The Marathon Project was a HUGE success, but is Marty Hehir the equivalent of a 13:30 5000 runner?

rojo · 2020-12-22T14:26:45-05:00

Let me once again start with a disclaimer. We found Sara Hall and Martin Hehir's run to be incredibly inspiring. We just recorded interviews with both of them for a podcast that will be out in the coming days. The fact that they can run so well while also parenting six kids (and going to med school in one case) is AMAZING. That doesn't mean we can't ask what does their success really mean moving forward. Jonathan Gault wrote up a "final thoughts article" on the race and one of the comments was this: [quote][b]Gault wrote:[/b] The US still has a long way to go to catch up to marathon superpowers Kenya and Ethiopia and even a country like Japan. Galen Rupp remains the only American man capable of challenging for a win at a major marathon. The winner on Sunday in Arizona, Martin Hehir, ran 2:08:59. He is America's fastest marathoner in all of 2020. That time would have placed him 21st at the Valencia Marathon earlier this month. It would have placed him 25th in Tokyo in March, where 15 men from Japan alone ran faster than 2:08:59. Even with limited racing opportunities, 46 Ethiopians, 21 Kenyans, and 20 Japanese ran faster this year. Hehir is the 111th-fastest marathoner in the world in 2020. The 111th-fastest 5,000 runner ran 13:35. The 111th 1500 runner ran 3:39. Hehir's pb is 7:20 slower than the world record -- that means he's more than 16 seconds per mile slower than Eliud Kipchoge (16 secs/mile slower than the 5,000 WR is 13:25). [/quote] Is it fair to compare Hehir to a 13:30 5000 guy? I know at first glance that you may think, "That's ridiculous." But I think the comparison is pretty accurate. The difference is in the marathon a 13:30 guy is somewhat relevant. In track, if there are 10 really high quality 5000s in a 2 month window, the 10 best guys could easily run in all 10 of them if they really wanted. So if you aren't in the top 10 in the world, you aren't really that relevant. In the marathon, you can only run one every few months. So if there are 15 races in a season, then the 150th runner is relevant as they could easily be top 10 and maybe top 5 in one of the races. https://www.letsrun.com/news/2020/12/six-final-thoughts-about-the-marathon-project-209-isnt-209-anymore-des-linden-says-america-needs-to-join-the-219-party-more/

Pro News/Info/Results Marathons

Reply New New Thread

Moderation Moderation Information Moderation Information & Rules

Page 5 of 5

1 4 5

Next Last

5 years ago 12/25/2020 1:24am EST

re: ^

Ron Clark and his 2739 on cinders was indeed a phenomenal result but even he had his limits and being a diesel guy rather than speed merchant he would’ve had his limit racing against people like Bekele, Kipchoge, Farah and even Rupp. Would Clark have beaten 27 minutes in today’s era? I think not. Rupp has 26:44 and taking Clark to today’s era I think he would’ve been stuck at around 2710 to 2715. Running on dirt it was not that much of a disadvantage that people think and remember Bedford only ran about 10 seconds slower when he ran at Portsmouth on dirt for 10,000 m on a very hot day.

5 years ago 12/25/2020 1:38am EST

re: malmo

Worth pointing out that FS ran about 12:56 for 3 miin EUG at some point which is much better than 13:26....

5 years ago 12/25/2020 4:20am EST

re: OXYRUNR

OXYRUNR wrote:
Worth pointing out that FS ran about 12:56 for 3 miin EUG at some point which is much better than 13:26....

The conversion from 3 mile to 5000 m is to add 30 seconds so it is equivalent. Similarly the conversion from six mile to 10,000 m is to add one minute so these are pretty much accurate equivalencies.

5 years ago 12/30/2020 5:34am EST

re: NERunner53

NERunner53 wrote:
What's the point of this? Why you gotta trash him/American men so quickly? We can't be excited for a few days before you start up with this clickbait nonsense. No, it's not the same at all. How many sub-13:30 US men are there in a given season versus sub-2:09 runners? If you're a 13:30 guy, you have no shot at the Olympics. Ward wasn't a sub-2:09 guy when he took 6th at the OG. I'll give you that there's more depth in the marathon globally but sub-2:09 makes you much better at your event than 13:30.
And, FWIW, there's nothing wrong with being a 13:30 guy. That's fast, albeit not quite national class.

The point is that we’re talking about Americans relevance as marathoners on the world stage, not on the American stage. Try to keep up...

....Unless you’re an American marathoner, then we already know you can’t.

Page 5 of 5

1 4 5

Next Last

What People Are Talking About On LetsRun

No top threads at the moment. Check back soon.

Reply Replying to

Username

Password

Leave the password field blank to post anonymously.

Post Preview

By posting you acknowledge that you have read and abide by our Terms and Conditions.

Remember me on this device.

The Marathon Project was a HUGE success, but is Marty Hehir the equivalent of a 13:30 5000 runner?

This thread has already been deleted.

You have been subscribed.

The Marathon Project was a HUGE success, but is Marty Hehir the equivalent of a 13:30 5000 runner?

Jump To A Page

Follow Ghost1

Block Ghost1

Follow Ghost1

Block Ghost1

Jump To A Page

This thread has already been deleted.

Reply Replying to

You have been subscribed.