys have one of the fastest 5k averages. I bet they do better than 11th.

I hear you! Bigger is better and 14 is bigger than 11!

When you posted this I was already laughing about your american noseintheair!

Down goes USA!