Usain Bolt Sub 5?

Yes, easily. His insane speed coupled with high lactic acid tolerance would make it easy. Think of this Bolt could probably drop a 45s 400m in peak 100m shape. That's 30s faster than 5 flat pace. He'd positive split, but still run mid to high 4:xx

He can easily do it. Thousands of freshmen kids do it every year. Can anyone possibly believe that Bolt couldn't keep up with them?

As it stands - it would probably be close. He's in fair aerobic shape probably.

With one month of training he could do it for sure.

Anyone who says he would be deep into the 4s doesn't understand how a typical sprinter's body works. Bolt's 800 would probably be hot garbage too.

therealrunner wrote:

I promise you he could.

Just like olympictruth I was a sprinter (albeit slower at 10.9, 21.5). For fun I raced a soccer playing buddy in a mile. We both broke 5 (barley)

unless Bolt has far crappier endurance than me I think he is good. 5 is pretty pedestrian.

So if I promised you he couldn't, I think your promise is going to be broken first.

The real question is, would he look relaxed trying.

very good point coach d. I agree 100%. There's a reason millions of people will know Bolt's name, but no one knows who Asbel Kiprop is. People watch the good stuff.

These types of questions always pop up on these boards, and the same types of people always wildly overestimate how hard certain distance event times are. It's probably to make themselves feel better. Like "sure Usain Bolt is one of the greatest Olympians ever, but he couldn't do what I do." The idea that Usain Bolt couldn't break 5 is preposterous. Any adult male with decent athletic ability should be able to do it.

Impossible.

No super elite 100m runner can run a sub 5 minute mile.

Metric Miler wrote:

douchelin^3 wrote:

I think some of you here are under the impression that a sub 5 minute mile is hard. Bolt could probably run under 5. I think he could even have a shot at 4:30. Don't forget that while he's an incredible sprinter, he's also a very good overall athlete. I've known high schoolers who come off the football field running in the vicinity of 5 minutes for a mile, why would Bolt be any less gifted than them?

I think he runs sub 5 in a race, 4:30 on a month of training. If we're talking about a time trial that might be a different story.

Ok explain.

Why do decathletes, the very best all round athletes there are, find it hard?

Correct MM. Claiming he has a shot at 4:30 shows incredible lack of understanding of track and field.

Dr. Van Nostrand wrote:

These types of questions always pop up on these boards, and the same types of people always wildly overestimate how hard certain distance event times are. It's probably to make themselves feel better. Like "sure Usain Bolt is one of the greatest Olympians ever, but he couldn't do what I do." The idea that Usain Bolt couldn't break 5 is preposterous. Any adult male with decent athletic ability should be able to do it.

Please watch the video of Carl Lewis in great shape struggling to run about 2:20 for the half mile.

........... wrote:

He could do it. He used to do the 400m so he has some endurance talent. His super fast speed will make a 75 second 400 feel like nothing, of course at the end it might be hard for him, but I think he could do it. Michael Johnson also personally said that Usain Bolt can beat his 400m world record, so a 75 would really feel like nothing to him

Your logic is sound. In fact Usain can run around 44 for a 400, he's done it in a relay. So a 60sec quarter would feel like nothing. So he could not only run a sub 4 mile but 4 min pace would feel so easy he could probably hold this pace for a marathon!

Sub 2 hr marathon here we come!!!

As further proof of this I've listed all the great sprinters who have successfully transitioned to the distances below:

He might be able to do it (with training), or he might not. What many people don't seem to get is that 100m or even 400m ability has just about zero (if not inverse) correlation with ability with 1500m and over.

Of course he can. It's not that hard. He ran 45 sec 400m in high school, which shows he has endurance. He would obviously have to do some distance training to do it, but it's totally doable. I was a decent 400m runner in college myself and I ran 4:50 while doing some preseason work with the cross country team.

oopsIcrappedmypants wrote:

Of course he can. It's not that hard. He ran 45 sec 400m in high school, which shows he has endurance. He would obviously have to do some distance training to do it, but it's totally doable. I was a decent 400m runner in college myself and I ran 4:50 while doing some preseason work with the cross country team.

There are some sprinters who could go sub 5 no problem with a little training while other would have no shot. As others have said there isn't much correlation between ability in the 100 or even 400 and the mile. I don't think we really know what Bolt could do unless he tried.

As far as your 400 ability how fast were you. Because the number of decent college programs where sprinters ever do work with the X-country team is 0.

Primo Numero Uno wrote:

........... wrote:

He could do it. He used to do the 400m so he has some endurance talent. His super fast speed will make a 75 second 400 feel like nothing, of course at the end it might be hard for him, but I think he could do it. Michael Johnson also personally said that Usain Bolt can beat his 400m world record, so a 75 would really feel like nothing to him

Your logic is sound. In fact Usain can run around 44 for a 400, he's done it in a relay. So a 60sec quarter would feel like nothing. So he could not only run a sub 4 mile but 4 min pace would feel so easy he could probably hold this pace for a marathon!

Sub 2 hr marathon here we come!!!

As further proof of this I've listed all the great sprinters who have successfully transitioned to the distances below:

Bolt would easily, easily break 5 minutes.

College sprinters running 10.4-10.7 at every university program with zero endurance training can go 4:4X.

I ran 5:00 as a 13 year old running less mileage than Bolt per week. Around 8-10 mpw if you're interested. At that time my 400m was around 62sec and my 3200m was around 12:30.

Are you trying to tell me that a 13 yr old 62 400m / 12:30 3200m kid could beat the world record holder in 100m/200m over 1600m? Do you think that a guy who could run a world class 400m would lose to a kid who is almost 20 sec slower in the 400m in a race that's only 4 laps?

Some of you geniuses try to cite some kind of physiology claiming that what makes Bolt so good at 100m-400m will make him terrible at 1600m. Sure. He's still easily well into the 4-minute range.

bruhhhhhh wrote:

IMO 400m runners require the tallest or second tallest athletes. don't say that michael johnson is only 6'1 or whatever in your argument. he has run 19.19, michael got kind of close. if he trained his endurance, i think it'd be possible.

Bolt did train his endurance. He was 6'4" as a junior when he ran under 20.

The best he did off of 19.9 was 45.7. He has literally no speed endurance for 400. How he even managed 30.97 for 300 is amazing- he actually ran the 300 very well curve and all.

Suppose he had kept going another 100 in that 300, he would have slowed to 13.0 like every other 400 runner does except the very best and run just under 44. And he appeared to be training for the 300.

I would say his best 400 would be 43.6. Bolt is a pure sprinter, the trailing off of his performance at 300, then 400, and likely 500 or 600m would just further prove it.

That's just nonsense. Most 10.4-10.7 guys would probably run the first 400 on pace and then hobbyjog to about a 5:30.

The age grades for those times would be

400m 77.9

mile 83.25

3200 70.79

So somehow you either managed to be significantly worse at both the 3200 and 400? Congratulations on either sandbagging your races, or being full of sh1t. I am going to go on a limb and go with the latter.

And by the way, genius, many decathletes who run mid 40s for 400m struggle to run under 4:30 for 1500m. And they do train for the event, at least a little. So yes, it's entirely possible that a high schooler could beat a world champion sprinter in the mile BECAUSE THE TWO EVENTS HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON. Sprinting might as well be another sport.

What you don't understand is that fast twitch guys respond very differently to anything over 400-500 meters or so than your average member of the population. You'd see a massive drop off.

When I was in 10.7/21.7/48 shape, I couldn't break 2:15 in the 800 and probably couldn't go under 5:30 for a mile. A lot of pros are similar at just faster progressions.

graceful_admin wrote:

College sprinters running 10.4-10.7 at every university program with zero endurance training can go 4:4X.

No, they can't. You're wrong.

If all of these great sprinters could EASILY run under 5 with no endurance training, then it would stand to reason that, with the right training, they'd all be phenomenal distance runners as well. This is an either/or thing, folks.