Why can't Americans break the world record in the 1500?

ryan foreman wrote:

Because the World record is 3:26 set by a Morroccan and Americans only run about 3:30 or :31.

End of Thread.

You may as well ask "Why didn't WW2 end sooner?"

Clean morrocans can only run 3-30

Wheres all the fast morrocans now.The ABP has wiped them out

You know what a World record is don't you. It means only one person in recorded history runs that time. What do you mean, where are all the fast Moroccans now? They are still there.

If this thread is about whether you can run 3:26 legally, then just discuss it. Sorry, I'm just sick of these cryptic discussion topics on this board.

If this is not about doping than you may as well ask why the sky is blue.

sticky figure wrote:

Jon Orange wrote:

If having more red blood cells is an advantage, then why don't we produce more red blood cells naturally?

Because evolution is not about maxing out one particular trait, it is about developing a set of traits that make you successful in your environment. Every physical attribute needs to be just good enough to survive comfortably enough, so you have energy left to procreate.

Additionally, evolution is not an active process of development, it's a passive (and endless) process of random mutation, survival, and reproduction. Speed-enhancing mutations have little obvious survival value in modern life. And tall muscular people attract mates more than people with thick blood.

If you can't run the marathon, you run the 10000m. If you can't run the 10000m, you run the 5000m.

reality check bro wrote:

Because relative to it's population size, the US just isn't very good at middle distance running or indeed long distance running. Just like they're not very good at football (soccer).

As others have said, the US enjoys sports like American football, basketball but by far the most enjoyable and participated sport in the US is..... watching sport while drinking beer and eating chips!

This tells you everything you need to know as to why the US will never be a real threat at MD or LD events unless they have an immigrant compete for them. Still, if Trump gets in then this may not even be possible in the future until he figures out what the he*L is going on.

Blame Trump has already started.

Jed Clampett wrote:

You young guns want to break the WR in the 1500/mile?

Here is the formula:

Run 100 miles per week w/ at least one "speed development day" per week.

Do that while only having two racing periods per year of perhaps 10 races each. (Interval training is done hard for six weeks/easier for 4 weeks leading to the racing period.)

Do that from age 15 to 30.

Then you can start cutting the volume a little bit, and do a little more interval training leading up to an Olympic final. You must run by feel, not by time!

(Talent will be needed and a coach will need to monitor the athlete. It will only happen if the athlete and coach know the difference between "speed development" and interval training. There are many types of both.)

This may never happen as most of us do not have this kind of patience.

"Talent will be needed"

That's all you should have written. The rest is irrelevant.

Jed Clampett wrote:

I think the main reason is that our best athletes compete in football, basketball, and baseball. In addition we have added or increased the importance of soccer, hockey, and lacrosse.

I also think that there are many other activities including minor sports that take away from cross country & track. We have to make our sport more popular. What are some ways we could do that?

The best way for the US to start wining again (including at the middle distances) is to elect Donald J. Trump as the next president of these United States!

Give Centro time he will break the WR one of these days.

You need to have hard work and talent to run the world record at the 1500/mile.

But in addition to that, good coaching and patience are essential.

Americans run too many races. All these indoor records we are seeing?

What a waste, imagine what these athletes would do with more training. The athlete improves the most through training, not competing.

Good racing is the RESULT of good training! They understand that in Kenya and Ethiopia. We do not in America, so we will always be dominated by them.

Jed Clampett wrote:

You need to have hard work and talent to run the world record at the 1500/mile.

But in addition to that, good coaching and patience are essential.

Americans run too many races. All these indoor records we are seeing?

What a waste, imagine what these athletes would do with more training. The athlete improves the most through training, not competing.

Good racing is the RESULT of good training! They understand that in Kenya and Ethiopia. We do not in America, so we will always be dominated by them.

Imagine how fast these ignorant idiots would have run if they hadn´t dabbled in indoor racing:

So you agree with me that one must train hard, and race infrequently, to be an international success!

The guy that finished second in that race is from Ethiopia and his best distance at the time was the 10K, not the 1500!

"In America we use athletes, we do not develop them."

Larry Myricks 28'8" LJ in 1988

I predict that they move Matt Centrowitz up to the 5 and 10 in a few years.

I started a previous post about the glut of sub-4 minute milers America has produced over the last 15 years, without producing any international stars.

It is true that many of these guys are still young and could flourish. But some of them are definitely done as well.

There are several things wrong with the American system, and it's not drugs!

We just race our athletes too much and there is an over-reliance on interval training.

Tell me I'm wrong!

sticky figure wrote:

Jon Orange wrote:

If having more red blood cells is an advantage, then why don't we produce more red blood cells naturally?

Because evolution is not about maxing out one particular trait, it is about developing a set of traits that make you successful in your environment. Every physical attribute needs to be just good enough to survive comfortably enough, so you have energy left to procreate.

What has that got to do with my question? Why is it not a training adaption to produce more red blood cells?

Because we have the right amount to deliver oxygen, More is not better.

Jed Clampett wrote:

I started a previous post about the glut of sub-4 minute milers America has produced over the last 15 years, without producing any international stars.

It is true that many of these guys are still young and could flourish. But some of them are definitely done as well.

There are several things wrong with the American system, and it's not drugs!

We just race our athletes too much and there is an over-reliance on interval training.

Tell me I'm wrong!

No-one can tell you that you are wrong. They just don't want to admit that you are right.

Because it's a very difficult thing to do! You may as well ask why a Russian, Spaniard, Ethiopian or Brazilian can't break the record. Here in the UK we keep asking why we can't produce another Coe, Ovett or Cram despite spending quite a lot of lottery money on the sport and having a much better support system for the athletes than existed in the 1970s/80s. Basically, WR holders are a very special breed of athlete, they come along but rarely and when they do it's down to the individual more than the country he's from.

USA did hold the record from 1967 to 1974, just as Australia held it from 1960 to 1967 but was this because of the brilliance of Ryun and Elliott rather than some national characteristic?

Mark where is the logic in your explanation of the very rare individual, when you name three UK runners who all broke severl world records in the same era?

Surely success breeds success, Ovett inspired Coe, and both of them inpspired Cram. As well as the rivalry, there was the belief that, "If he can do it, so can I"

Isn't that what's happening in US distance running?

Jon Orange wrote:

Yes, you're right Deano.

We have here evidence that Jono is willing to admit that he is wrong. I did not think this was possible.

The point I was, ineptly, making is that these things are down to individuals not nations or systems. With Ovett, Coe & Cram we in UK were very, very fortunate to have three such talented individuals come along more or less at the same time. If it was down to one inspiring another where are the current 800/1500 WR holders and gold medalists who were inspired by Coe, Ovett & Cram? It just so happens that the UK currently has the world's best 5K &10K runner rather than any really standout 800 & 1500 guys. It's tempting to say that these things go in cycles but that suggests that world dominance will come round again when there is no reason why it necessarily should. (Ask the Finns about their current crop of world class distance runners!)