Although the o.p. makes some great points in his long rant, its beyond obvious that he has never stepped 1 single foot inside the state of Arizona.
Everything else looks accurate besides hus comments about Flagstaff and Sedona. That is proof that he has never visited anywhere in the entire state before.
Wrong!
I have been in AZ once and that's when I had a connecting flight that had a layover the the phx airport. I think it's called sun harbor. So I have been in that state ONCE. That's the only time I was in that states jurisdictional boundaries. I've actually never even seen the grand Canyon.
Since I started coaching in SA in 2017 we have taken summer trips to SMR (snow mountain ranch) which is in Colorado to train. I chose this area for me and my kids because of the soft trails and the SECLUSIVENESS of that states high altitude compared to other areas, as I mentioned in my post that started this thread.
Please don't assume things or judge a book by its cover without reading it first. Give us time, and we will, eventually, be the best team in ncaa division II. until then, you can just read my posts, learn from them, and treat me and all other users on this site with an equal ammount of humanity and respect.
I have been in AZ once and that's when I had a connecting flight that had a layover the the phx airport. I think it's called sun harbor. So I have been in that state ONCE. That's the only time I was in that states jurisdictional boundaries.
You sound really knowledgeable. What school do you coach at in San Antonio?
He's at Lady of Lakes. Not that that's anything to ever brag about. Coaching in that division is better than coaching at a community college or not at all. Atleast he has a job and is doing what he loves.
For those of you who don't know, Brian Blankenship is another user name of the crazy the430miler.
Pretty sure those links are a highschool kid. Not the 39 year old man who coaches in Texas. No 39 yr old can run that fast. Plus, coaches really don't run or compete anymore. More proof that it's not the same Barack Dahl
I am sorry I seemed to upset you I was just sharing my experience with hi low training. It is ok you never heard of me or my wife Michelle, I would assume most would not have, but some certainly have. As for coaching I have already had a long and successful career as D2 coach. What exactly was it that made you so upset to think I am a bigger idiot the the OP?
Are you saying that intentionally driving to the lowlands is a zero sum game?
Mentallity > physicallity?
Exactly amigo. I highly doubt anyone competing at the prefontaine classic plays the high low shift every week. They stay high to reap the most physiological benefits.
As of now I have not purchased a plane ticket for that event, the pre classic. I went last year when jakob eaglebritson was running. He is much SHORTER in real life than I thought. He's listed at 6 foot 1. Looks more like 5 foot 5.
On the flip side, I have been to Camarillo Ca a few times for observational and recruiting purposes and have seen nico young in person. He is a GIANT. there's no way in heck that he is 5'11. Depending on what type of socks I'm wearing, I'm either 5'11 or 6'0. Nico is atleast 1 entire head taller than me. He is huge in real life and looks everybit as tall as Usain bolt. Nico looks about 6 foot 4 or 5.
Again, someone's heights can be greatly exaggerated depending on how thick of socks they have on. I also think that how they appear on a TV or computer screen can be distorted or psychologically deceiving. You see, I've been around long enough to know that it is our mentality which dictates our physicality. Our brain is what influences how someone physically appears. It's just like training and racing. We all have a physical limitation, but our brains can actually defy science and OVERRIDE that biological limitation and SURPASS the barriers that we are structurally limited to in regards to our fate. Having a perfect mentality can deliberately defy your physiological fate.
This is yet another example of how MENTALITY > PHYSICALITY
This post was edited 1 minute after it was posted.
Pretty sure those links are a highschool kid. Not the 39 year old man who coaches in Texas. No 39 yr old can run that fast. Plus, coaches really don't run or compete anymore. More proof that it's not the same Barack Dahl
Nope. That's him. You have his age listed in 2024 in those races 36-37 and videos of him crossing the finish line.
Dear Mr. 4:30 miler. I have lived at altitude for much of my life, live high train low works. You may be an icon here on letsrun, but you are a slow runner and not very intelligent. Par for the course with letsrun. Dunning-Kruger effect to the extreme.
There are a few examples of pro teams in the united states who, on occasion, will live in the mountains and do their base mileage up high, and then creep down to a lower community once or twice per week for speed work on a local track. I am here to tell you that, atleast from a physiological perspective and an economic perspective, it's simply not worth the time and money.
An outstanding young man I went to school with, upon graduation, immediately signed with Zap Fitness. As you all know, Zap Fitness is a profession running team based in Blue Ridge, North Carolina. These guys train in the Blue Ridge Mountains northeast of Ashville, and twice per week creep down to Charlotte for speedwork. A good 3.5-4k drop in altitude. A good hour drive. He spent 2 years running professionally for Zap. He was very instrumental in starting their annual camp for prospective world class development runners, but all of their long term accomplishments as a pro group remained flaccid.
Another example would be Dark Sky, which is the Professional team of Under Armor. They are based in Flagstaff. Once per week, this squad will creep down to Sedona which is a good 2k lower in altitude. A good hour drive.
Railroad Athletics and the Park City crowd of elites/wannabe elite runners are another perfect scenario. Some of them do virtual coaching/training, so there's a lil bit more leeway with that group.
Our friends with the OnCLOUD group in Boulder Colorado really do not have that luxury. There is really nowhere within atleast a 300 mile radius that will allow then to drop below 3100 ft. They really have no choice but to do ALL if their workouts at altitude. You know what? It shows. Big time.
The young man I know that ran for Zap Fitness, his times did not significantly improve from d1 to professional level of competition. Dark Sky (the flagstaff group) seem to be remaining stagnant on the American and international stage. Edwin Kurgat runs for Dark Sky. Although he did indeed win the carlsbad 5k a couple years back, he also has shown no linear improvement since college. His arch nemesis Wesley kiptoo (Kenyan with gloves) trains high year round and is making breathtaking feats left and right.
The team that stands out is, once again, OnCLOUD. Dathan's group is environmentally FORCED to stay up high simply because of geographic isolation and elevational parameters. Yet all of you should stop and OBSERVE their results. Their athletes continue to shake up the world scene with national records and medal. Neguse, Monsoon, Obiri, and even the trickle down training effects on other non boulder based ONCloud athletes like KY Robinson who medaled at world indoors last winter. Dare I say......intentionally moving around on a weekly basis for speedwork is simply overrated.
Some of you may feel like your workouts are easier when you drop 2k in altitude. Your coach may even see that your intervals are faster when you drop and he wants your legs moving a tad faster. However, that's apparently and obviously NOT what the statistics show, result wise. The more you stay up high, the easier it is to race down low. Point being, you are not doing yourself any physiological favors by driving to Sedona or Charlotte and making your workouts easier. If you want to do yourself a favor, don't take the easy way out. It's your body, and it's your gas money.
OnCloud has got it all figured out. Their coach is no newbie. They have taken advantage of the terrain and placement that Creator has given them, and none of their runners are taking the easy way out and escaping to the lowlands. Here in San Antonio, my team also does NOT have the option of creeping up and down elevation wise twice per week. That option isnt available, and we've done just fine with what we have.
We should all strive each and every single solitary day to be more like the OnCloud group. It's your gas money, and aren't doing your running career ANY favors by putting miles on your car just so your legs and lungs can very briefly breath some thicker air.
Results speak loudly. It's just not worth it.
Probably concur with 85% of what you said. Perhaps one of the more astute and helpful posts I've seen on here in a long time. It's nice to live high, but training low is a bummer and really defeats the entire purpose of owning real estate in the highlands or mountains. I own a home Ruidoso and never in a million years would I drive down to Alamogordo or Tularosa just to run. It's silly.
Of course you wouldn't drive from Ruidoso to Alamogordo. That is almost 60 miles. Besides Ruidoso isn't high enough to do hi low training that is why Cloudcroft is a good option. it is 25 minutes down the mountain. It really is the greatest disparity in elevation in the country that I could find. Anyways, we were thinking about driving over to Ruidoso for a workout just for a change of scenery. would you like to meet up for a run or bike? (I ride too). We are also considering doing the Alien Chase in Roswell. We i did it years again and it sounds like fun. You can email if you would like. We love new Mexico as a place to visit.
Just let it go. "Fast time" is just another one of the 430milers sock puppet accounts. He has used several in this thread already, including:
430 is just one of the coaches on here that is discreet
Brian Blankenship (created 2/27/25 - 2 posts)
Addy das (created 4/26/25 - 3 posts)
Prediktor (created 5/2/25 - 1 post)
exrunnerboy,, (created 5/9/25 - 2 posts)
the430miler has NEVER been a college coach
Fan out west 1 (created 5/24/25 - 1 post)
Lets use common sense (created 5/25/25 - 1 post)
Fast time (created 5/8/25 - 1 post)
One thing that you notice about these accounts is they are all newly created, very few posts have ever been made by them, and they all support 430miler/degrade his opponents. He also registered "not playing with a full deck" today, the name I originally used in the thread. He registers them to try to prevent someone who outs his lies from posting again on the thread. Unfortunately for him, I can just add a random number to the end and he can't stop me from posting.
He has been doing this stuff here for at least 15 years. There used to be a website dedicated to his nonsense but it looks like it hasn't been updated since 2011.
People have asked where I get all of the 430 miler quotes. Well here they are, I just wish that I had the other 10,000 plus that were out there. the430miler do you ever feel your mentallity has ov…
An Oklahoma man who was involved in a fight with a policy adviser to President Barack Obama apparently misrepresented himself earlier this month in several phone interviews and an email exchange wit...
Oh ok, I had no idea what a sock puppet account was before this. For what it is worth we are having a great time doing high low training. Hope everyone has a good day.
OMG that is nuts I just read those articles. Oh well. I do think we are going to go run in Ruidoso - there is a nice lake there and we plan on catching some horse races. Should be fun