Keely Hodgkinson says running is horrible

I tried cycling before I started running.

Training on busy roads never know if the car behind you is coming too close and about to wipe you out. At least with running when its light you can go round a park or countryside.

Plus if you are racing the training takes twice as long

I’m with you on this. I used to run and was decent but I switched to cycling. I’m a lot better of a cyclist than a runner.

The negative about cycling is the time it takes to get ready and all of the associated expenses and equipment. Running is easy in terms of all of that and is not nearly as expensive in comparison.

I still run but not all that often. It’s just when I don’t have time for a ride and as an occasional way to cross train. Cycling is just so much more enjoyable.

First of all, I love to run. I am not sure why, but I like it when I am doing it and I like the way I feel when I am done. I am an old guy in my 40s, but I still get out there for at least 45 minutes every day and run sub 7 pace. I just like it. I also liked hard workouts in college, but they made me get a pit-in-the-stomach feeling and I was glad when they were over, but it was challenging and a worthy thing to do in my eyes.

I roomed with an 800/1500 guy and he hated running. It was hilarious. He was one of the top recruits for his class - not top 10, but a guy who got a dozen or so offers - and could have crushed me in any distance from 800 to 10,000 but he just didn't like it.

I agree with the earlier poster who said that this is often the case with middle distance guys/girls. At least in my experience.

I'd vaguely thought that KH would in due course move up to 1500 given that for an 800 OG winner her 400m pace is not absolutely top drawer. But given the thrust of her views about running as an activity, I'm now wondering...

I remember watching a video of Michael Jordan training in the off season. Shooting and lifting.

They asked what his favorite part of training was, he said “the door slamming on the way out”

Many NFL players hate practice, NBA guys will do anything to do practice.

She is talented but also has to live and work like an Olympic champion which is a massive life difference with others her age

Training and physio don’t take a full day, and she’s not “dealing with press” on a daily basis.

The only difference between pros and dedicated amateurs is pros are blessed with more talent. I train hard too, and I have to fit it around a full time job. I do it because I LOVE IT. I love running, pushing myself, and seeing what I’m capable of.

If Keely doesn’t love the sport, then she can find another career she actually enjoys. It’s a slap in the face to those of us who love the sport when a pro says it’s horrible.

I think loving the sport and loving training are two very different things. But also, how come we do not feel this way about pro football/basketball/baseball players. Most committed to becoming good at their sport so they could make money, not for love of the sport. Why should track and field be any different? I think there is always some bit of love for the sport, whether just competing or just the thrill of doing well. But it's her job. Most people aren't in love with their jobs.

If you believe that "The only difference between pros and dedicated amateurs is pros are blessed with more talent," you're clueless.

You may want to reread the article. I don't believe she said that it's "horrible."

Keely has a good life balance. Perhaps we need more like her in the sport.

Of course talent is the only difference separating pros and dedicated amateurs.

You are wrong. She said “horrible” more than once in this quote:

I ask when she fell in love with running and she gives a little laugh. “I don’t think I ever fell in love with it, I just knew I was good at it. I love feeling healthy and good, but training is horrible, it’s painful, I don’t love that. I just know that I have the mental ability to get through that and push myself really hard because I know I have a talent there. And I enjoy winning and being competitive, I love thinking I’m going to win. But running itself is horrible, let’s be honest. You’re out of breath a lot. I’m tired all the time.”

If she thinks training is horrible,then i dont see her going on to have a really long career. She's olympic champion though,so if or when she retires young,she'll have nothing else to prove.

I think it is more to do with the individual.

Seb Coe always said he loved running

Keely replaces a fare bit of easy running with cross training, most people would rather go for an easy run round a park than something on some machine in a gym

When I was younger I'd get bored a bit on long runs but loved doing the faster stuff on track. Of course it is different for a pro bit most say getting seriously injured is the toughest aspect because its their living.

People say a lot of things they don't really mean as well.. I really doubt every run she goes is horrible or many athletes would get to the top if they really hated it.

Imagine something like swimming where you are staring at the bottom of a pool for hours on end. You can't compare training a few hours a day to a full time job as its the number of hours that gets tedious. Steve Ovett said the life of an athlete was pretty easy, get up go for a run. Go back to bed. Get up for one more session then the day is your own

As to partying you are definitely going to want to do that more if you are young and hardly ever get the chance to do it

"I can't remember a mile in my life that was even mildly amusing"

- Once a Runner

NFL is like being in a car crash for every hit you take. NBA isn't.

I think the one difference:
Keely likes winning enough to offset the stuff that Athing seems to really hate (meet-day pressure, expectations to win/run fast always).

I find it bizarre that people are so up in arms about this. I'm in my late 40s and still train hard and race, so obviously I "enjoy" the sport on some level. But the in-the-moment experience of hard intervals? That's not "enjoyable" like eating an ice cream cone or sitting in the hot tub or even shooting hoops is.

There's a famous paper in behavioral economics called "The Challenge of Mountaineering... for Utility Theory." Serious mountaineering, according to the paper, is "one unrelenting misery from beginning to end," or "the worst possible combination of long periods of stultifying boredom punctuated by brief periods of terror." So why do people do it? Well, that's a complicated question with lots of different answers depending on the context and the person. But there's no shame in admitting that mountaineering (or running) is, in fact, often very difficult and unpleasant when you're doing it at a high level.

So many joyless losers on this board. She acknowledges the unvarnished truth - running is really painful and training is very hard - and you give up on her? Cannot imagine living like this.