Why is Maine producing the best distance runners in the US?

It's because we yell at kids in diners. Toughens them up. That, and our pancakes.

Yawn.

Weak argument bro. You're just backtracking now.

Maine is the best state in the US.

porterhaus wrote:

Stats for one distance for half a year hardly construct adequate support for the argument of producing the best distance runners in the US.

well, if you look from 2008-2014 in NH, you'll find maybe 5-10 milers that range from 4:07 to 4:15-16. Our MoC's is usually won in 15:15-15:30, and we've produced many regional winners. Hell, I ran with Guor mariel who went to CHS, and ran a 2:11 marathon. We have good teams, great running trails..etc

Jenkins is 23, and has already run 13:07. Hopefully, in 5-6 years, when he hits his prime, he'll be down in the 12:48x range.

go nh/maine!

Will and Riley ran great HS times off extremely low mileage. Bound to blow up once they started some real training. And True just needed to shed the muscle from skiing and was bound to blow up.

I'll take True for $10k next Saturday at Beach 2 Beacon please.

13 minutes 17 seconds of fame wrote:

Everyone gets 15 minutes of fame, and it happens to be Maine's turn now. Put 1.3 million Mainers in a room for 250 years and eventually 3 of them are fast at the same time.

Main has produced 5 runners that have gone under 13:30 just in the past 9-10 years. if you go back further, you get more.

???

No drug testing in the backwoods of Maine.

Maine native Colin Peddie, 10k AA @ Virginia in the '80's, has built a running shoe store empire in New England with Marathon Sports.

Age cheating. There just aren't good birth records in Maine.

For example, Ben True is in his 50's.

Because of the documentary "The Real Maine".

4runner wrote:

Age cheating. There just aren't good birth records in Maine.

For example, Ben True is in his 50's.

This.

back to the topic why does maine have 3 of the the top 5k runners in the country right now? and new hampshire with another one? is there something about new england that is producing these guys??

The toughest MF I ever met was from Maine. The biggest Sally I've ever met was from UCLA.

Joshua Chamberlain wrote:

The toughest MF I ever met was from Maine. The biggest Sally I've ever met was from UCLA.

Haha I know right? Maine produces the toughest, hardiest people in the country and its about damn time we get recognized.

The real question is, when is Eric Giddings going to lose 60lbs, start running 100 mile weeks, and demolish True AGAIN in the Beach to Beacon?

http://www.beach2beacon.org/results2003.htm

That's sick. I didn't know Giddings ran 31:17 at a 16 year old. I knew he ran sub 9:10 in HS, but that's incredible.

a) Joanie made it look easy and doable.

b) Feeder state for Dartmouth

Judging from Stephen King's books about maine and horrors around every corner I'd say everyone there better grow up prepared to run fast as hell...

Spruce Pickford wrote:

7 American-born men have run under 13:18 for 5000 this year. Three of them are from tiny Maine, population 1.33 million. (And a fourth is from next door New Hampshire) What makes Mainers so fast? Lobstah? Blueberries? Soft Serve ice cream?

13:06 Ben True (Maine)

13:07 Eric Jenkins (New Hampshire)

13:12 Galen Rupp (Oregon)

13:15 Ryan Hill (North Carolina)]

13:16 Garret Heath (Minnesota)

13:17 Will Geoghegan (Maine)

13:17 Riley Masters (Maine)

It's just 3 runners!

This is a rare coincedential stat, once these guys retire what's the odds of it happening again? In about 10 years were probably going to have 3 really fast girls at 1500m from Montana...

Rojo did a write up saying that Maine had a higher rate at producing sub-13:20 runners, but the thing about 3 runners is, if you take out one, the stat tremendously shifts and Kenya is going to consistently produce sub-13:20 runners at about the same rate, the odds of Maine maintaining 3 sub-13:20 runners is highly improbable

PLUS in Kenya, they have many sub-13:20 runners, but what about sub-13:10/sub-13:00, they lead by a long shot

Toughness and hard training has little to do with it. All of these Maine and New Hampshire runners are from one tribe. They have longer, thinner calves than most of us, the key to distance speed. That, plus the fact that the culture of Maine and New Hampshire is oriented toward distance running, and successful distance runners come back to northern New England as local heroes. The thousands of dollars that these runners win goes a long way in this part of the country. Ben True just bought two cows with his 3rd place money from the Belgium meet, making him one of the richest men in the state.