For the record: Lagat referred to the race as a "5k"

sig digs wrote:

X-Runner wrote:

Six of one

Half a dozen of another

I like the person that noted certified 5K's are at least 5,005 m in distance.

While the minimum distance you can run for 5,000m on the track is 5,000m.

Actually, tracks are measured 10cm from the rail, so you could be running a good deal less. One might also ask, from where do we measure the distance a person has traveled? A racer's center of mass could be traveling inside of the rail as they lean around the turns. Perhaps each runner should wear military-grade GPS units on their abdomen, and the clock only stops when when the unit has traveled 5000.00 meters. Then, I might conscientiously allow Lagat to claim he's run 5kilometers.

See, we could argue about miniscule amounts of distance all day, but the point is: the race is from point A to point B. The first one to begin directly behind point A and reach point B first is considered the winner.

surprise guys wrote:

Actually we're both at the same authority level, which is zero. But he's still wrong about this.

Actually, no you are not even close to being at the same authority level. He's spent, what, 17 years running at the highest levels? Hearing how other world class runners, coaches, officials refer to the distance. You? Not so much.

admiral admirable wrote:

Actually, no you are not even close to being at the same authority level. He's spent, what, 17 years running at the highest levels? Hearing how other world class runners, coaches, officials refer to the distance. You? Not so much.

I've already freely admitted I'm not the authority on this. It's unfortunate that you think Lagat is, but insisting upon it does not make it so. Go check with the IAAF record books, they're as legitimate a source as you're going to find. Track races are listed in meters, road in kilometers. That's that. If Lagat is aware of this, good for him, if he is oblivious that doesn't matter much either. Lagat's opinion on this is irrelevant when there is independent information out there to be found. That's what I mean by "he's not the authority on this".

If anyone ever corrects me after I call a 5,000 on the track a 5K, I'll punch them - guaranteed.

surprise guys wrote:

ls refer to the distance. You? Not so much.

I've already freely admitted I'm not the authority on this. It's unfortunate that you think Lagat is, but insisting upon it does not make it so. Go check with the IAAF record books, they're as legitimate a source as you're going to find. Track races are listed in meters, road in kilometers. That's that. If Lagat is aware of this, good for him, if he is oblivious that doesn't matter much either. Lagat's opinion on this is irrelevant when there is independent information out there to be found. That's what I mean by "he's not the authority on this".[/quote]

Perhaps you should freely admit it some more by shutting the f*** up then.

The IAAF Record books saying 5000 meters in no way prohibits anyone from saying another. Nor does it make it wrong. He is not oblivious. He simply recognizes that there terms mean exactly the same thing.

Lagat is right there. With the top people in the sport. He wins. Thanks for playing.

X-Runner wrote:

I like the person that noted certified 5K's are at least 5,005 m in distance.

I like you too. Call me.

i ran at a pretty high level (certainly compared with 99.5% of the posters here), and would never have called a 5k on the track a "five thousand meter" race. Why use five syllables when you could use two?

everyone calls it the 5k...and 10k...unless they are some kind of running dweeb I guess.

former decent runner wrote:

i ran at a pretty high level (certainly compared with 99.5% of the posters here)

Not to change the subject, but I'm curious to know what you think the 99.5 percentile of LetsRun posters is exactly.

I'd say the AVERAGE letsrun poster is pretty slow compared to elite runners. But the 99.5 percentile? There are enough elite runners on these boards to make the 99.5 perentile pretty fast. Like a 75 on Daniel's VDOT. I bet you're not or weren't that fast. Just guessin'.

nice one turds! wrote:

The measurement on a track is of the rail.

You are damn liar.

Terms we used in college to refer to the 5000m track event:

- Are you running "the 5"?

- The next event is the 5 thousand meters.

- I saw you ran a great 5k at the Penn Relays.

Any non-track race would include a specificity of venue:

- That freshman ran a sub-16 5k cross country in high school.

- Coach was upset that he ran that road 5k right before the outdoor season.