Nico Young 3:54.07* - Is his 4:02 mile the fastest mile ever run in Flagstaff?

sub 4? really? wrote:

So this is where we stand:

Newbury Park, if you include everyone enrolled there now, any graduates therefrom, and any who has ever attended, has produced exactly

0

4 minute mile runners.

Given that the much-hyped performance that is the subject of this thread was a school record, neither apparently has NAU.

I haven't posted in a while but I'll bite on this one.

I think the altitude conversion is overrated particularly for someone who lives and trains at altitude. A 4:02 is a 4:02 regardless of altitude. No way is it a 3:54.

I once ran a 2:39 marathon in Taos, NM (7500') in May.

I then ran a 2:39 marathon in Philadelphia the following November.

I live and train at 6000'. No difference or benefit of altitude vs. sea level for me.

Cheers everyone an happy new year!

ienjoyracing wrote:

I hate the guys that come on here for nothing more than to diminish a great accomplishment - but I must say it seems that for how much he is a distance guy, he probably doesn’t deserve the full conversion, since he doesn’t actually have to run at 3:54 pace, when speed is his weakness.

Nonetheless I’m very happy because Nico has been one of my favorite runners these last few years and it’s great to see him keep improving.

29.x 200m pace isn’t exactly “speed”, but I completely get your point about not giving the full conversion.

Conversions are hypothetical in my mind anyway, and I like the idea of an altitude record instead of giving someone credit for something they didnt technically achieve.

He seems fit though!

I doubt that the conversion is accurate, it surely has to differentiate for each athlete.

It could be, that Nicos 4:02 is more likely to be worth ca. 3:57 - 3:58.

Jim Ryun ran 3:37 in Mexico (7520 ft.) and had 3:34 PB.

Bodo Tümmler ran 3:39 in Mexico and had 3:36 PB.

Master of LoIIy wrote:

I doubt that the conversion is accurate, it surely has to differentiate for each athlete.

It could be, that Nicos 4:02 is more likely to be worth ca. 3:57 - 3:58.

Jim Ryun ran 3:37 in Mexico (7520 ft.) and had 3:34 PB.

Bodo Tümmler ran 3:39 in Mexico and had 3:36 PB.

Kip Keino ran 3:37.3 in South Lake Tahoe 1969 on the Olympic Trials track. Only problem is SLT is down the hill from Echo Summit by 1,000'. USOC moved the track to the high school in town 6,200'.

Nico Young ran 3:56.00 at sea level at the UW invite, just behind his teammate Abdihamid Nur (3:55) and 2 other guys. What’s interesting is that Nico absolutely crushed Abdi at altitude last week, obviously the altitude conversions aren’t the same for everyone.

Kajak wrote:

Master of LoIIy wrote:

I doubt that the conversion is accurate, it surely has to differentiate for each athlete.

It could be, that Nicos 4:02 is more likely to be worth ca. 3:57 - 3:58.

Jim Ryun ran 3:37 in Mexico (7520 ft.) and had 3:34 PB.

Bodo Tümmler ran 3:39 in Mexico and had 3:36 PB.

Kip Keino ran 3:37.3 in South Lake Tahoe 1969 on the Olympic Trials track. Only problem is SLT is down the hill from Echo Summit by 1,000'. USOC moved the track to the high school in town 6,200'.

Keino's 3:34.91 at 7300 in Mexico City was his lifetime PR. Imagine the former 3K and 5K WR holder running his 1500 lifetime PR at 7300. Just shows what an off-the-charts performance that was.

letsrub wrote:

Nico Young ran 3:56.00 at sea level at the UW invite, just behind his teammate Abdihamid Nur (3:55) and 2 other guys. What’s interesting is that Nico absolutely crushed Abdi at altitude last week, obviously the altitude conversions aren’t the same for everyone.

Or maybe people are not at exactly the same performance level from week to week. Nico looked better last week than he did this week. Nur looked pretty bad last week and very good this week. It doesn't mean Nur can't run at altitude. His big breakout race in the winter of 2020 came at altitude (converted 13:39 5k). All it means is that he had a good race. Nico likely ran slightly worse than last week. It happens.