Neither Jake Wightman or Josh Kerr will run in the European Championships

Primate 1 wrote:

objectiveobserver wrote:

I don´t know so much about Kerr´s training and racing but isn´t he doing more less the same as the previous years and that seems to have been quite successful!

Jakob likes to race a lot in the season (he doesn´t like training) and yes I think he will take the many Euro races as sharpeners. And that is a good chance he will leave the Euros in improved shape.

Some people here think it is risky, including the Yorkshire guy, but I think it is a mistake. Jakob can possible qualify for the finals without going all in so it is really just and efficient way to sharpen. Even an intense 1500m final is something you recover from within some few days.

I have been both an elite (amateur) soccer player and an elite (master) runner and I can testify that a soccer match is much more tiresome than a 1500m or 5000m race.

And the professional soccer players play matches once or twice per week in most of the year. And some of them (Giggs, Ronaldo, Messi) are on the top of the world for 20+ years.

By the way : The soccer players also sharpens by competing. You can be in good shape when the season starts but you are not at your best before you have played a number of matches.

Finally: Remember the old saying: You can endure double as much as you think and...........

10 times as much as your mother thinks.

Yeah everyone on Let's Run anonymous message board is elite.

Of course playing a soccer match is more tiring than racing a 1500. And it is a lot more tiring than sprinting a 100. That doesn't mean that sprinters and distance runners should compete twice a week most of the year like soccer players do. The injury rate would be very high and they would never peak the right way.

There are arguments for people to run and not run Euros, but the fact that professional soccer players have two matches per week is not one of them.

Primate 1 wrote:

objectiveobserver wrote:

I don´t know so much about Kerr´s training and racing but isn´t he doing more less the same as the previous years and that seems to have been quite successful!

Jakob likes to race a lot in the season (he doesn´t like training) and yes I think he will take the many Euro races as sharpeners. And that is a good chance he will leave the Euros in improved shape.

Some people here think it is risky, including the Yorkshire guy, but I think it is a mistake. Jakob can possible qualify for the finals without going all in so it is really just and efficient way to sharpen. Even an intense 1500m final is something you recover from within some few days.

I have been both an elite (amateur) soccer player and an elite (master) runner and I can testify that a soccer match is much more tiresome than a 1500m or 5000m race.

And the professional soccer players play matches once or twice per week in most of the year. And some of them (Giggs, Ronaldo, Messi) are on the top of the world for 20+ years.

By the way : The soccer players also sharpens by competing. You can be in good shape when the season starts but you are not at your best before you have played a number of matches.

Finally: Remember the old saying: You can endure double as much as you think and...........

10 times as much as your mother thinks.

Yeah everyone on Let's Run anonymous message board is elite.

Of course playing a soccer match is more tiring than racing a 1500. And it is a lot more tiring than sprinting a 100. That doesn't mean that sprinters and distance runners should compete twice a week most of the year like soccer players do. The injury rate would be very high and they would never peak the right way.

There are arguments for people to run and not run Euros, but the fact that professional soccer players have two matches per week is not one of them.

objectiveobserver wrote:

Be aware that I haven´t critized neither Kerr nor Wightman I have just stated that some runners like to compete a lot and have success with that.

I have ALSO stated that Kerr seems to be quite successful with his concept even though my personal opinion is that Kerr´s (and Wightman´s) success the last years mainly is due to more focus on endurance training.

About training in general: I think it is beneficial for a MD and long distance runner to have a base training period where he mainly focus on developing endurance, a period where he sharpens for competition and a competition period where focus on racing.

I have experienced a lot of improvement in the competition period by competing several times per week. One time I raced 7 times over about 14 days from 800m to 13.3km and improved well both on the shorter distances and the longer ones.

Some people here are in my opinion overstating the risk of competing frequently. In my experience it is overtraining which is dangerous.

Be aware that Jakob´s injury problems started with an accident in a X country race (Euro U20 in Lissabon 2019?) where he damaged his sacrum. The achilles injury is reportedly a sequela of the sacrum injury.

HoobyJogger wrote:

objectiveobserver wrote:

Be aware that I haven´t critized neither Kerr nor Wightman I have just stated that some runners like to compete a lot and have success with that.

I have ALSO stated that Kerr seems to be quite successful with his concept even though my personal opinion is that Kerr´s (and Wightman´s) success the last years mainly is due to more focus on endurance training.

About training in general: I think it is beneficial for a MD and long distance runner to have a base training period where he mainly focus on developing endurance, a period where he sharpens for competition and a competition period where focus on racing.

I have experienced a lot of improvement in the competition period by competing several times per week. One time I raced 7 times over about 14 days from 800m to 13.3km and improved well both on the shorter distances and the longer ones.

Some people here are in my opinion overstating the risk of competing frequently. In my experience it is overtraining which is dangerous.

Be aware that Jakob´s injury problems started with an accident in a X country race (Euro U20 in Lissabon 2019?) where he damaged his sacrum. The achilles injury is reportedly a sequela of the sacrum injury.

Park run and a local club meet aren’t the same as the Olympics champ

justanothercuriousdude wrote:

Yorkshire Fell wrote:

Am I the ‘Yorkshire guy’?!

I think what works for one person doesn’t work for another. Jakob has always raced lots. I personally think that’s a slightly higher risk strategy (see losing/being ill/being injured) in terms of peaking when it counts. How’s that gone for him? Yes he wins lots of DL races. He should win the major championships really..

Kerr peaks when it counts. He’s more selective about racing with eyes on the big prize. This isn’t unusual! Have you seen Faith Kipyegon this year? Is she racing every week to ‘race in to shape for the Olympics?’ No she’s yet to race..

I don’t mind Jakob, I think he brings a lot to the sport. His tactic is high risk but potentially high reward. That’s how he likes to play it.

Doesn’t mean Kerr is doing it wrong though!

1. You should include the Olympics and Euros (when they include medalist of all values from Worlds) in your list of major championships. Then Jakob doesn’t come that bad out of it…

2. Kipyegon not racing all that much this year? Well, there’s an injury problem…

3. Kerr always peaking when it counts? Based on one bronze and one gold? What about WC 2017,19 and 2022?

Yorkshire Fell wrote:

justanothercuriousdude wrote:

1. You should include the Olympics and Euros (when they include medalist of all values from Worlds) in your list of major championships. Then Jakob doesn’t come that bad out of it…

2. Kipyegon not racing all that much this year? Well, there’s an injury problem…

3. Kerr always peaking when it counts? Based on one bronze and one gold? What about WC 2017,19 and 2022?

Euros? Nobody cares about the Euros to be honest. Many of our best athletes miss them. No credit to Jakob for winning a European medal (sorry) and I bet he feels the same. Let’s be honest the Olympics and the World’s are the ones that count.

I also don’t care what anyone was doing in 2017! That was 7 years ago. I am talking about recent form. Recent world championships- that is what matters. You’ve seen the change in Kerr. He wasn’t competitive in 2016/2017. He is now. Now counts.

Weak arguments.

anon1 wrote:

Replied to you but really to the OP. Wightman doesn't have a guaranteed place at the Olympics yet. Now he has the standard from Pre, he has to ensure he comes top 2 (or 3 if Kerr competes) in the 1500m at the British Championships at the end of June.

Kerr has the discretionary third place due to his Budapest gold so isn't under the same pressure but going on recent history he will be expected to make an appearance at the Championships. He may run the 800m again like last year.

Jakob is obviously guaranteed an Olympics berth so national championships is much less important and not something he has to peak for. The same for other global medalists who are going (Mondo, Bolt etc).

With this in mind, it doesn't make sense for Wightman to compete at Euros and compromise the trials, especially coming off injury. With Kerr there is less of an argument for not making himself available for selection, except that competing for continental titles is a step down from competing for global champs. As a British fan of athletics it's not something that anyone will hold against him. The athletes going will enjoy a lot of support and should be good enough to make the final and compete for medals.

Yorkshire Fell wrote:

objectiveobserver wrote:

You are posting as if you cared about Jakob but you don´t because you are rooting for your compatriots. Isn´t it true that you hope that Jakob won´t improve too much the next months.

Then I pointed out that Kerr NEVER runs the Euros. Except for one time when he was a junior.

Wasn´t that relevant?

Then I thought it could be fun to show the video from that junior X country race. Some people here might not know that Jakob and Kerr already competed against each other as teenagers

I didn´t expect you to like the video and I was right.

Kerr plans his schedule to peak for the major world championships. In the past few years he’s often a bit below par the first few races. Not this year though. He will have his reasons for not doing the Euros every year. He’s based in the US, he has a specific race schedule. He doesn’t really have anything to prove at the Euros.

Two athletes can have different schedules that work for them. It doesn’t mean that one is ‘ducking’ the other. It doesn’t mean the more races the better (apart from

for the spectators).

Like him or loathe him, Kerr knows what he’s doing.