in the eyes of the casuals, any marathon is good enough. even if you told people your time, most people wouldn't be able to judge how fast/slow that is. all they'll say is "omg that's awesome! i can't even do one mile".
with that said, sub elite has always been a vague term. i think elite runners are any runners who have a chance at winning a medal in a championship race. pro runners are those who are fast and have sponsors, but may not necessarily have any chance at medalling. sub elite would be the class behind pro runners
If you want to throw out an arbitrary range:
30 sec to a min per mile slower than what is considered elite.
So a sub elite female 5K runner is ~16:30-18 min. Sound right?
Perhaps poster was confused and heard about age graded calculations that are used by old people to tell them they are still elite. I'm old so not making fun... To hit 90% (10%) for a marathon is around 2:16 for a 30 year old.
3:25 marathon is only top 10% because of selection bias.
The young and vital don't usually participate. It's not that they CAN'T, nor is it to denigrate the act of running long distance races; but it is the case that people don't start plodding out long road miles until they make a deliberate effort to either salvage their physical health, or to build community by participating.
To a non-runner or hobby-jogger, finishing a marathon is pretty elite. If you are insecure and want to people you're more than just a finisher, just say your time -- anything starting in "3" sounds fast to a non-runner.
To a real runner, 3:25 is not impressive. Do no say you are sub-elite if you are this slow, because a real runner will ask your times and it will be embarrassing that you overstated your abilities.
It’s a participation sport.
Sub Elites make the same amount of money from running as hobby joggers.
ZERO
That sounds like a good reason for them NOT to brag about their weak sub-elite times, doesn't it?
TBH, most non-runners have no idea what a good time is. All they care about is you "finished" a marathon. These people also consider 5K's marathons so even if you say 2 hours, they will react the same as if you said 7 hours.
There was some dweeb on youtube that "ran" a marathon on 6 hours. I commented that, I could walk a marathon in 6 hours. Then I said pretty much any able bodied person should be able to walk for 6 hours so how is that an accomplishment? I received a lot of vitreol from the masses.
Sub Elites make the same amount of money from running as hobby joggers.
ZERO
That’s actually my threshold: if you spend less on running than you make on running, you’re sub elite. If the difference is enough that you don’t have to hold an outside job you’re elite. If you’re spending more than you make from running but are actively trying to get faster and get people you’re competitive but not sub elite. If you’re not actively trying to get faster you’re a hobby joggers.
Sub Elites make the same amount of money from running as hobby joggers.
ZERO
That’s actually my threshold: if you spend less on running than you make on running, you’re sub elite. If the difference is enough that you don’t have to hold an outside job you’re elite. If you’re spending more than you make from running but are actively trying to get faster and get people you’re competitive but not sub elite. If you’re not actively trying to get faster you’re a hobby joggers.
If it's all about money are influencers sub elite?
This is letsrun, where 2:09 to 2:12 is sub elite, anyone running over 2:12.0 is a hobby jogger.
Don't if they're under 2:10, they're doped to gills.
It's an interesting scale here where excellent and clean runners exist in a very narrow band. While it's hard to pinpoint an exact time where this it, if you ask any poster, it always ends up being their PB.
That’s actually my threshold: if you spend less on running than you make on running, you’re sub elite. If the difference is enough that you don’t have to hold an outside job you’re elite. If you’re spending more than you make from running but are actively trying to get faster and get people you’re competitive but not sub elite. If you’re not actively trying to get faster you’re a hobby joggers.
If it's all about money are influencers sub elite?
Influencers are closer to being coaches than competitors. Their selling point is not their times but their sage wisdom and sparkling personalities. The great Elizabeth Clor being an example.
Sub Elites make the same amount of money from running as hobby joggers.
ZERO
That’s actually my threshold: if you spend less on running than you make on running, you’re sub elite. If the difference is enough that you don’t have to hold an outside job you’re elite. If you’re spending more than you make from running but are actively trying to get faster and get people you’re competitive but not sub elite. If you’re not actively trying to get faster you’re a hobby joggers.
I have two categories: Amateur and Professional.
If you can pay all your bills from running, you’re a pro. Everyone else, myself included, is an amateur. Some are faster than others but nobody cares.
That said, there’s barely such a thing as a professional distance runner.
How many are there in the country, maybe 100? Out of millions of runners.
This post was edited 2 minutes after it was posted.
I would not be impressed if a woman introduced herself to me as a 3:25 marathoner.
Seems to me that in most cases, 3:25 for a woman would require either some serious dedication to training (which is somewhat impressive), or some talent (ditto).
This is letsrun, where 2:09 to 2:12 is sub elite, anyone running over 2:12.0 is a hobby jogger.
I mean, a 2:12 doesn't get you anything these days unless it's in poor conditions or some random race with a small prize purse. People running 2:12 probably have more running related expenses than they do minimal prize money coming in. So ya 3:25 is definitely not 'sub-elite'
Umm, sub-elites aren't making a living from prize money or sponsorship.