It's a combo of things but also not somehow that training is new or different.
It's not like we were in the stone age before 2020 and no one knew how the best were training.
But have you seen how many teams train nowadays or especially 5-10 years ago. There is still a team in my city where they do 4 workouts and a race every week. The training is not new but as these older coaches begin to retire and coaches who have a better understanding of training and physiology come in that helps bring up the competitiveness of HS distance running.
Most of you clowns will scoff, but the mental aspect is huge. I don't care if you're physically fit enough to run 12:45, if you can't first believe and know that you can 1) win the race 2) run 12:45, you aren't going to do it. Yes there have been tech advances, and everybody has them. Yes training and nutrition advances, but 99% follow them already.
There's no better example of this than Webb, who I think most people would agree was physically capable of even better than 3:46 mile, but he was handicapped by the mental doubts.
I absolutely will not scoff at what you're saying. I've said it myself many times here and in other places but it's an idea that doesn't get much attention because I think it's much harder to quantify than physical or chemical explanations are. Tim Noakes's Central Governor Theory does deal with the idea but I don't see many other people really looking at the mental side now. In the past people like Gerry Lindgren and Cerutty paid it a lot of attention.
None of this rules out PEDs as contributing factors but I also believe you cannot explain all the spectacular performances we're seeing as due to purely physical factors.
Threshold training, Marius Bakken was the first two realize how much more threshold training the east Africans were doing compared to the vo2 max based training American and European runners were doing back in the 90s. He reformed it to make it more measurable and scientific so to speak. Since Jakob success, more western runners have adopted it.
If doping is rampant in America and the only reason for the success of American men, then why are American women not lighting the world on fire? They generally have the same coaches, sponsors, agents, etc. Doping typically helps women more than men, and yet, American women are not currently competitive with the world's very best at distances above 1500m.
I think Jakob paved the way by showing that African elites were not unbeatable. That combined with significant advancements in training knowledge that are being applied at the high school and NCAA level is how you get to where we are today.
Yep!
I also believe that coaches are pushing the envelop with training intensity and volume at the high school and collegiate levels. As a previous post noted, the mental barrier of "we're not fast enough" or "we can't run with the Africans" has been diluted. The addition of high quality training groups, technological advances and elite athlete support financially are huge reasons for their improvement. I know the "Drug-Cheater" crowd is out there screaming that all great performances are "Doped up", and maybe they are, but you can't cry foul until a positive test pops up or a whereabouts issue for testing is confirmed. I do believe the testing is more prominent now more than ever, and that the fear of getting caught is more prevalent. I believe the social media aspect of being a deterrent is very real and necessary. With social media outlets like Lets Run, Instagram, and tiktok, getting popped for drugs is devasting to an athletes character and well being as it should be. Nonetheless, I always have said that "If you ain't getting caught, you ain't cheating". I know that's somewhat simplistic, but if you're a world class runner worrying about who is cheating and who isn't, it only distracts you from doing what you have control over, which is training as hard and smart as you can.
I think Jakob paved the way by showing that African elites were not unbeatable. That combined with significant advancements in training knowledge that are being applied at the high school and NCAA level is how you get to where we are today.
Yep!
I also believe that coaches are pushing the envelop with training intensity and volume at the high school and collegiate levels. As a previous post noted, the mental barrier of "we're not fast enough" or "we can't run with the Africans" has been diluted. The addition of high quality training groups, technological advances and elite athlete support financially are huge reasons for their improvement. I know the "Drug-Cheater" crowd is out there screaming that all great performances are "Doped up", and maybe they are, but you can't cry foul until a positive test pops up or a whereabouts issue for testing is confirmed. I do believe the testing is more prominent now more than ever, and that the fear of getting caught is more prevalent. I believe the social media aspect of being a deterrent is very real and necessary. With social media outlets like Lets Run, Instagram, and tiktok, getting popped for drugs is devasting to an athletes character and well being as it should be. Nonetheless, I always have said that "If you ain't getting caught, you ain't cheating". I know that's somewhat simplistic, but if you're a world class runner worrying about who is cheating and who isn't, it only distracts you from doing what you have control over, which is training as hard and smart as you can.
Pure gibberish. “pushing the envelope”? So all you have to do is train harder? good thing someone finally told us the secret
Shoes are worth 15 seconds in a 13:00 5000m so, there’s that. But you’ve got to get yourself down to 13:00 to begin with. How? American’s just got wise, wink wink.
Funny though, LR will whine non-stop about late 90s EPO fueled times and then pat American’s on the back for running the same times while, simultaneously, downplaying shoes, etc.
Hocker 3:27? Fisher 7:22? Nico 12:45? Is this a systematic program?
It’s been said elsewhere on these boards, but Gen Z/Alpha don’t party and drink like the older generations. I mean, Pre’s drinking literally killed him.
Stronger testing in Kenya is also a factor.
Could Americans be doping? Absolutely. Who knows what drug is being used off label that has been discovered to help with distance running. But there are other (legal) factors too.
Threshold training, Marius Bakken was the first two realize how much more threshold training the east Africans were doing compared to the vo2 max based training American and European runners were doing back in the 90s. He reformed it to make it more measurable and scientific so to speak. Since Jakob success, more western runners have adopted it.
Threshold training isn't new.
Who was training like Bakken method before Bakken?
Since no one has been able to describe what they claim are better training methods and HS athletes are also
I still remember the days when threshold training for most meant 20 minutes at 60 minute pace and most would do that once a week. Now it's not uncommon for college and pro runners to do 30 to 40 km a week at threshold. High school training used to be endless 400s at mile pace, now more high school coaches are putting a emphasis on doing threshold sessions over those vo2 max and mile paced workouts. For people to say threshold training isn't new, that statement is only a half truth. The way it is widely implemented has change and the emphasis on it has changed. Kenyans used to do a lot more threshold training than European and American runners. Though how they structured it wasn't as refined as the Norwegian model.
I think Jakob paved the way by showing that African elites were not unbeatable. That combined with significant advancements in training knowledge that are being applied at the high school and NCAA level is how you get to where we are today.
What training knowledge?
All of these advancements started when coaches observed and imitated the Magic Coach Jan Stensson!!
It's funny that's all I used to do was thresholds and easy runs, and had major success doing that, it was traditional training that wore me out and kept me injured. Are athletes getting injured less or am I just imagining it?
In no way do I think this is the only factor, but maybe an increased emphasis on running mechanics is contributing to some of the success we’re seeing?
I think it is due to more kids training harder for a longer period of time. How many miles was Nico running in High School? I mean probably like 100s per week. Graham? He took a gap year and ran 100s of miles per week. Grant was running at a high level throughout highschool.
I think Yared is an example of just an exceptional talent who started training really in college, those kind of runners were how prior USA distance runners. Now you have to be like a 14 minute 5k runners to get college looks, no time to not train hard even in highschool.
Americans are in a process of repentance for sins during The Trump Judgement Days. It makes perfect sense their athletes are running with a new vigour. Sin weighs you down