Jakob Ingebrigtsen wins European cross country

Yeah but he (Alex Yee) got knocked over twice. He would have been up there otherwise.

ukathleticcoach wrote:

Stop whining, get serious. wrote:

The course was actually 6.15 km, so 13:42 5k pace.

Nobody us interested in xc times or exact distance in Europe or at world lebel. Ever here Bekele mention a xc time? No only American college kids.

Even though this dude doesn't speak english, I agree with the statement that nobody except US NCAA XC runners care about XC times. It's all about place. And it's great this kid won this race, but was there anybody else in the race?

It's like Foot Locker in high school now... It doesn't mean anything. 10-15 years ago it was the pinnacle of high school running. Now any random joe can show up and qualify for nationals.

I find it incredibly interesting that they do a lot of their workouts (including the vast majority of tempos) on treadmills. They were training in Flagstaff for 4 weeks earlier this season and still did their tempos on a treadmill.

Anyone have any insight into why they do this?

It's clear that Ingebrigsten is already training like a professional (as seriously, if not as much volume yet), and going to all the professional training hotbeds with his brothers. He's running 3:42 at the same age as a 9th grader, and probably something like 3:38 (if not better) as what would be a 10th grader in the US, but it's not quite the same thing as a high schooler here running those kinds of times after only a year or two of running.

Does not matter. He's incredibly good. His older brothers have proved that his father's training and his genetics are good enough to reach the pinnacle of the sport. I doubt he keeps setting age group world records until he eventually sets the world record, but unless something goes awfully wrong, he'll be in the Olympics some day soon.

UATC wrote:

I find it incredibly interesting that they do a lot of their workouts (including the vast majority of tempos) on treadmills. They were training in Flagstaff for 4 weeks earlier this season and still did their tempos on a treadmill.

Anyone have any insight into why they do this?

In Norway, the winter can be quite harsh. Many, many of the Norwegian elites as well as "normal" runners do this to continue quality training when there is snow and especially ice on the roads, tracks, and/or forest paths. Ingrid Kristiansen is another fine example of this use of treadmill for hard training. We become used to it, and make it habit. Regarding tempos, it is much easier to control pace/effort while on a treadmill. Salazar's group also uses the same way of thinking regarding "tempos" and easy runs. It should be noted that the American, Rupp, as well as the Brit, Farah, also use their treadmills for long runs. Mr. Ingebrigtsen is highly knowledgeable regarding running training, and it should be known that the 3 brothers also have an extensive background in Nordic skiing since very young. Of course, many Norwegian runners will also supplement their running training with skiing. I am the opposite: I support my skiing with running. Both systems work well together. Heia Jakob!

Thanks for the response, really appreciate the info! Very interesting stuff.

Their videos also show them doing running in the pool in winter, as well as track work, indoor and outdoor, acupuncture (done by Henrik to Jakob), and so forth. Jakob will likely be at a similar level to Henrik (3:31) and Filip by the time he's 20. Whether he'll get into the 3:28-29 range is the question. It seems unlikely because he won't likely have great speed, so maybe a sub 13 is more likely but this is a family of 1500m runners so why not a two second drop for one of them from what Henrik has already done?

Wow... pretty accurate. 17 tho.

No, September 2000. Only a bit over 16.

Does anyone know what his next race will be?

Anu Euro Indoor meets?